Lake Tahoe Water Temperature

Scott Hagen   Dec 17, 2019

Wow, in all the years of diving at Lake Tahoe I have never seen the temperatures this high. With the snow pack we received this last year, I am shocked at how warm the lake is. On a normal year, we would be in the mid 60's at this time. We are at 70 approaching 72 at 25 feet. I have also noticed that the crayfish are on the recovery this year. The past 2 or 3 years there was a definite decline in the crayfish population. During a dive at Sand Harbor you would have to search pretty hard to find one of them. As of recent, they are everywhere. It is really nice to see them back again. It seemed so sterile without any life underwater. Now there are schools of minnows and alot of crayfish. We still have plenty of cooler water when you venture deeper. The thermocline is about 27-30 feet, and another about 40ish feet and it gets down to mid 50's. With the high water level, the diving has been warm but the viability is down to 25-35 feet. Not normal for Lake Tahoe. I am hoping that the vis will return soon. Scott Adventure Scuba Center 4084 Kietzke Lane Reno, Nv 89502 775-826-5333 scott@renoscuba.com