Carson City area storm update: Forecasters advise damaging winds, valley snow and blizzard in mountains
A weather maze of damaging winds, valley snow, multiple feet of mountain snow and blizzard conditions are on tap over the next few days, making for an anticipated wild ride Thursday through Sunday for the Carson City area, surrounding counties and especially in the Sierra.
Forecasters warn of damaging winds throughout the region and heavy snow making travel in the mountains extremely dangerous due to life-threatening blizzard conditions later this week, prompting the National Weather Service in Reno to issue numerous warnings for the region.
Damaging winds, likely power outages
A High Wind Warning is in effect from 7 a.m., Thursday to 4 a.m. Friday for Carson City, Carson Valley, Lyon, Storey and Washoe counties. Southwest winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 65 mph. Wind prone areas could see gusts exceed 80 mph.
There's also a blizzard warning for Lake Tahoe Basin and the Sierra from 10 a.m. Thursday to 10 a.m. Sunday.
Forecasters say to expect damaging winds that will blow down trees and power lines, causing widespread power outages. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.
NV Energy says it is anticipating outages during the duration of the storm and that it is prepared and on standby to respond to any outages that may occur. The utility is encouraging customers to review its outage preparation tips. Customers can also stay up to date on the number of outages, outage causes, number of customers impacted and estimated time of restoration by going to its outage center here.
For those who haven't done so already, people should secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage.
The storm will be measured in inches and feet
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for Carson City and surrounding counties from 10 p.m. Thursday to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Forecasters say to expect snow accumulations 6 to 14 inches for valley floors, and 1 to 2 feet for Virginia City, the Virginia Highlands, and foothills above 5,000 feet. Winds will gust as high as 75 mph.
Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous. The strong winds and weight of snow on tree limbs may down power lines and could cause sporadic power outages. Travel could be very difficult to impossible with whiteout conditions at times late Friday into Saturday. The hazardous conditions could impact the Friday morning and evening commutes. Winds will increase during periods of lighter snowfall Friday.
For Lake Tahoe and Sierra, wintry precipitation chances look to move in by the late morning hours of Thursday and increase during the afternoon and evening hours. The combination of strong winds and heavy snowfall is expect to cause dangerous blizzard conditions for these areas beginning Thursday and going into the weekend.
The Sierra will potentially see multiple feet of snowfall as a result of this multi-day storm. Travel is not advised in the Sierra Thursday into Friday and Saturday. See NVroads.com or call 511 for the latest road conditions.
Check back for updates as this storm continues to develop.