Carson City area weather update: Wind, snow and frigid temperatures ahead

A winter storm blanketed much of western Nevada with snow overnight bringing a few inches to the Carson City area. While the snow is expected to taper some before picking up again Sunday night into Monday, strong winds will make for difficult travel conditions throughout the entire region.

While the heaviest of the storm has passed, bands of light to moderate snow showers are ongoing across western Nevada this morning. Overnight, some areas where heavier bands set up have already received several inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

I-580 through Washoe Valley remains closed as of Sunday afternoon. It has been closed due to multi-vehicle pileups. Highway 50 over Echo Summit and I-80 over Donner Pass are closed. Gusty winds combined with falling snow, or snow already on the ground have resulted in periods of low visibility and rapidly changing travel conditions.

Meanwhile, strong wind gusts from 25 mph to 40 mph and gusts to 65 mph to 75 mph, along with blowing snow has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a High Wind Warning from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday for the greater Reno, Carson City and Carson Valley in Douglas County.

The weather service advises that damaging winds may blow down trees and power lines. Some power outages are likely. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.

Forecasters urge people to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage.

Travel is not advised. Roads from the western Nevada valleys to the Sierra are impacted. Expect long delays if planning to cross the Sierra. Check the latest road conditions with Caltrans and NDOT. For Carson City area updates see CarsonWeather.com. The latest road conditions can be obtained by calling 511 for Nevada and 1-800-427-7623 for California. Monitor the latest weather forecast at weather.gov/reno and check road conditions routinely.

The following is the latest National Weather Service discussion for Sunday and beyond. Go here or read below.

A cold trough will remain over the west through the rest of 2021 with temperatures remaining well below normal. Cluster analysis shifts the mean trough overhead by mid-late week, suggesting a transition to a colder airmass with less moisture. So one more round of significant snowfall is on tap tonight/Monday with additional periods of lighter snowfall possible beyond Monday as shortwaves drop southward through the mean trough. Beyond this week, signs are still pointing active and favoring below normal temperatures.

SNOW:

Intensity lessening today although heavier snow showers will still be capable of putting down a few inches of snowfall in the Sierra. For lower valleys, convective snow bands have resulted in accumulation variability overnight near the Highway 395 corridor between KSVE-KMEV with amounts ranging from less than an inch to 4 inches. Poor visibility will continue in these bands until the snow tapers this morning.

Snow increases in the Sierra tonight and becomes heavy through the day Monday with significant accumulations and whiteout conditions likely to continue impacting travel routes. Snowfall rates could approach 3 to 4 inches as the increasingly cold airmass promotes efficient snow production/higher snow ratios. For lower valleys, accumulation Monday will be confined to a few inches along the immediate lee of the Sierra where convective bands spill over as well as along the cold front that will be moving southeast through western Nevada during the afternoon.

For the balance of the week, slider type systems will bring periods of light snowfall. Confidence in timing is lower with these features.

WINDS

Strong winds aloft will persist into Monday with ridge level gusts near 100 mph. With a relative break in the snowfall today and early tonight, a period of rather robust winds is expected areawide with model soundings still showing some signals for brief downsloping along the Highway 395 corridor, especially from Doyle to Minden.

Widespread sustained S-W winds 20-35 mph with gusts 45 mph will result in significant impacts to high profile vehicles, boats and aviation. Surface winds will come down some tonight but gradients remain tight into Monday morning, so some areas will continue to see gusty winds. Where freshly fallen snow exists, expect considerably blowing and drifting of snow and reduced visibility.

Behind the front Monday, winds will generally be lighter. Ridge winds may periodically increase as inside slider systems approach, but much less than the winds associated with the current storm system.

TEMPERATURES

It is going to be an unusually cold week with temperatures 10-20 degrees below normal. High temperatures will struggle to reach freezing some days. The low temperature forecast is going to be a bit trickier. Normally, fresh snowfall would be indicative of unusually cold nighttime readings, but timing of the sliders and cloud cover uncertainty brings a rather large range of possibilities to the table.

If we clear, temperatures could drop below zero for many locations. The forecast will continue to reflect overnight temperatures along the lines of the national blended guidance, but be prepared for them to go lower on any given night this week.

While winds will be lighter overall, breezes along the Sierra ridges and backcountry will drag wind chills down to -10 to -25F at times.

Check back for updates.