Carson City area weather: Snow ahead, motorists urged to get early Thanksgiving travel start

The first significant snow-driven storms of the season remain on track to impact western Nevada and Sierra midday Tuesday through Wednesday, coinciding with one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Motorists are advised that if they can do it, they should finish travel over the Sierra by Tuesday morning to avoid long delays and highway travel headaches.

A winter storm watch is now in effect for much of the western Nevada, Carson City and Lake Tahoe areas. Snow levels could be as low as 2,000 feet, leading to large portions of trans-Sierra roadways into western Nevada being snow covered. Go here for the NWS forecast discussion.

While many have travel plans for Thanksgiving, sometimes travel times cannot be changed. The weather service advises that if you are traveling, allow plenty of extra time and have an emergency winter kit in your vehicle that includes chains, food, water, blankets, extra clothing, and proper footwear for snow.

The Winter Storm Watch is in effect from Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon. It advises that heavy snow possible, with the potential for feet of snow in the Sierra and snow accumulation down to the valley floors, including Reno and Sparks, Carson City and Carson Valley and into Lyon County.

Timing of the storms:
According to the latest forecast discussion, Monday night and Tuesday morning still look dry with a short period of reduced winds, then conditions will rapidly worsen during Tuesday afternoon for northeast California, far northwest Nevada and the Sierra west of Tahoe. As we get to the peak commute time (4-6 pm), snowfall rates are likely to increase for the Tahoe basin and northeast California, and also reach the Reno and Carson City vicinity.

While there could be minor timing differences, the overall heaviest snow potential still looks to push through most areas during the evening hours, with isolated lightning strikes also possible within more intense snow bands along the main cold front passage.

South of US-50 and into west central NV, the greatest snow potential is most likely late Tuesday night. During the heavier convective snow bursts, snowfall rates of 2+ inches per hour are possible, producing whiteout conditions at times especially near the Sierra as winds also increase.

Preliminary snowfall totals from Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday morning are still likely to reach or exceed 1 foot for the main Sierra passes and higher elevations, with at least 6" a good bet for the Tahoe basin northward to central Plumas, western Lassen, and along much of US-395 in Mono County. Lesser (but still notable) snowfall totals are anticipated for lower elevations of western NV-northeast CA.

These are general projections, and there are likely to be localized heavier amounts due to convective snow bands, terrain influences, and/or lake enhancement. Additional snow accumulations are likely during the day Wednesday, especially near the Sierra.

The weather service notes that while the snow amounts through Tuesday night may not be extreme, the impacts on travel will be magnified due to the widespread coverage of snow down to all valleys with sub-freezing temperatures on most paved surfaces, combined with a heavy travel period leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.

The main part of the storm continues through Wednesday morning with any steady snow expected to become more showers by afternoon. Snow showers will continue into Wednesday night, especially in the Sierra.

Snow showers are likely to continue Thanksgiving day, possibly into Friday, with the highest chances near and south of I-80.

Check Road Conditions:
— Call NDOT: 1-877-NV-ROADS or NVroads.com; CalTrans: 1-800-427-ROAD. NDOT encourages motorists to to sign up for e-mail and text alerts for their own frequently-traveled state routes.

The 511 Nevada Travel Info service allows motorists to dial 511 toll-free, 24 hours a day or log onto nvroads.com for automated state road conditions, on-line traffic cameras, roadway weather information, scheduled event road closures, construction updates and more.

Out-of-state callers can dial 1-877-NV-ROADS to receive the same information. With Nevada law prohibiting use of handheld devices while behind the wheel, NDOT asks motorists to dial or log on before driving.

The system’s “MY511NV” feature allows drivers to sign up to receive text or e-mail messages regarding roadway chain requirements, weather, incidents, events and construction on their most-traveled routes.

To sign up, users simply log onto nvroads.com here, select the “My511 NV” link and register to receive customized reports for state roads of their choice. The alerts are free, excluding text message fees imposed by individual phone carriers.