Carson City area weather: Valley rain, Sierra snow through the weekend
Valley rain around Carson City and surrounding counties and Sierra snow will continue through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Rain and high elevation snow that began Thursday will clear up briefly into Friday afternoon. Then widespread showers begin to spread eastward into the region Friday evening, with more intermittent showers spilling into western Nevada and northeast California by early Saturday morning, NWS forecasters said.
Showers may be heavy at times in the Sierra, especially Saturday afternoon and evening as a secondary wave introduces increased instability over the region, forecasters said. Snow levels will remain around 7,500 to 8,000 feet through a majority of the event, with good chances, around 60 percent, for these areas to receive 6-12 inches of snow accumulation through Sunday morning, forecasters said.
Snow levels drop overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, perhaps as low as 5,000 to 5,500 feet. However, the main precipitation band looks to exit the region before this occurs, so the main impact will be in the Sierra and Tahoe Basin where scattered showers are expected to linger through Sunday morning.
The Lake Tahoe Basin and areas west of US-395 will likely, a 70 to 80 percent chance, of 0.25 to 0.5 of an inch of storm total liquid. Accumulations will be lighter into western Nevada due to shadowing, but there is a 25-30 percent chance for up to 0.25 of an inch, forecasters said. See NVroads.com for road and travel information.
Travel concerns will continue through Sunday morning for high Sierra passes. Lowering snow levels Saturday night into Sunday morning may lead to impacts to I-80 and other Sierra routes. Icy roads are possible Sunday morning across the region, especially for Sierra valleys as temperatures dip well below freezing.
A ridge builds into the western US early to mid next week, with gradually warming temperatures and dry conditions prevailing.
Models continue to support an inside-slider type system impacting the region on Thanksgiving Day, but details are still a bit muddy. However, another slight cool down appears likely with this system, though temperatures will remain near seasonal averages.