Climate - Lake Tahoe (California)

The climate of Lake Tahoe is moderately continental, with cold, snowy winters and sunny summers, which are warm during the day, but with cool nights.
The lake is located north-east of San Francisco and Sacramento, on the border between California and Nevada, and 1,900 meters (6,200 ft) above sea level. A short distance away are the cities of Carson City and Reno, both in Nevada. Around the lake are several winter sports resorts, the largest of which are the Heavenly Mountain Resort in the south and the Squaw Valley Ski Resort in the northwest.
In winter, the night temperature normally drops below freezing, sometimes even by several degrees. On the coldest nights of the year, the temperature generally reaches -18/-20 °C (-4/0 °F), but sometimes it can even drop below. In February 1989, it dropped to -33 °C (27.5 °F) in South Lake Tahoe. Snowfalls are abundant: almost 5 meters (16 feet and a half) of snow fall in the northern part and almost 3 meters (10 ft) in the southern part of the lake. Usually, it snows from November to April.
In summer, there are strong differences in temperature between night and day, so it can be cold at night, while it is warm during the day. On the hottest days of the year, the temperature generally reaches 30/33 C (86/91 °F). In summer, water sports are practiced on the lake. On rare occasions, thunderstorms can break out in the afternoon.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of -1.4 °C (30 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 16.2 °C (61 °F). Here are the average temperatures of South Lake Tahoe, located near the southern shore of the lake.

In the northern part of the lake, precipitation is relatively abundant: in Tahoe City, it amounts to 800 millimeters (31.5 inches) per year. In South Lake Tahoe, on the contrary, it is quite scarce, and amounts to 420 mm (16.5 in) per year. It ranges from 5 mm (0.2 in) in the driest months (June, September) to 95 mm (3.7 in) in the wettest (December). Here is the average precipitation.

Best Time

The best time to visit Lake Tahoe is from June to September, since it is the warmest and sunniest period, bearing in mind that it is necessary to dress in layers because there are strong temperature differences between night and day.

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