The National Weather Service office in Reno is warning residents in our area to be prepared for rain and snow over the next few days as the first significant winter storm of the season targets Northeastern California.
According to the NWS showers will move into the northern Sierra by daybreak Tuesday, and spread into the rest of the Sierra and western Nevada by daybreak Wednesday. Aside from an initial period of snow levels at or below 6000 feet Tuesday morning, this storm will be relatively mild with snow levels likely increasing to above 7000 feet late Tuesday into Wednesday.
The latest rainfall projections for Tuesday and Wednesday show 0.1-0.25 inches for western Nevada, with 0.5-1.0 inches west of Hwy 395. A few inches of snow is possible above 7000 feet – which would impact some of the Sierra passes – with perhaps 6-10 inches of new snow right along the Sierra Crest above 8000 feet.
This storm doesn’t appear to be a big wind maker – nothing more than the usual valley gusts 20-30 mph and Sierra ridges to 50 mph.
Chris Smallcomb, Warning Coordinator for the NWS Reno office, explained that forecast confidence overall is medium, with the main uncertainties regarding how much precipitation we’ll receive.
For more information you can click here for current conditions at LassenWeatherNetwork.com.
