Enjoy the late winter warmup as gusty winds, valley snow showers and heavy Sierra snow is expected to arrive midweek to Carson City and surrounding counties, according to the National Weather Service. The storm is among of series of winter systems that appear to be lining up.
A Winter Storm Watch has been issued from late Tuesday night through Thursday evening for the greater Lake Tahoe Basin and Sierra, with periods of heavy snowfall. Forecasters say the storm could bring up to three feet in the upper Sierra and a foot around level level at Tahoe. There are no advisories at this time for the lower valleys.
Forecasters advise motorists may want to finish up travel across the Sierra early this week as conditions will rapidly deteriorate Wednesday with snow and blowing snow impacting all mountain passes, from the northern to southern Sierra into Mono County.
Strong, gusty winds will be the biggest problem for air traffic, high-profiled vehicles and recreation down in the lower valleys Wednesday, NWS forecasters said. See NVroads.com for travel conditions.
In the Sierra, snowfall rates of up to 2 to 4 inches per hour are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening. Snow showers will be heavy at times and may persist overnight into Thursday with more variable snowfall, making for dangerous driving conditions throughout the Sierra, including down into Sierra communities where a foot or more of snow is looking likely. Snowfall totals will approach 3 feet along the east side of the Sierra crest, forecasters said.
Carson City and surrounding counties
For Carson City and the lower valleys of western Nevada, the main issue will be strong winds Wednesday. Overall, weather models show widespread wind gusts 40 mph to 55 mph from late morning through early evening, with windprone areas reaching 60-plus mph, including areas along US-395/I-580 and Highway 95 near Walker Lake.
Snow levels are forecast to drop along the valley floors Wednesday evening. At the time of this report, the best estimates include 2 to 4 inches above 5,000 feet with less than 2 inches below that level. Snow may impact the Thursday morning commute.
Temperatures will be 10-15 degrees below average on the back side of this system both Thursday-Friday with brisk winds, forecasters said. Additional storms are lined up to impact the Sierra and western Nevada into the weekend and into early next week. Check back for updates.
