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Shaded-relief map of Lake of the Pines, California: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
CALIFORNIA · NEVADA COUNTY

Lake of the Pines

4,301 people, 1,520 ft above sea level in Nevada County.

1,520 ftElevation, city center
4,301People, 2024 estimate
3 sq miLand area
Clear 50°
Clear now Dew point 46° · Calm · high 53°
City of Lake of the Pines River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Lake of the Pines plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Lake of the Pines

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM PST
RIGHT NOW Auburn Municipal Airport (KAUN) · 5:35 PM
Clear
50° Clear Feels like 50° · high of 53° near 5 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity87%rising to 93% by morning
Pressure30.00 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 46° · Dry33° by Tuesday: drier air arrives
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly cloudy
Tomorrow, about 3 PMin about 21 hours · 100% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT1.3–2.1 inmost likely 1.8; 1 in 10 over 2.3
LAST RAINNov. 141.71 in · 0 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
! Winter Weather AdvisoryWinter Weather Advisory issued November 14 at 10:55AM PST until November 16 at 10:00PM PST by NWS Sacramento CA
! Winter Weather AdvisoryWinter Weather Advisory issued November 14 at 10:51AM PST until November 16 at 7:00PM PST by NWS Reno NV
NWS Sacramento and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:45 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:46 AM4:51 PM ↓
10 h 5 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
54
MODERATEAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: 44, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
showers day
showers day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
53°
48°
59°
47°
54°
37°
CHANCE OF RAIN
100% · 1.12 in Sunday evening 50%
WIND, MPH
0
6
7
9
9
9
12
9
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5
5
3
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 34 to 51° ↑ Humid air returns Drier: 42° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
53° 43°
0% rain — ESE 4 A
SUN Nov. 15 Showers likely Showers likely
59° 45°
100% rain 1.3–2.1″ SSE 10 B
MON Nov. 16 Showers likely Showers likely
55° 36°
100% rain up to 0.9″ ESE 3 B
TUE Nov. 17 Chance of showers Chance of showers
54° 39°
30% rain — S 3 A
WED Nov. 18 Showers likely Showers likely
49° 40°
100% rain 1.6–2.2″ SSE 15, gusts 37 B
THU Nov. 19 Showers likely Showers likely
51° 38°
80% rain 0.2–1.7″ SE 9 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
54° 37°
40% rain up to 0.1″ SW 5 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Lake of the Pines about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the California coast three days ago, about 390 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. Near the ground the air came from southern California; at 10,000 feet, from the California coast. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1981 Nov. 12–13, 1981

The wettest two days this week has seen

4.75 inches of rain fell in two days, the most for this week of the year since records began in 1905. The next wettest, 4.70 inches, fell in 2017.

4.70″
4.75″
20171981
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Colfax record since 1905.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Lake of the Pines stands on

Lake of the Pines’s center stands about 1,520 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,310 ft to 2,060 ft, a difference of 750 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Roach Hill, about 3,760 ft, 14 miles east-northeast.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Mesozoic volcanic rocks, unit 2 (Western Sierra Foothills and Western Klamath Mountains) (mafic-volcanic), from the Jurassic, 145 to 202 million years old.

The section below crosses 2 rock units mapped at the surface.

Lake of the Pines, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
0 ft1,000 ft2,000 ft3,000 ft LAKE OF THE PINES1,520 ftLow point270 ftBear Riverabout 1,760 ftNorth Fork American Riverabout 1,180 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 7×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Mesozoic volcanic rocks, unit 2 (Western Sierra Foothills and Western Klamath Mountains)

Mafic-volcanic. Age: Jurassic, 145 to 202 million years old. About 17 mi of the line.

Jurassic marine rocks, unit 1 (Western Sierra Nevada and Western Klamath Mountains)

Slate, graywacke. Age: Triassic to Late Jurassic, 145 to 252 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Lake of the Pines’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Lake of the Pines reaches San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean by way of Magnolia Creek, the Bear River, the Feather and the Sacramento: about 130 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Lake of the Pines≈ 130 mi · San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean
FROM THE CENTER OF LAKE OF THE PINES ≈ 130 mi to San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean Magnolia Creek → Bear River → Feather → Sacramento

75 miles of the trip are on the Sacramento.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Lake of the Pines; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Lake of the Pines’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1905 · Colfax, 7 mi east-northeast

Lake of the Pines has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. Summer afternoons average 92° in July; winter nights fall to about 36° in December. A normal year brings about 7 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 46 inches of water.

