Carson City, Northern Nevada brace for flooding potential with latest storm system
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 04/06/2017 - 11:12am
Gusty winds, valley rain and mountain snow will move into the Carson City region tonight through Saturday morning bringing a potential for some flooding along small creeks and streams, according to the National Weather Service.
While the storm isn't expected to be as strong as systems in January and February that brought heavy flooding to the region, it will be a significant precipitation event for April, forecasters say.
With soils near-saturated and still quite a lot of low- to mid elevation snowpack, increased runoff may become an issue, the weather service says. This will increase flood potential, especially along creeks and streams Friday into Saturday. A Flood Watch is in effect from late tonight through Saturday morning.
Rapid rises are expected on creeks and streams with additional runoff impacting poor drainage areas. Many places that have had flooding issues this winter may again experience some flooding, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Shane Snyder from the Reno office.
Carson City and Carson Valley can expect anywhere from 3/4 to 1 inch of mostly rain with a slight chance of snow on Saturday morning. For Dayton and Silver Springs, rain amounts will be around 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.
“The (valley) snow will be a quick shot of the tail end of the storm,” Snyder said, adding that there won't be much in the way of accumulation.
The Truckee, Carson and Susan rivers are expected to see rapid rises. The East Fork of the Carson River near Gardnerville may reach “monitor” stage but mainstem river flooding isn’t expected, Snyder said.
Sandbag locations in Carson City are the same as in previous storms. Public Works and residents can fill sandbags at the following locations:
— Winnie Lane/Foothill Drive
— Ormsby Road/Washington Street
— Third Street Parking Lot: 202 S. Curry Street
— Fire Station 52: 2400 East College Parkway
— City Corporate Yard: 3505 Butti Way
— Ross Gold Park: 280 East Appion Way
For a real-time status map of the flooding situation in Carson City go to http://carsoncity.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html.
For the list of sandbag stations in Lyon and Storey counties, scroll in the photo box to the second photo and double-click to enlarge.
The storm is expected to bring gusty winds with it. Wind speeds will pick up Thursday with gusty winds continuing through Friday evening. The strongest winds will likely occur Thursday night and again Friday afternoon, 20 mph to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph. Local gusts to 70 mph in wind prone areas. A Wind Advisory is in effect for Carson City, Carson Valley, Reno, Virginia City and into Lyon County until 11 p.m. Friday.
Gusty winds will create hazardous cross winds on area roads including Interstates 80, 580 and U.S. Highways 50 and 395. Significant waves are likely on terminal lakes including Swan, Silver, White and Washoe Lakes as well as those in the Surprise Valley.
The storm will bring snow to the Sierra. Snow levels Friday morning will be around 6,500 to 7,000 foot range for the Sierra, the main punch of precipitation will be in the morning, said Snyder. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect after midnight tonight to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Travel will be an issue over the higher elevation passes including Spooner, Kingsbury, Mt. Rose and Echo Summit.
“Higher elevations will get a dumping tomorrow morning, most likely causing travel issues involved,” he said. Snow amounts expected are anywhere from 2 to 3 feet above 7,500 and up to 4 feet near the Sierra crest.
Check the latest road conditions with Caltrans and NDOT.
For the latest weather discussion go here. For weather updates for Carson City, see CarsonWeather.com.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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