A quick moving storm will bring breezy conditions and light snow showers to the higher elevations late Tuesday with a stronger winter storm on track Thursday into Friday that is expected to bring heavy snow to Lake Tahoe and Sierra, with rain and light snow to Carson City and the lower valley areas.
The first storm, classified as a weak “inside slider” system, will move into the region late Tuesday, with a modest layer of mid-level moisture that will make its way into the eastern Sierra south of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Snow amounts will be meager and mostly south of Tahoe, according to the National Weather Service.
The second and more potent winter storm arrives Thursday into Friday, with periods of moderate to heavy snowfall over mountain passes, gusty winds, lower valley rain that may change to light snow by Thursday morning.
Heavy mountain, light valley snow
Snow levels that initially hover near valley floors overnight Wednesday will briefly bump up to 5,500 to 6,000 feet Thursday before dropping to around 4,500 to 5,000 feet overnight Thursday into Friday morning, NWS forecasters said.
Moderate to heavy snow with snow rates briefly exceeding an inch per hour may bring 2 to 4 feet of accumulated snowfall to higher mountain ridges along the Sierra from northeast, California, south across the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Eastern Sierra and Mammoth Summit in Mono County.
Weather models, however, show higher mountain passes like Donner, Carson, Echo, and Mt. Rose seeing a 70 to 90 percent chance for a foot or more of new snowfall. Some uncertainty, however, prevails for light snow accumulations down the valley floors Thursday morning with some models showing a 30 to 50 percent chance for somewhere around or up to an inch of snow during the morning hours.
Light snow will then transition to mostly rain in the afternoon and evening before becoming a wintry mix of rain and snow as snow levels drop once more overnight Thursday.
Local foothills areas above 5,000 feet, like the Virginia Highlands to Virginia City, may see much higher snow totals up to 4 to 6 inches Thursday into Friday morning.
A Winter Storm Watch has been issued from Wednesday evening through Friday evening for Lassen, Eastern Plumas, Eastern Sierra counties, the greater Lake Tahoe area and Mono County.
Gusty winds in Sierra and valleys
Forecasters advise “enhanced breezy” south to southwest winds with gusts up to 30 mph to 40 mph in western Nevada valleys, and 90-plus mph across Sierra ridges, starting overnight Wednesday through Friday.
Wind prone areas along Highway 395 from the Nevada / California border to Susanville, Calif., the I-580 corridor through the Washoe Valley, Highway 395 corridor through Douglas County into Mono County, and Highway 95 through Mineral County could see some peak gusts reaching 50 mph. Look for wind gusts to gradually dissipate to 15 mph to 25 mph overnight Thursday into Friday morning.
Impacts on President’s weekend holiday travels
With the three-day President’s holiday weekend, roadways will be busy. Travelers should anticipate chain controls, delays, and hazardous driving conditions over higher mountain passes overnight Wednesday through Friday morning. For the latest road conditions see NVroads.com here and Caltrans here.
Check back for updates.
