Carson City area weekend weather: Storms to bring valley rain and Sierra snow
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 01/18/2024 - 3:49pm
Two storm systems will move into the Carson City area and surrounding counties this weekend, bringing periods of valley rain, high elevation snow and the potential for gusty winds that will persist into early next week, according to the National Weather Service.
The first storm is expected to arrive Friday evening bringing high elevation snow, rain and breezy ridge winds. Snow levels are projected to remain around 6,500 to 7,000 feet Friday night into Saturday morning, then dropping to 6,000 to 6,500 feet overnight, forecasters said in its Thursday afternoon weather discussion. The brunt of the snow will be to the south along US-395 corridor in Mono County with anywhere from 8 to 16 inches.
The second storm, while still directed more south of Lake Tahoe into Mono County, will bring additional snow to much of the Sierra late Sunday into Monday, forecasters said. Snow levels will be slightly higher and hover around 7,000 feet for much of the storm, but will drop down to near 6,000 feet by late Monday, toward the tail end of the storm. Weather models show the Sierra receiving rain showers and 1 to 2 feet of snow above 8,000 feet from this storm while western Nevada will see mainly rain showers.
A winter weather advisory for the Lake Tahoe Basin has gone up for the first storm, and a winter storm watch, Sunday afternoon through late Monday night for areas above 7,000 feet. See NVroads.com or call 511 for road and travel conditions.
There are no weather advisories for the Carson City area and lower valleys at the time of this writing.
Winds
There continues to be a lack of a significant wind signal for the duration of both storms this weekend into early next week. Ridge wind gusts will approach 80-plus mph at times. Locally breezy conditions may also mix down into the Lake Tahoe Basin and foothills along US-395 and I-580, but most simulations show these winds being periodic and only reaching 30 mph to 45 mph, forecasters note.
Next week
Weather models highlight generally warmer and drier conditions going into the final week of January though there is the chance for another storm midweek possibly zipping through the Great Basin and Western Nevada. More showers, colder air, and windy conditions are all on the table, forecasters said however there are some timing and depth differences at this time. Check back for updates.
