A strong Pacific storm will begin to move into the region Thursday with the potential for damaging winds Friday and periods of heavy rain to the Carson City area and high elevation snow along the Sierra Crest into Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Another storm system should also arrive Sunday night into Monday.
Winds will increase through the day Thursday into Friday as a 170-plus mile jet stream moves over the Sierra. The fastest, and potentially most damaging winds, will occur Friday afternoon as winds begin to downslope off the Sierra into the valleys.
Currently, there are Wind Advisories out on Thursday for the Sierra, Sierra Front, and Lassen/Eastern Modoc/Northern Washoe counties. A Wind Advisory is in effect for the Carson City, Carson Valley and Dayton areas beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday, with a High Wind Watch from 10 p.m. Thursday to 10 p.m. Friday, according to the weather service.
The High Wind watches cover pretty much the entire forecast area. It is possible that we could see downslope winds more than 65 mph and up to 85 mph win wind prone areas along Highway 395. Ridge Winds in the Sierra are expected to be more than 100 mph. Blowing dust will also be a big concern for Highway 50, 95 and Interstate 80. Winds will begin to taper off Friday night into early Saturday morning.
Care should be exercised if you will be traveling Thursday and Friday due to these winds, the weather service advises. Cross-winds will make driving conditions difficult at times especially for high profile vehicles. Also, you may want to keep in contact with you airline if you will be flying as some flights could be delayed due to an increase in timing needed for takeoffs and landings. You may want to secure any loose outdoor items such as garbage cans and, as we always recommended, bring in the small dogs.
As for precipitation amounts, the weather service expects to see 2 to 4 inches of precipitation, that's water content, along the Sierra Crest with up to 5 inches locally on the high end. For the Lake Tahoe Basin and west of Highway 395, 1 to 3 inches of precipitation is expected, with western Nevada getting anywhere from a quarter to 1 inch of rain in the Carson City area along the Highway 395 corridor.
The storm is considered a warm one, with snow levels anywhere from 7,000 feet onward, with up to 2 feet of snow above 8,000 feet, according to the weather service. By Sunday morning the rain in Carson City should taper off before the next system arrives Sunday night. That system will also produce rain for Carson City, Carson Valley and Dayton areas.