Tahoe ski resorts are bare with slow start to snow season, but there's hope for a Christmas miracle

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (KGO) -- If you were planning to head to Tahoe this weekend for some skiing or snowboarding, you might have to rethink your plans.

Many of the runs currently have barely any snow, and skiing is limited. The magic carpet at Palisades Tahoe is currently the only option.

Tahoe area resorts say this is one of the worst starts to the season in nearly half a century.

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But Patrick Lacey with Palisades says a slow start to winter is not uncommon, so don't worry just yet.

"Really we can expect this to happen every four years, you know a bad start to the winter but ultimately there's been winters that have had a really slow start but a crazy amount of snow in January and February," Lacey said.

For now, the challenges remain real with limited terrain, fewer lifts and questions about when conditions will turn around.

"Yeah ultimately were trying to get some more online this weekend, with these colder temps we are going to be able to produce a little more snow to get more lifts open," Lacey said.

A storm this weekend could bring snow to the Tahoe region - but it might not be cold enough for the snow to stick in lower elevations. However, colder temperatures are expected to possibly bring a Christmas miracle snow storm on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This could also cause travel delays and impacts for anyone trying to get to Tahoe.

"What we can do is just hope and pray that the temps will be low enough for these next storm cycles," Lacy said.

KOVR contributed to this story.