Carson City area weather: Pair of weekend storms to bring wind, rain and Sierra snow
A pair of storms are on tap for the Sierra and Carson City region this weekend that may result in travel disruptions in the mountains, aviation impacts and recreational hazards, according to the National Weather Service.
A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Lake Tahoe and Sierra from Saturday afternoon through Monday morning.
The Saturday storm will be a quick hitter, while the Sunday storm could linger through early next week, forecasters say. The first storm will arrive rather quickly Saturday, with gusty winds and precipitation potential beginning in the morning and then quickly exiting the Sierra and western Nevada by Saturday evening.
Precipitation potential is a bit uncertain in western Nevada, but snow in the Sierra is a good bet, according to the weather service.
Expect gusty winds Saturday as high as 30 to 40 mph in lower western Nevada valleys, snowfall in the Sierra, and valley rain with possible snow. Snow levels will struggle to get below 6,000 to 5,500 feet, with light precipitation in western Nevada mostly falling as rain. Also, with the increased spring sun angle and warm ground temperatures, snow will have a hard time accumulating in lower mountain elevations, forecasters say.
Total snow amounts along the Sierra crest Saturday look to be in the 3-6" range, with liquid amounts on the order of 0.30-0.60" inches. Western Nevada valleys will be lucky to see more than 0.05-0.10" inches of liquid Saturday.
Showers and wind in the Sierra may continue for much of the weekend, as there isn't a distinct break in between the two storms.
The stronger of the two storms begins to move in early Sunday morning. Plan for additional snow in the Sierra with periods of white out conditions due to the strong winds, aviation turbulence and low level wind shear, and periods of rain and snow showers for western Nevada locations.
Wind gusts 35 to 50 mph will be possible for valley locations with wind gusts up to 90 mph for the Sierra.
The peak of the storm will be Sunday night into Monday morning, with snow levels dropping down to valley floors by Monday morning. Anyone with travel plans in the Sierra this weekend into Monday should be prepared for winter driving conditions.
As for expected snow amounts Sunday through Monday morning, we will see an additional 1-2 feet in the high Sierra above 7000 feet. 6-12 inches of snow will be possible around Tahoe lake level, Truckee and Mammoth Lakes. As snow levels drop to valley floors, a dusting of snow will be possible for western Nevada and northeast California by Monday morning with a couple inches possible in the foothills above 5,000 feet.
For travel information go to NVroads.com or call 511.
- Carson City
- 000
- Afternoon
- Aviation
- California
- carson
- City
- Driving
- Fall
- Falling
- hazards
- High Sierra
- information
- Lake
- Mammoth Lakes
- May
- Morning
- mountain
- Mountains
- National Weather Service
- Nevada
- News
- Order
- rain
- saturday
- service
- Sierra
- Snow
- Spring
- storms
- strong
- sun
- Sunday Morning
- tahoe
- travel
- Truckee
- weather
- weather service
- Weekend
- western
- White
- wind
- Winter
- Lake Tahoe