Carson City area weather: Windy with showers, high elevation snow

Gusty winds, rain showers and high elevation snow are expected this weekend for Carson City and surrounding counties, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a Wind Advisory for the region.

Along with strong wind gusts and valley rain, below average temperatures are expected this weekend, especially Sunday when highs may be 15-20 degrees cooler than Saturday, NWS forecasters said.

Windy Conditions
Gusty winds will be the main highlight of this storm system, with ridge gusts Saturday approaching 100 mph along the ridges. Gusts in the valleys could reach 45 mph early Saturday afternoon, NWS forecasters said.

The weather service advises folks to secure outdoor holiday decorations. Gusts will continue Sunday as the remnants of the current system work across the area. Gusts will reach near 100 mph on the ridges, while valleys could see gusts 50-55 mph. The Lake Tahoe Basin will also see increased winds over the open waters, which will introduce some choppy conditions, forecasters said.

Elsewhere, the risk for blowing dust is possible Saturday into Sunday for Nevada Basin and Range locations that lie downwind of desert sinks and dry lake beds. A Wind Advisory for Sunday is in place due to the increased strong wind threat south of I-80 within the Sierra and along the Sierra Front in western Nevada.

Sierra Snow
For the Sierra, snow totals will be rather limited given snow levels will rise later Saturday to near 8,500 to 9.000 feet, before falling to 7,000 to 7,500 feet by Sunday evening. The snow levels will fluctuate between now and Sunday night, suggesting the precipitation type will oscillate near those snow levels from rain to rain/snow mix, forecasters said.

The only locations that will see all snow will be above the 8,500 to 9,000 feet mark. Overall, snow amounts will be light and generally less than an inch with the highest peaks receiving up to 4 inches by Sunday night. Headed over the mountain passes?See NVroads.com for the latest travel conditions.

Valley showers

As for showers across western Nevada valleys, the spillover will be limited to the near leeside foothills. There, liquid amounts will be 0.25-0.5 of an inch, with less than 0.1 of an inch spilling over into the Greater Reno, Carson City and Carson Valley region.

Expect cooler temperatures with this system. Temperatures are expect to rebound next week.

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