kevin cooper cooper showing the snowy conditions over the past 24 hours.ys the snow is much-needed in the region considering the underwhelming statewide snowpack to begin the year at 25% of average to date, a stark difference from the numbers at the beginning of 2023. >> snowpack last year, you are talking 24 feet of snow at the upper crust depending on where you were in and around the basin. this year, we've seen inches, just about 24 inches of snow season to date. >> reporter: at the sports basement in walnut creek, customers are making last- minute rentals before driving into the sierra this evening prior to the storm. the snowstorm isn't changing the plans for this group of friends but they are preparing for snowy conditions they will encounter through the weekend. >> friends got the gear and stuff to maintain our safety and we have chains and stuff for the snow. >> reporter: in contra costa county, nbc bay area news. >> snow, rain, chilly temperatures. and, you can stay on top of all of it on our nbc bay area app that will let you track just how cold

up next, we'll talk with one of our favorites, kevin cooper cooper, about the impact the big snowstorm headed to the sierra this weekend and the impact it could h look outside from our camera at zephyr cove. you can see there the south end of lake tahoe, about three miles outside the state line on the nevada side of the border. how tranquil and beautiful is this? you can see it is fairly calm, but things are about to change as we learn from meteorology. drew tuma today on midday live. >> let's show you the forecast. heavy snow is on the way today and later this afternoon. this evening, if you may think of going to tahoe, you'll be just fine. we have clear skies out there and we have dry conditions. things rapidly go downhill tomorrow morning. heavy snow moves in here. winter storm warnings go into effect. do not try to travel there tomorrow. it's just going to be an absolute mess on sunday. we have some leftover flurries, but we do expect a lot of sunshine and we start to dry out from the snow. but here's that winter storm warning. it begins very early tomorrow morning, 4 a.m, 1 to 2ft

area means snow in the sierra and the thought on the mind of every tahoe resident, including kevin cooper. >> cooper is the same. finally we're not even talking a lot of snow, right? >> we're talking, you know, 18 to 24in. but it does raise what i like to call the stoke level up pretty darn good. >> saturday will bring the snow. sunday will bring the cold with low temps in the single digits. two things that residents haven't seen a lot this season. the first sierra snow pack survey of the year only showed a few inches quite a bit of difference compared to this time in 2023. >> it's a tale of two winters, right? last year we were talking about 32ft of snow, right now we just finished up a huge set of systems that came through are events that just left us with six, eight, ten feet of snow. this is like 91 slow start and we've just got to work with it. something ski resorts across tahoe have been doing to the best of their abilities. >> heavenly and northstar have 70 and 65% of their terrain closed. kirkwood doesn't have the backside lift operational, just about 55% total open. kirkwood vice president

area means snow in the sierra, and the thought on the mind of every tahoe resident, including kevin cooper. coopers the same final. we. >> we're not even talking a lot of snow, right? we're talking, you know, 18 to 24in. but it does raise what i like to call the stoke level up pretty darn good. >> saturday will bring the snow. sunday will bring the cold with low temps in the single digits. two things that residents haven't seen a lot this season. the first sierra snowpack survey of the year only showed a few inches quite a bit of difference compared to this time in 2023. it's a tale of two winters, right? >> last year we were talking about 32ft of snow. right now we just finished up a huge set of systems that came through. are events that just left us with six, eight, ten feet of snow. this is like 91 slow start and we've just got to work with it. something ski resorts across tahoe have been doing to the best of their abilities. >> heavenly northstar have 70 and 65% of their terrain closed. kirkwood doesn't have the backside lift operational, just about 55% total open. kirkwood vice president gene