RENO, Nev. >> Last winter, most ski resorts at Lake Tahoe had to postpone their usual November openings because there wasn’t enough snow.

This season, several have been forced to close at times because there’s been too much.

A relentless winter has dumped more than 50 feet (15 meters) of snow on mountain resorts around the lake over the past three months, along the California-Nevada line.

The latest Sierra storm, packing more heavy snow, winds gusting in excess of 100 mph (160 kph) and even some flooding, forced about a half-dozen to shut down on Friday. At least three remained closed Saturday.

Even when the resorts have been open for business, storms have prompted frequent closures of mountain highways and the main U.S. Interstate connecting San Francisco and Reno to Lake Tahoe atop the Sierra Nevada, making it nearly impossible at times for out-of-towners to make their way to the slopes.

But locals who’ve been skiing at Tahoe for decades say any disruptions are offset by the premium, powdery snow conditions and the real prize: skiing through the end of May and possibly longer.

“It’s heaven sent for a skier because I can ski until Memorial Day,” said Dan Lavely, 66, a Reno resident who’s been skiing for about 40 years.

“The conditions have been fantastic. It’s the best I’ve had in eons,” he said.

The resorts who cater to folks like him agree.

“The storms have a little bit of a financial impact, but the snowstorms also drive visitation and we are able to stay open longer, so they counter balance each other,” said Patrick Lacey, a spokesman for Palisades Tahoe, a resort forced to close on Friday when one gust of wind reached 139 mph (224 kph).

“We’re right up there with the biggest snowfall totals of the past 75 years,” he said.

Another 32 inch (81 centimeters) of snow had fallen by Saturday at the Mt. Rose ski resort on the edge of Reno.

The tail end of the storm was still wreaking havoc Saturday on California’s central coast, where more than 8,500 people were under evacuation orders and warnings after a levee was breached by flooding from the latest atmospheric river to pummel the state.

Friday and Saturday marked the third closure this year due to weather at three popular Tahoe resorts owned by Colorado-based Vail Resorts — Heavenly, Northstar California and Kirkwood.

“If anything, here in Tahoe, we expect the unexpected,” Vail Resorts spokesperson Sara Roston said in an email to The Associated Press on Friday.

During the 2021-22 season, “we delayed opening because we didn’t have enough snow,” Roston said.

“Then in early December, we were hit with a ton of snow and saw some closures as a result,” she said. “It has been one wild winter this year; that is for sure.”

The last storm, a week ago, forced the cancellation of the final day of the Nevada state high school ski championships at Mount Rose, which is halfway between Reno and Lake Tahoe.