Holiday travel home: Snow in the California Sierra, rain and snow in eastern Nevada
Thanksgiving holiday travelers heading back home over the Sierra can expect unsettled weather throughout the day, with rain and high elevation snow, according to the National Weather Service.
On the California side of the Sierra, a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 7 tonight. Slick roads and reduce visibility from snow showers above 6,000 feet will cause travel delays off and on through this evening. The advisory extends from Western Plumas County and Lassen Park to the West Slope of the Northern Sierra Nevada. This includes Donner Pass, Echo Summit and Carson Pass.
During the bands of precipitation moving through the sierra, an addition 2 to 7 inches of snow is expected above 6,000 feet. The weather service notes the timing of these systems will run through the early morning and then increase by afternoon.
After today's storm, attention will shift to the next storm on Tuesday/Wednesday which will be stronger, wetter and warmer. Rain from this storm combined with today's storm will make mud/debris flow's possible in Sierra and California foothills, especially near burn scar areas.
In Eastern Nevada, including Humboldt, White Pine, the Ruby Mountains, Elko and Lander counties, and northeast Nye County, a front that slipped south will bring colder air to the region and result in rain and snow, with levels near the valley floors and some snow accumulation possible, according to the weather service. A winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 10 p.m. tonight for Northern Elko County.
For road conditions call 1-800-427-7623 for California and 1-877-NV-Roads for Nevada. You can also check road conditions online for Nevada and California. If you have plans to travel back across the Sierra at the end of the holiday weekend or early next week be sure to check the latest forecast at weather.gov/Reno and check road conditions with Caltrans and NDOT.