How much snow is Boreal getting?
No snow in the forecast for Boreal in the next 72 hours. Rain instead: about 0.8 inches, with the snow level at 8,500 ft, above the base area at Castle Peak (7,195 ft). NWS forecast updated Oct 20, 2:00 PM PDT; read .
From the National Weather Service’s gridded forecast for the base area at Castle Peak, read every 30 minutes. Totals are rounded: half inches under 3 inches, whole inches above.
Storm alerts
A notification on this device when chain control starts, changes or lifts, or a road closes or reopens. Pick your roads:
An alert is a heads-up that something changed, not a road report, and it can arrive a few minutes after the change. Before you drive, check Caltrans QuickMap or Nevada 511 (nvroads.com), or call 511. A few alerts a day at most; no account, no email, and you can turn them off here any time (what we keep).
How much snow is Boreal getting: NWS snowfall at the base at Castle Peak, on I-80 by Donner Summit, over the next 72 hours, when it falls and the snow level.
Donner Pass now
No chain controls at Donner Pass (Caltrans). Checked .
The forecast here is for Boreal's base area at the Castle Peak exit on I-80, right at Donner Summit. Boreal's lifts start next to the freeway, so the snow here and the snow on I-80 are nearly the same question.
Castle Peak is one of Caltrans's I-80 chain-control checkpoints, so the chain answer for Donner Pass is also the answer for the Boreal parking lot. Both are linked below.
The next 72 hours at Boreal, twelve hours at a time
| Period | Snow | Chance of precipitation | Snow level | Temperature | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | none | 12% | 9,500 ft | 53–54°F | 5 mph, gusts 14 |
| Tuesday night | none | 19% | 9,500 ft | 39–51°F | 5 mph |
| Wednesday | none | 70% | 9,500 ft | 38–51°F | 5 mph, gusts 15 |
| Wednesday night | none | 91% | 8,500–10,000 ft | 38–47°F | 3 mph, gusts 13 |
| Thursday | none | 83% | 8,500 ft | 36–42°F | 6 mph, gusts 20 |
| Thursday night | none | 70% | 7,500–8,500 ft | 35–42°F | 7 mph, gusts 18 |
Heights to read the snow level against
The working cameras within 15 miles of Boreal, highest first. Where the snow level is below a camera’s height, the forecast is snow there; above it, rain.
- I-80 at Donner Summit · 7,221 ft
- I-80 at Castle Peak · 7,165 ft
- I-80 at Soda Springs - Eastbound · 6,692 ft
- I-80 at Donner Lake · 6,394 ft
- SR-89 at Olympic Valley / Rampart · 6,250 ft
- SR-89 at Tahoe City / Alpine Meadows · 6,220 ft
- SR-267 at Northstar · 6,197 ft
- I-80 at Kingvale - Westbound · 6,128 ft
Boreal, where the forecast is read, and the cameras around it.
Where this forecast comes from
The National Weather Service forecasts on a grid of cells about 2.5 kilometres across, and updates it through the day. This page reads the cell that holds the base area at Castle Peak: Boreal, issued by the NWS office in Sacramento, a cell whose average height is 7,195 ft. A cell’s average height can sit well below a summit, which is why the snow level is compared with the place itself. The snow total is the sum of the forecast’s own amounts for the next 72 hours; nothing is added to it, and no range is invented around it.
The full NWS forecast, with the forecaster’s discussion, is at forecast.weather.gov for Boreal. For avalanche danger in the backcountry, read the Sierra Avalanche Center, not a snow total.
More for this trip
- How much snow is Tahoe getting: every pass, resort and town
- Do I need chains on Donner Pass right now?
- Do I need chains to get to Boreal right now?
- When does Boreal open? Opening day and lifts
- Boreal webcams
- I-80 road conditions and cameras
- What to carry for a Sierra winter drive
Snow forecasts for the others: Heavenly · Palisades Tahoe · Northstar · Kirkwood · Sugar Bowl · Sierra-at-Tahoe · and Donner Pass · Echo Summit · Mt Rose
Snow forecast: National Weather Service (api.weather.gov), public domain, read every 30 minutes. Not an official NWS product. Chain control: Caltrans and NDOT, read every five minutes. Nevada Explorer is not affiliated with the National Weather Service or with Boreal. A forecast is not the road: confirm at roads.dot.ca.gov, nvroads.com or 511 before you travel.