All about Weather with Bryan Allegretto aka “BA” of OpenSnow | E25

When it comes to skiing, there may be no other person in the Lake Tahoe region with more influence than Bryan Allegretto, known to many powder hounds as “BA”. With one word – Snowpocalypse – BA can send the entire region into a frenzy. As the lead Tahoe region snow forecaster and co-founder of OpenSnow.com, BA consistently outperforms the most advanced and complex snowfall computer weather modeling data through 20+ years of observational forecasting, studying other forecasters and the experience that comes from seeing thousands and thousands of model runs day after day in the Sierra Nevada. In Episode 25, the boys let their meteorologist alter egos fly free, nerding out on all things weather, including the origins of OpenSnow, the challenges of accurately predicting exactly how much it will snow and where, El Nino vs La Nina, Atmospheric Rivers, and if BA thinks volcanoes like Hunga Tonga have an effect on weather. BA also answers the burning question every powder hound is asking – will Tahoe have another big winter?

2:00 – Pow Bot skis the white ribbon of death at Mount Rose and the boys ride Badenaugh Canyon Trail.

4:30 – Introducing Bryan Allegretto – BA – Snow Forecaster for OpenSnow Tahoe.

7:30 – Pow Bot’s life history with weather.

14:30 – Interview with Bryan Allegretto from OpenSnow Tahoe.

16:30 – Growing up in Pennsylvania, skiing the Poconos and Camelback Mountain.

18:30 – Figuring out how to blend a business degree with meteorology. Moves to Truckee to work for Booth Creek right out of college.

20:30 – Starting a weather blog in 2006 connected to a weather page at Northstar and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Reading Howard Sheckter’s weather blog for Mammoth.

28:00 – Starting OpenSnow in the 2011/12 season when a five year drought started.

31:45 – The “Beard Shaver” storm idea during drought – 2 feet in 24 hours.

34:00 – Creating a community around weather – the comment section of the Tahoe Weather Blog. OpenSnow forum in testing phase.

41:20 – OpenSnow launching their first ski film (more of a snowboard film) about one of their forecasters chasing powder across the country.

44:05 – Trail Whisperer’s obsession with weather and finding the OpenSnow snow forecast.

46:05 – How does BA regularly outperform National Weather Service with snow forecasting?

47:20 – Dealing with criticism, angry emails, trollers and mean comments on social media.

55:20 – Weather forecast computer modeling like GFS, Euro, Canadian, NAMM versus observational weather forecasting from people with experience.

1:00:05 – Trying to be perfect in the world of imperfect weather forecasting.

1:04:20 – The challenges of trying to accurately predict seasonal forecasting, and the warm ocean temperatures of 2023 and the potential El Nino winter.

1:09:20 – Learning from past winters to help more accurately predict future winters with climate change – the variable that pushes seasons over the top: ocean temperatures.

1:15:20 – Has Lake Tahoe been getting more Atmospheric River storms over the last 20 years?

1:17:50 – Is Trail Whisperer’s theory of volcanoes warming ocean temperatures and Hunga Tonga affecting weather patterns accurate or inaccurate?

1:25:00 – El Nino versus La Nina seasons – when does the most snow fall in Lake Tahoe region?

1:28:30 – The importance of human observational forecasting in a world of mathematics and computer modeling in meteorology and the AI bots that are coming.

1:35:00 – What webcams does BA use to give him a gauge of snowfall? Sugar Bowl, Palisades, Alpine Meadows and Mt. Rose.

1:36:45 – Where does it snow the most in the Lake Tahoe region?

1:38:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?

1:40:00 – How can people get in touch with BA? Tahoe Daily Snow at Opensnow.com – hello@opensnow.com

1:43:00 – What is BA’s season prediction for this winter? We will be have snow level issues and a late start to the winter.