Carson City area weather: Storms to impact valley, Sierra through the week
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 03/12/2018 - 10:08am
A series of storms will move through the Sierra and Carson City region beginning Tuesday and lasting through the weekend bringing periods of rain, wind and snow, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather systems will likely make travel difficult at times in the higher elevations. Wind and occasional rain and snow will be the most likely impacts for Carson City, Carson Valley and Dayton areas by Tuesday into Wednesday and again Thursday into Saturday.
The biggest impact is likely in the Sierra where moderate to heavy snow may cause travel delays Tuesday and Tuesday night, and again from Thursday into Saturday morning, according to the weather service.
The first wave is expected to move into the Sierra early Tuesday afternoon with snow levels generally starting around 7,500 to 8,000 feet. These levels will drop below 7,000 feet by Tuesday evening as the strongest forcing associated with this wave moves over the Sierra. Cold air catches up Tuesday night with snow levels dropping much more rapidly to around 4000 feet by Wednesday morning.
Winds will also cause potential impacts. Winds increase further Tuesday with widespread gusts around 40 mph from the Oregon border through western Nevada and Mono County.
Snow accumulations in western Nevada are expected to be light, but could impact the Wednesday morning commute. Preceding light rainfall will likely limit accumulations, but up to an inch or so may accumulate creating slick conditions for area roadways, especially for roads above 5,000 feet along the Sierra Front and around Virginia City.
A second, colder part of the overall storm system is coming together for Thursday through early Saturday morning. Snow levels should fall to most valley floors in this part of the storm. Total precipitation forecasts continue to climb with this part of the storm as well.
At the highest elevations, a few feet of snow are possible from early Thursday through Saturday morning while the Sierra valleys could pick up as much as a couple of feet. In the lower valleys of western Nevada and far northeast California, a few inches are possible by early Saturday morning.
