A long period of mostly fair and warm weather will be coming to an end this weekend as a series of low pressure systems moves into the California Sierra and some spillover into Western Nevada.
The greatest impact will likely be to the western Sierra, where potentially a foot of snow could fall along the passes over the course of a few days, according to the National Weather Service. However, snow amounts at Lake Tahoe and rain or snow in Western Nevada likely won’t be as dramatic, forecasters say.
Freezing temperatures are expected to arrive Thursday night into Friday morning for Western Nevada and Carson City. Temperatures will drop into the high 20s overnight in the urban areas and low to mid 20s in the valleys under clear skies. Forecasters urge gardeners to cover their plants, drain their irrigation systems and homeowners should bring their pets indoors.
Friday and early Saturday will warm back up again, with the brunt of the weather system expected to arrive Easter Sunday, with snow levels around 4,000 to 5,000 feet. High temperatures are expected to drop 12 to 18 degrees going into Sunday, with highs only reaching into the mid 40s to low 50s in Western Nevada and the 30s in the Sierra. Wind is expected to accompany these weather systems that will make temperatures seem colder.
“While it is likely that Tahoe will see some snow, we are not expecting huge snow amounts or anything. It will be a fairly average spring storm,” said Marvin Boyd, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Reno. There’s about a 30 percent chance for precipitation in the Reno, Carson City and Carson Valley region, with a 50 percent or greater chance for Lake Tahoe, he said.
Showers will diminish by Monday morning with a brief break before the next weather system arrives Tuesday. While it doesn’t have a significant moisture tap, it is fairly well organized with an additional half inch or more of liquid precipitation for the Sierra. This system does have a better spillover potential in Western Nevada as the upper level trough swings through the region. Snow levels expected to be around 5,000 feet.
“Again, precipitation isn’t that great but we think we will have a slightly better chance of precipitation into the Nevada interior with this system,” said Boyd.