55°37°57°37°60°39°66°43°74°49°83°56°92°62°91°61°86°57°75°49°61°41°54°36° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY 45.9 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month
July, average92° / 62°high / low, the warmest month
December, average54° / 36°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow45.9 inwettest months: December and February
Snow a year7.2 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record113°FJuly 14, 1972
Coldest on record4°FJanuary 3, 1906
Wettest day on record10.0 inOctober 13, 1962
Snowiest day on record20.0 inFebruary 16, 1990
90° days a year68about 10 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°37a year, on average
Climate typeHot-summer MediterraneanKöppen Csa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Nov. 22, to the last in spring, about April 16 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and upJuly 2 to Sept. 2; normal highs reach 90°
3Wettest stretchDecember through February: 24.4 of the year’s 45.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Lake of the Pines normally reaches 62° and falls to 41°. The record high is 82°, in 1906; the record low 20°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 2.68 in, fell in 1953.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high55°57°60°66°74°83°92°91°86°75°61°54°
Normal low37°37°39°43°49°56°62°61°57°49°41°36°
Rain and melt, in7.838.027.243.582.270.700.020.110.352.115.158.52
Snow, inches0.92.61.20.60.00.00.00.00.00.00.41.5
Record high84° (2015)88° (1906)89° (1905)91° (1931)100° (2001)110° (1908)113° (1972)110° (1933)106° (2017)102° (2012)86° (2019)87° (1924)
Record low4° (1906)15° (1989)12° (1913)20° (1917)25° (1956)30° (1944)40° (1964)38° (1906)30° (1925)24° (1971)18° (1906)9° (1972)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1905 at Colfax, 7 miles east-northeast, 850 ft higher. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Lake of the Pines on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Roseville CA · 23 MI 23 miles southwest Sacramento CA · 39 MI 39 miles southwest Reno NV · 74 MI 74 miles northeast Stockton CA · 75 MI 75 miles south Oakland CA · 108 MI 108 miles southwest Fresno CA · 170 MI 170 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Lake of the Pines, California. Explore the plate
CALIFORNIA · NEVADA

Lake of the Pines

4,301 people, 1,520 ft above sea level in Nevada County.

1,520 ftElevation
4,301People
3 sq miLand
Clear 50°
ClearDew point 46°
1

Today in Lake of the Pines

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy night 53° 0%
8p partly cloudy night 48° 0%
11p mostly cloudy night 47° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 47° 1%
5a mostly cloudy night 48° 2%
8a mostly cloudy day 50° 5%
Mostly cloudy
NEXT RAINTomorrow about 3 PM · 100%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
43
53
A
Sun100%
Showers likely Showers likely
45
59
B
Mon100%
Showers likely Showers likely
36
55
B
Tue30%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
39
54
A
Wed100%
Showers likely Showers likely
40
49
B
Thu80%
Showers likely Showers likely
38
51
B
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
37
54
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1981 · NOV. 12–13, 1981

4.75 inches in two days, the most for this week since 1905.

2

What Lake of the Pines stands on

Lake of the Pines’s center stands about 1,520 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,310 ft to 2,060 ft, a difference of 750 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Roach Hill, about 3,760 ft, 14 miles east-northeast.

Lake of the Pines, west to east Lake of the Pines1,520 ftBear Riverabout 1,760 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 13×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,520 ft
Within 3 miles1,310 to 2,060 ft
Lie of the landHilly (750 ft of relief)
High point nearbyRoach Hill, 3,760 ft, 14 mi east-northeast
Rock at the surfaceMesozoic volcanic rocks, unit 2 (Western Sierra Foothills and Western Klamath Mountains)
Its ageJurassic, 145 to 202 million years old
5

Lake of the Pines’s year

Lake of the Pines has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. Summer afternoons average 92° in July; winter nights fall to about 36° in December. A normal year brings about 7 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 46 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 45.9 in
July, average92° / 62° · high / low, the warmest month
December, average54° / 36° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow45.9 in · wettest months: December and February
Snow a year7.2 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record113°F · July 14, 1972
Coldest on record4°F · January 3, 1906
Wettest day on record10.0 in · October 13, 1962
Snowiest day on record20.0 in · February 16, 1990
90° days a year68 · about 10 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°37 · a year, on average
Climate typeHot-summer Mediterranean · Köppen Csa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Nov. 22, to the last in spring, about April 16 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and up · July 2 to Sept. 2; normal highs reach 90°
3Wettest stretch · December through February: 24.4 of the year’s 45.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Lake of the Pines normally reaches 62° and falls to 41°. The record high is 82°, in 1906; the record low 20°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 2.68 in, fell in 1953.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1905 at Colfax, 7 miles east-northeast, 850 ft higher. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 130 mito the PacificMagnolia Creek → Bear River → Feather → Sacramento

A raindrop that lands in Lake of the Pines reaches San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean by way of Magnolia Creek, the Bear River, the Feather and the Sacramento: about 130 river miles.

75 miles of the trip are on the Sacramento.