Surprise snow in Carson City makes for several fender-benders
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 12/02/2014 - 6:44pm
Well, the weather forecasters got it wrong today, but that's OK. They usually do get it right. What was supposed to be rain in Carson City, forecasted by the National Weather Service, has been, mostly wet, slushy snow and snow showers, beginning at around 11 this morning, then falling as rain and then picking up late this afternoon and early this evening as snow.
In fact, forecasters noted conditions have been "tricky" with snow arriving in lower elevations and rain falling in higher elevations.
At 5:51 tonight the forecasters issued a special weather statement, noting the wet, snowy conditions may build into icy roadways overnight making for slick road conditions on Wednesday.
Minor fender bender accidents have been reported throughout Carson City since the slushy snow began to pile up, according to Carson City dispatch, though none of the accidents were considered serious or causing injuries as of 5:40 p.m.
Accidents began trickling in beginning at around 3:30 p.m. when there was a rollover accident involving an SUV on its side. There were no injuries. Shortly before 5 p.m. calls came into dispatch of minor fender benders, with more significant accidents resulting in property damage, coming in after 5 p.m. There was an accident reported at Fairview and Idaho streets, as well as two accidents on Highway 50 and at the intersection of State Route 28 and also in the westbound lane of Spooner, at around 5 p.m, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol. At around 5:30 p.m. two minor accidents were reported, one at Division and the other on Curry Street.
In a notice on Facebook from Carson City's government page, it says that snowplows are out in full force. Attached in the second photo is the map. Click to enlarge or see the city website here.
In a note from the National Weather Service, snow levels have remained low all day resulting in light snow accumulations. However in Carson City, the snow has been piling since around 4:30 p.m. Roads, especially side streets and in residential areas, already have at least an inch.
While the weather service insists we're going to see rain eventually, it says you can also count on snow as the storm system passes through the region. There is a Winter Storm Warning in effect at Lake Tahoe and Sierra through Thursday. Up to two feet of snow is expected above 7,500 feet. However, because of the cold conditions associated with the front of this storm, and the fact that it was snowing Tuesday below 4,800 feet in Carson City, there may be more out of this system than the weather service has said.
For road conditions call 1-800-427-7623 for California and 1-877-NV-Roads for Nevada. You can also check road conditions online for Nevada and California. If you have plans to travel back across the Sierra at the end of the holiday weekend or early next week be sure to check the latest forecast at weather.gov/Reno and check road conditions with Caltrans and NDOT.
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