Carson City area weather: Winds to bring colder temperatures, storm potential later in week
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Sun, 01/17/2021 - 10:55am
Gusty winds, especially in the Sierra, are expected Monday and Tuesday along with a cooling trend happening this week and the potential for snow by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters say the weather will begin to change by early Monday morning through Tuesday as the ridge of high pressure retrogrades allowing two waves of low pressure to push through the region.
North to northeast winds increase in the Sierra with the strongest with gusts of 50-70 mph along the crest. Sierra snow showers will be possible during this time due to upslope flow with best chances along the crest from Alpine to Mono counties, forecasters say.
Northeast winds will continue to increase region-wide throughout the day on Monday and peak overnight into Tuesday as the second, stronger wave of low pressure pushes in from the northeast. Peak winds are expected Monday evening through Tuesday morning in the Sierra.
Sierra Front gusts will be lower, but still breezy around 20-35 mph Monday and Tuesday. As the low digs southwestward by Tuesday afternoon, the jet weakens over western Nevada and the Sierra with surface winds responding in a similar fashion.
The current High Wind Watch for the Sierra zones will remain in place Sunday through Tuesday with the changes still more than a day hours out. For specifics on surface gust speeds and potential impacts, refer to the High Wind Watch here.
As of Sunday morning there are no wind watches for the Reno, Sparks, Carson City, Carson Valley and Lyon and Storey County areas.
As far as precipitation, there's a chance of snow along the Sierra from the Tahoe Basin through Mono County for late Monday night into early Tuesday morning due to another round of upslope activity, according to the weather service.
By midweek, the focus on the long term will be the transition to a wetter pattern at the end of the week. Lighter winds Wednesday will begin to increase from the southwest on Thursday ahead of the pattern change as the first low in a potential series of them drops out of the north, forecaster say.
That first low on Friday looks to be like an outside slider where the low is mainly onshore, but drops west of the Sierra Crest. While forecast ensembles are in agreement this first low will happen, how much moisture will vary depending on its track, forecasters say.
"One thing that is fairly certain is that it will be cold and snow levels drop to the valley floors by afternoon. There almost certainly will be some light snow in the Sierra with wetter potential near a foot," according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
Timing for impacts looks to be sometime from Friday morning into early Saturday morning. Another low looks to drop in late Sunday into early next week and also has very good ensemble agreement for this time frame. With the track most likely off the coast, it should be wetter and just as cold, forecasters say.
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