Will Lake Tahoe soon reach boiling point? (Updated 12-27-09, 20:47:27)

Russ Steele

If that headline caught your attention so did this article in the Bee catch my attention reporting that the Lake Tahoe surface temperature have gone up 3.7 degrees F. in 16 years. This article was based on a study published by researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

"Tahoe's surface waters warmed 3.7 degrees Fahrenheit from 1992 to 2008 – a mean annual increase of 0.23 degrees."

 This last year I did some research on Lake Tahoe air temperatures, which was sparked by a UC Davis Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2008. I recalled reading about lake surface temperatures in that report

Surface water temperatures have been recorded at the mid-lake station since
1968. Despite year-to-year variability, water temperatures show an increasing
trend. The average temperature in 1968 was 50.3 degrees F. For 2007, the
average surface water temperature was 51.9 degrees F. 

According to this report in 39 years the surface temperature only went up 1.6 degrees F. Here is the graphic from the study. (Updated graphic based on 2009 Report)


  So how did the surface temperatures go up 3.7 degrees in sixteen years?  These are measured temperatures vs the study satellite temperature?  Which is right?  As time allows I will be doing some more digging on this issue.Stay Tuned!