Carson City area weather: Windy and much colder with snow possible across region
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 10/24/2023 - 8:35am
A pair of storms will bring gusty winds, much colder temperatures and even light snow down to the valley floors including the Carson City area in the midweek with a fall chill expected to follow into the Nevada Day holiday weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Be sure to bundle up as the rest of the week will look more like fall and less like early summer as we have been experiencing the past couple weeks.
Wednesday morning snow levels start off at around 8,000 to 8,500 feet in western Nevada and the Sierra, then drop to 4,000 feet in northeast California and 5,000 feet around the Reno, Carson City, Carson Valley. Snow is possible across valley floors by late Wednesday evening, weather service forecasters say.
Areas above 7,000 feet have a 70 percent chance of 1 to 3 inches of snow with a 30 percent chance of more than 3 inches of snow. Locations such as Donner Summit and Mt Rose Summit have a 80 percent chance of 2 to 3 inches.
Locations below 7000 feet have an 80 percent chance for just a dusting up to 1 inch Reno/Sparks, Carson City and Virginia City all have an 80 percent chance of a dusting up to 1 inch. Any snow below 7,000 feet will likely not accumulate and melt immediately.
Watch out for slick roads Wednesday evening, especially where the temperature is expected to go below freezing. There's a chance snow levels may be slightly higher. By midday Thursday the front should exit as well as the snowfall. See NVroads.com or call 511 for road travel updates.
It will be windy Wednesday with gusts as strong as 45 mph across Western Nevada valleys. The forecast has prompted NV Energy to issue a Public Safety Outage Management alert for the Carson Valley in Douglas County extending to the Carson/ Douglas county line as well as the Glenbrook area at Lake Tahoe. NV Energy says a power shut off is possible from 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25 and ending at around 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 26.
Weather service forecasters say sustained winds will be around 20-25 mph in the afternoon with some gusts between 30 to 35 mph. Sierra ridges will gust 75 to 85 mph. After the main front goes through, winds taper off Thursday morning becoming light in the afternoon.
The storm system will bring much colder continental air with it, cutting high temperatures down another 15-20 degrees through Thursday, forecasters said. Lows are expected to drop into the mid-30s, then this weekend dropping to the 20s, so you may want to start thinking about protecting plants, outdoor water pipes, and sprinkler systems this week. High temperatures this week will drop to the 50s and upper 40s from Thursday through the weekend.
There is a slight chance for some precipitation late Saturday through Sunday but forecasters are unsure at this time.
