NV Energy outages continue around Carson City, surrounding counties; more snow on the way
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 01/03/2023 - 10:08am
Power outages into the fourth day are continuing throughout Northern Nevada, with NV Energy fleet crews tackling lines, poles and transformers that are spread over multiple counties affecting thousands of customers.
On Tuesday morning, 7,588 Northern Nevada customers were without power, according to the company. Of those, 1,127 were in Carson City, 638 in Douglas County, 998 in Lyon County and 4,460 in Washoe County. Power restoration time estimates have continue to run through Tuesday night in some areas.
Meanwhile another winter storm is on the way, expected to arrive Wednesday.
The system that brought snow to the region overnight is mostly gone, but snow-covered roads and chain controls exist region-wide. Another weak system will bring renewed snow showers this afternoon and evening to the Sierra. Snow totals will generally be under one inch.
The stronger storm will be on Wednesday into Thursday packing high winds, rain and snow, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. Snow levels will be tricky with this storm and there may be a period Wednesday afternoon when they rise to 6,500 to 7,500 feet in the Sierra, but stay near 4,000 to 4,500 feet in western Nevada.
This is a situation where rain occurs around Lake Tahoe while snow or a rain/snow mix occurs in western Nevada valleys. A cold front will drop snow levels below 5000 feet Wednesday night in the Sierra, but help lift snow levels into the 4500-5000 foot range by mid-morning Thursday for western Nevada, according to the weather service.
Total snow projections for this storm range from 2 to 3 feet along the Sierra crest and 6 to 12 inches for the Tahoe Basin and foothills of the eastern Sierra, to several inches on valley floors, mainly near and west of US-95, according to the weather service.
Snow is most likely to arrive at the tail end of the Wednesday morning commute (around 8 am) for the Greater Reno, Sparks, Carson City and Carson Valley areas and continue through midday. Another period of snow is expected late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, before snow begins to mix with rain below 5000 feet by mid-morning. The Thursday morning commute is likely to be slick and hazardous once again.
If you have travel plans through the Sierra, prepare for winter weather driving conditions ahead of time and try to avoid the worst conditions. Several additional storms are lined up for the weekend and into next week. For the latest road conditions go to NVroads.com, or call 511.
Check back for updates.
