Big Bear Lake/City (Big Bear City: living, floor, cabin)

[jprich0000]

I'm considering moving to Big Bear Lake and trying to get a better idea of the winters there.
--When does the first snow usually arrive?
--How often does it snow? (I realize this is a tough question, I’m just looking for an average and if there are major accumulations on the ground throughout the winter. )
--What month does it usually stop snowing?
--Is a generator needed?

I'm used to living with snow but perhaps not as much snow as in Big Bear so any other help to prepare is welcome:-) (yes I have 4 wheel drive and chains:-)

Thanks!

[ferretkona]

Snowfall varies each year. Last season there was little snowfall in the whole state.
The roads in Big Bear are kept plowed daily, got to get the skiers up the hill.
When I lived in Big Bear the power shortages were few if any. A small generator to keep the fridge working might be handy, you can always use snow in a ice chest for perishables.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Originally Posted by jprich0000

I'm considering moving to Big Bear Lake and trying to get a better idea of the winters there.
--When does the first snow usually arrive?
--How often does it snow? (I realize this is a tough question, I’m just looking for an average and if there are major accumulations on the ground throughout the winter. )
--What month does it usually stop snowing?
--Is a generator needed?

I'm used to living with snow but perhaps not as much snow as in Big Bear so any other help to prepare is welcome:-) (yes I have 4 wheel drive and chains:-)

Thanks!

Last winter, the first snow fall (or one of the first in the season) was in November, and the last one was in April. During the second half of last winter, we had new snow every week, sometimes twice a week, with an average accumulation of 4 ft (the heaviest snow fall was 7 ft and the lightest was almost 2 ft.) There was always snow on the ground for most of the winter, every winter, since 1983 when our family bought this cabin (BBC), but the streets are plowed with each new snow. This year, the temperature has been in the 40s at night for about a month now, but there is not much of precipitation so we are not expecting early snow fall.

We have never owned a generator. The longest power shortage we had ever experienced up here lasted less than 30 minutes.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Ol' Wanderer

During the second half of last winter, we had new snow every week, sometimes twice a week, with an average accumulation of 4 ft (the heaviest snow fall was 7 ft and the lightest was almost 2 ft.)

Annually, or is this supposed to be inches?

[Ol' Wanderer]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Annually, or is this supposed to be inches?

No, they are in ft alright, and not annually, though my numbers could be a combination of leftover old snow and new one (the sun is always out in force after it snows so the top layer is melt within hours. The old timers say there are only two kinds of weather in BB: sunshine and snow.)

There is a 3.5 ft distance (height) between the deck's floor and the bottom of our front window, and usually after a good snow fall, the snow would be above the level of the window's ledge, though it always stacked itself much, much higher on the deck's rails. After the snowblower came through (always at 1 AM and always with very bright light piercing through our bedroom window in the loft), the next morning, there would be a 5 ft snow bank on either side of our street. I'm 5'2" (in hiking boots) and I often used myself as a tape measurements against those banks.

We are close to 7000 ft elev, give or take a dozen feet.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Cold front is coming in (mid to low 30s at night now.) First snow is expected to happen Thursday this week.

[MB8abovetherim]

Big Bear Lake averages between 60 and 70 inches of snow per year. Big Bear City recieves even less. Mainly because of the rainshadow effect and more sun exposure. However the closer you get toward the Dam, the heavier the snowfall becomes. Big Bear Lake Dam recieves over 120 inches a year, again because there is less of a rain shadow and the north facing side of the lake can be quite shady lol. Ol' Wanderer I'm curious, where exactly in Big Bear do you live? Places around Boulder Bay along hwy 18 near the dam do get some heavy dumps from time to time. Also, SoCal is either feast or famine with snow as I'm sure you're more than aware.

[steel7]

Its truly fall now in big bear. I would love to live their but that wont ever happen. Yrs back my parents owned a 2 bedroom, 2 story cabin in sugar loaf. I loved visiting their during the summer, fall & winter. During the summer nights i always wore a hoodie & the summer rains were nice. If the op can move to big bear then do it.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Originally Posted by MB8abovetherim

Ol' Wanderer I'm curious, where exactly in Big Bear do you live?

We are east of the airport, adjacent to the forest, and at a much higher elevation than the Dam. Standing at a certain part of our street, we could see the lake way below us.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Originally Posted by jprich0000

--When does the first snow usually arrive?

Today. Right at this moment, in fact.