A rough guide: Northstar has opened with anywhere from no snow to 27" at the station.
0"new in 48h
7"this week
43°forecast high
Last week, today, next two
Tue0
Wed0
Thu0
Fri0
Sat5"
Sun2"
Yest0
Today0
Wed0
Thu0
New snow at the station each morning, in inches; from today on, the forecast's sky and snow. Verdicts start once the mountain opens.
Updated 7:10 AM
While you wait: the winter ahead
A typical winter at Northstar
20 winters
This winter so far
2 fresh-snow days since Nov 1. Most winters have none yet by Nov 3. Light ones: 7" or less each.
Snow on the ground at the station
5" at the station on Nov 3. More than usual for the date: deeper than in 14 of 20 winters (typical 2").
NovDecJanFebMarAprMay
Typical winterMiddle half of wintersThis winterTop: 130"
The station's depth, not the resort's base: stations sit in one spot, often below the top of the mountain, and nobody grooms or makes snow there.
This winter: 2" of new snow at the station since Nov 1. The bars fill in as the station measures snow.
This winter: 2 fresh-snow days since Nov 1. A typical winter has none yet by today. The bars fill in as the station measures snow.
How many of each week's days had clear skies (under 30% cloud, 9 AM to 4 PM) over twenty winters. Weeks the lifts rarely run are greyed.
Tap the chart to read a week.
Today
A typical week's new snowShare of days with fresh snowShare of days with clear skies10 inches25% of days25% of daysLifts most wintersThis winterTap a week
1Feb 22–28 · 33% of days had fresh snow (48 of 145)
How often each hour from 9 AM to 4 PM has been clear, month by month, over the last twenty winters.
The pattern here
39% vs 33%Spring mornings have a better shot at clear skies than afternoons (9–11 AM vs 1–4 PM).
Aprilhas the most clear hours of any ski month here: 41% of hours from 9 AM to 4 PM.
9 AM
10 AM
11 AM
Noon
1 PM
2 PM
3 PM
4 PM
Nov
34%
43%
42%
42%
43%
43%
44%
45%
Dec
22%
32%
34%
33%
34%
30%
33%
33%
Jan
28%
37%
38%
37%
35%
36%
36%
37%
Feb
31%
35%
31%
32%
33%
30%
31%
31%
Mar
34%
33%
31%
30%
29%
28%
28%
28%
Apr
46%
46%
45%
42%
39%
36%
37%
37%
May
56%
54%
48%
44%
39%
35%
34%
33%
Fewer clear hours MoreClearest 3 hours
Tap a square to read an hour.
In February · tap a month
35%of February days had at least 3 clear hours in a row.
27%of February days were clear all day.
A clear hour has under 30% cloud, the same test as a clear day. Each square is one hour over twenty winters of that month (about 600 hours), so a difference of a few points is chance. Faded months are when the lifts usually aren't running. Northstar shares its sky square with Sugar Bowl and Palisades Tahoe, so their numbers match.
Northstar over the last twenty winters
~Nov 23usual opening day (earliest Nov 12, latest Dec 12)
34fresh-snow days a winter while the lifts ran (18 to 49)
20big days (8"+) a winter
Dec 15–21best shot at a Bluebird day (8 of 20 winters)
Every winter
2026-27 so far0Not open yet
This seasonLifts not running yet
Waiting for opening day. Snow the station measures shows up here as it falls.
No lift days with a call yet
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
2" new snow at the station · biggest week 2" (Nov 1)
60"
NovDecJanFebMarAprMay
Grey: lifts closed · Lifts not running yet · one bar per week
Each week is the same twenty winters, 2006-07 to 2025-26, from the federal SNOTEL station near the mountain. The line is the share of that week's days that were fresh-snow days (4"+ in 48 hours, or 3" when it stayed below freezing); the top edge is 50% of the days, the dashed line 25%.
This winter's bars count the same way: fresh-snow days in each week so far, out of all the week's days, so a week's bar grows as it passes. Before opening they count every day, like the typical winter.
Lifts running: the dark bar marks weeks the lifts ran at least 3 days of the week in 14 or more of the 20 winters, or in 4 of the last 5 (snowmaking has moved some openings earlier); the thin one weeks they did less often Tap a week on the chart for the exact counts, or a week below the chart for its page.
Best weeks: the highest share of fresh-snow days among weeks with the dark lift bar. Clear skies: under 30% cloud from 9 AM to 4 PM, from the ERA5 weather record.
Every winter: the bar is fresh-snow days while the lifts ran. ~ marks a lift date that couldn't be found and uses the 2016-26 average instead. Tap a winter for its calendar.
Twenty winters is still a small sample: a pattern, not a forecast.
Sky history: contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.
Sky history: contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.
More about Northstar
Summit
8,610 ft
Base
6,330 ft
Vertical
2,280 ft
Lift-served terrain
3,170 acres
Lifts
11, including the Tahoe Zephyr chondola
Runs
100 (resort-stated)
Longest run
Logger's Loop, 1.4 mi (resort-stated)
Snowfall
350" a winter (resort-stated)
Night skiing
No
First season
Dec 1972
Run by
Vail Resorts since Oct 2010
Passes, 2026–27
Epic (also Tahoe Local and Epic Local)
A timber farm until 1972: its spiral logo is a sawblade, a nod to that history.
A Ritz-Carlton sits mid-mountain, reached by the Highlands Gondola.
Resort facts checked Nov 2026, from the resorts' own pages and independent sources; acres are lift-served terrain only. Passes change every fall.
Where this comes from
Snow from USDA NRCS SNOTEL station Independence Lake (541), about 15 miles away, higher than mid-mountain. Sky and wind from the National Weather Service forecast for the mountain (around 7,598 ft). Map from USGS 3DEP elevation.
Measured at the station, not reported by the resort, so every mountain is judged the same way. Updated 7:10 AM.
Snow from USDA NRCS SNOTEL; forecasts from the National Weather Service. Ski area names are trademarks of their respective owners. Snowcall is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them.