Bend vs. Lake Tahoe weather (how much, place to live, assess)

[LTtheKid]

Not trying to determine which is a better place to live, as I have no desire to live in Tahoe. However, I see Bend as a possible future option. When I was looking around to find a similar place weatherwise to Bend, I discovered that Tahoe has almost the exact same temperature pattern. Tahoe on average has just slightly cooler nights most of the year, but the high temps all year long are almost identical. I spent a lot of time when I was younger in and around Tahoe, so this close comparasion (at least temp wise) surprised me a bit.

Tahoe gets more precip in the late Fall, Winter, and early Spring periods, but the summer amounts are almost exactly the same. The East side of the lake would also be in a rain shadow, much like Bend, at least compared to the West side of the lake and places just over the western ridge of the lake.

I'm going to assume that Tahoe is sunnier than Bend, but I wonder by how much? Summer sun is likely very similar at both places.

By all accounts, Tahoe would be considered a hearty four season climate, one that tends to the cool/cold side with freezing temps possible in all months. Summers are pleasantly warm with cool evenings. Just like Bend it seems.

For those that live in Bend, and maybe have spent some time in Tahoe, would you agree that the two are very similar from an overall climate perspective?

Bend temp graph:

Average Weather for Bend, OR - Temperature and Precipitation

Tahoe temp graph:

Average Weather for Lake Tahoe, CA - Temperature and Precipitation

[kapetrich]

I think your comparison is pretty apt. Like you said, Tahoe will have more winter/mostly spring sun as their western valley is less cloudy/effected by the pacific jet steam than ours (Willamette Valley). That said, Tahoe gets FEET of snow pretty regularly. If it snows at the resorts you're likely diging out your car...and I'm not talking a foot or two, but like 5 feet...IN TOWN!!!

We hardly get ANY snow in Bend even when we get 2 feet over night in the mountains just 15mins up the road.

Summers will be almost identical, but I'd imagine Bend gets fewer summer thunderstorms.

I wouldn't call either climates '4 seasoned' per say, but I'm from the east coast where 4 seasons meant an even distrabution. Truly 3 months of each....so my view is skewed. We definitely get stong and very pronounced summers and winters with much less pronounced falls and springs, but they are still very much there, truth be told......in fact, our short falls are exceedingly pleasant...

Any more specific question? Hope this helps!

[Deezus]

I lived in Tahoe(Squaw Valley) for three years. You get a lot more snow there than Bend as you're higher up and you're right in the mountains as opposed to being just to the east of the mountains. I almost feel like Reno would be more comparable to the weather in Bend. Summertime does feel similar between the two--both are dry and hot in the day and cooler at night.

But in Tahoe you'll have a lot more days where you end up driving through a blizzard to get somewhere or have to shovel snow or so on(unless it's a really weak snow year). I remember spending days just shoveling out driveways or digging out the woodpile from a big snowstorm. It can be sunny for days after a big storm though. From my experience however, I never see that much snow in Bend--you're driving to the west into the hills to really get a comparable area to Tahoe.

Fall in Tahoe vs. Bend is sort of similar, though in Tahoe fall can be pretty quick. You'd get hot dry warm weather up until some time in October and suddenly it just gets cold and people start getting excited for ski season. Though thats common to much of the west coast--early to mid fall can actually be one of the best times weatherwise.

[LTtheKid]

Yeah, I originally looked at Reno as a comparison, but see that Reno has much warmer temps. Similar precip amounts though as Bend. So Tahoe temp + Reno precip = Bend weather. Best of both worlds, right?

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by LTtheKid

Yeah, I originally looked at Reno as a comparison, but see that Reno has much warmer temps. Similar precip amounts though as Bend. So Tahoe temp + Reno precip = Bend weather. Best of both worlds, right?

I wonder what the comparison of total sunny days would be? I always get a lot of sun when I travel to Bend, but I've never lived there year-round.

My memory of Tahoe was that it was extremely dry and sunny all summer and fall. Though we could get a lot of storms in winter and spring.

Yeah, Reno is hotter in summer--though in winter the amount of snow(or rain) seems closer to Bend. The nice thing about Bend is that if it does get too hot, you can always go for a hike up higher to the west and cool off. And you can have snow up on Bachelor and have warmer temps down in Bend itself.

[delta07]

I think Kapetrich & Deezus gave you a pretty good assessment. Tahoe definitely has more sun overall, especially during spring. Bend is still influenced by the PNW weather pattern, so spring is a little more overcast, rainy, dreary than the Tahoe area.