Carson City area weather: Wind and valley rain showers Monday; 5 to 10 inches of snow in Sierra
Last week's sunny warm days are being followed by a significant cool-down for the Carson City and Lake Tahoe areas with wind, rain and snow showers into Monday bringing anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of wet snow to the Sierra, according to the National Weather Service.
Valley rain and mountain snow will reach the Sierra late Sunday night into Monday morning, spreading into western Nevada Monday morning. Forecasters advise motorists that they may experience delays due to wet or snow covered mountain passes when traveling over the Sierra Monday. Rain and snow will diminish Monday night.
A Winter Weather Advisory for the Sierra runs from midnight to 8 p.m. Monday. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches of heavy wet snow above 7,000 feet with locally higher amounts along the Sierra Crest in Alpine and Mono counties. For road conditions see NVroads.com.
Below 7,000 feet, motorists should prepare for wet roads and a mix of rain and snow with accumulations less than 4 inches Monday morning on non-paved and elevated surfaces. Sierra ridge winds gusting near 80 mph Sunday night.
Down in the lower valleys, southerly winds will be on the increase Sunday ahead of an incoming storm. Most gusts will be in the 30-40 mph range for valley locations with potential travel difficulties for high profile vehicles and choppy lake conditions.
Sierra ridges may gust above 80 mph this afternoon through Monday morning, which could cause impacts for ski operations and backcountry recreation, in addition to rough air for aviators.
NWS forecasters say it will be significantly cooler Monday compared to the recent warmth and highs may struggle to reach 60 degrees in the warmest of valleys.
Looking ahead Tuesday and onward, showers may linger some early Tuesday as the storm winds down. Temperatures will begin a rebound with highs returning to the lower-mid 60s for lower elevations and lower-mid 50s for Sierra valleys.
Wednesday looks a few degrees warmer with a shortwave ridge overhead, then some cooling back to near average is anticipated Thursday-Friday as a back-door trough passage across the eastern Great Basin kicks the ridge off the west coast and shifts winds to the north and northeast. Next weekend looks to have a small warmup with increasing breezes for Sunday, NWS forecasters said.