After a month of sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures, winter weather will make its return to Carson City and surrounding counties beginning Monday and continuing through Wednesday with gusty winds, valley rain and Sierra snow.
There is a Winter Weather Advisory from 10 p.m., Monday to 4 p.m. Wednesday for Lake Tahoe and Sierra. Motorists should prepare for slick roads, travel delays and chain controls, with impacts to the morning and evening commutes Tuesday and also the Wednesday morning commute, National Weather Service forecasters said.
Snowfall amounts of 10 to 18 inches are expected for the higher elevations including all main highway passes/summits (Donner, Echo, Carson, Mt. Rose), with 3 to 8 inches (locally up to a foot) down to lake level in the Tahoe basin, and for areas near and west of US-395 in northeast California above 5,000 feet, Mono and Alpine counties. For northeast California, above 5,000 feet east of US-395, between 1-3 inches of snow are expected.
Driving is going to be difficult, especially over the passes, so plan accordingly, the weather service advises. For the latest conditions and travel information, call 5-1-1 or go to NVroads.com.
Foothill Snow, Valley Rain
With rain arriving Monday, by Tuesday morning forecasters see the rain-snow line across far western Nevada projected to set up around 5,000 feet, with up to 1 inch of snow in foothill locations around the Reno, Carson City and Carson Valley vicinity including Virginia City. As the colder air settles in overnight, even these light snow amounts could lead to slick conditions for the Tuesday morning commute.
For Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday, the latest snow levels for Western Nevada have edged upward to around 6,000 to 6,500 feet for much of Tuesday, and only dip to near 5500 feet Tuesday night, with valley floors more likely to remain as rain during the Tuesday night to Wednesday night time frame, according to NWS forecasters.
Another system arrives for Valentine’s weekend
By later this week, there may be a few snow showers possible lingering into Thursday near the Sierra, but Friday looks to remain dry with lighter winds. The next set of storms will be loading up in the eastern Pacific with winds picking up Saturday afternoon and onset of the next round of precipitation arriving to the Sierra and northeast California Saturday night, then spreading into western Nevada on Sunday, according to National Weather Service forecasters.
Weather models are in relatively good agreement with active stormy conditions including periods of stronger winds, persisting from Sunday through at least Tuesday (Feb. 17), but the biggest question is whether enough cold air spreads to lower elevations.
Check back for updates.
