Gusty winds stir and shake but spare Carson City of major damage
Even though the wind has calmed some, clusters around Carson City remained without power early Thursday evening, according to NV Energy. Go here for the latest map and updates.
Carson City was largely spared, so far, by damaging winds that happened at Lake Tahoe, Carson Valley and Reno-Sparks earlier Thursday. Dispatch reports some downed power lines and tree limbs through late morning and the middle of the afternoon. Carson City Assistant Fire Chief Tom Tarulli noted that nothing significant happened in the way of large trees toppled or major damage to homes or structures.
"It was mostly wire and cable lines down," he said. "I'm sure there were a few fences down." Gusty winds did start to pick up after 5 p.m. but nothing significant in the way of large-scale power failures had happened as of 6 p.m.
CarsonWeather.com reports the highest wind gust in Carson City was clocked at 68 mph happening at 12:01 p.m. The National Weather Service says there was a 76 mph gust in Carson City.
A High Wind Warning remains in effect through 4 a.m. Friday morning for the Carson City, Carson Valley and Dayton areas. There is a Winter Storm Warning for Lake Tahoe and the Sierra through 1 p.m. Friday with anywhere from 1 to 3 feet expected, depending on the elevation.
The forecast in the Carson City area for Thursday night calls for rain, mainly after 10 p.m. with a low around 35. Windy, with a south wind 20 to 30 mph decreasing to 5 to 15 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
On Friday, expect rain showers likely before 10 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 42. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday and Sunday will be blue skies and sunny with daytime highs in the 40s, according to the weather service.