Alta, California Weather
Alta, California — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, radar and satellite imagery, soil and crop conditions for Alta, Placer County.
Full aviation weather for Alta is published on the Blue Canyon Nyack Airport (KBLU) page, 12 km away. It carries the current METAR decoded into plain language — surface wind, visibility, cloud layers and ceiling, temperature and dewpoint, and altimeter setting — alongside the raw observation as transmitted. 6 airfields within reach of Alta have their own pages, listed below.
The Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is shown across its full validity period, with each change group broken out so you can see when conditions are expected to shift. Flight category is derived automatically — VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR — from reported ceiling and visibility, with runway details and field elevation alongside. Observations update roughly hourly and forecasts several times a day.
Other airports near Alta: Nevada County Airport (KGOO) 17 km · Auburn Municipal Airport (KAUN) 36 km · Placerville Airport (KPVF) 54 km · Beale Air Force Base (KBAB) 54 km · Lincoln Regional Karl Harder Field (KLHM) 57 km
Conditions reported at KBLU describe the airfield itself. Weather 12 km away can differ, particularly in terrain or near the coast. For conditions at Alta specifically, see the current conditions and forecast above.
Soil conditions, frost risk and crop weather for Alta.
About Alta, California
Alta rises from the granite bones of the Sierra Nevada, a scattering of weathered structures clinging to steep, pine-clad slopes where the air bites with a crisp, invigorating chill. It lies 33.8 miles north-east of Lincoln, CA (from Lincoln, CA: bearing 50°T), and is situated 13.4 miles east of Grass Valley. The landscape here is a study in verticality, a realm of towering firs and aspens that whisper secrets on the wind, their needles forming a thick, fragrant carpet underfoot. Sunlight, when it finds its way through the dense canopy, paints fleeting, ethereal patterns on the forest floor, a momentary grace in the perpetual shadow of the mountains. The very ground seems to hold its breath, a silent sentinel overlooking valleys that plunge into deep, shadowed ravines, their depths hinted at by the distant murmur of unseen streams. This high mountain settlement, Alta, carries the faint scent of its mining past, a legacy of fortunes sought and lost in the unforgiving earth. Though the pickaxes have long since fallen silent, a hardy spirit endures, fueled by the enduring allure of the wilderness and the quiet industry of those who call this rugged terrain home. The local economy, once tied to the extraction of precious metals, now finds its pulse in the seasonal influx of visitors drawn to the raw beauty and outdoor pursuits that Alta offers, from challenging hikes to the simple, profound peace of watching the sky bleed into twilight hues of bruised purple and molten gold. The old wooden buildings, some bearing the marks of a century of mountain weather, stand as quiet witnesses to the enduring human endeavor against the backdrop of an immemorial, majestic wildness.
Live animated radar for Alta and surroundings — RainViewer.
NOAA GOES-16 GEOCOLOR — live animated loop updated every 10 minutes. Shows cloud cover, storm systems and weather patterns across the continental US.
Source: NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East · Public domain · Auto-updates on page reload
| Location | Alta, Placer County, California |
| Coordinates | 39.206565°N, 120.811327°W |
| Timezone | Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 95701 |
| Area Code | 530 |
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
About This Alta, California Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Alta, California, including current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, 7-day outlook, NWS extended text forecast, precipitation radar and NOAA GOES-16 satellite imagery. Aviation weather — live METAR observations and TAF forecasts — is published separately on the pages for the nearest reporting airports, linked from the aviation section above. Additional sections may include tide predictions, wave height, wave direction and sea-surface temperature, a barometric pressure trend, and a solunar-based fishing forecast with a fishing-conditions rating for coastal localities, and soil temperature, crop weather and live USGS river gauge data for agricultural areas near a monitored waterway. All data updates automatically on every page visit.
Location data for Alta includes coordinates 39.206565°N, 120.811327°W, situated in Placer County. ZIP code 95701. Telephone area code: 530. Timezone: Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles).
Weather data is sourced from the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and the open-source Open-Meteo API. River and stream data is sourced from the USGS National Water Information System. Tide predictions are sourced from NOAA CO-OPS; marine and solunar data are modeled from Open-Meteo and public sunrise/moon calculations and should be treated as a general guide alongside on-the-water conditions. Radar is provided by RainViewer. Satellite imagery is sourced from NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East and is public domain.
