textproduct: Elko

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 149 PM PST Tue Jan 6 2026

* Clear to partly cloudy skies through tonight with clouds increasing tonight into Wednesday morning.

* Next system arrives Wednesday afternoon, lasting through Friday morning returns rain/snow chances to the region.

* Quiet weather pattern settles into area beginning this weekend.

DISCUSSION

(This evening through next Monday)

Shortwave ridge of high pressure on its way out of the area tonight as next system on its way to the Silver State. Mostly clear skies this afternoon will give way to increasing clouds tonight with the fist showers starting across the norther tier Wednesday mid morning. This system while having less moisture to work with being a northern stream system will be the coldest system of the winter so far as snow levels will start around 5500 feet Wednesday afternoon and drop to the valley floors by early Thursday morning. So what will start as a rain/snow mix Wednesday afternoon, will change over to all snow Thursday morning with showers continuing through Friday morning. Unfortunately, current track looks to keep the bulk of the precipitation away from western Humboldt and the southern third of northern Nye Counties. Otherwise precipitation amounts look to be decent from a liquid perspective with valleys seeing between 0.01 and 0.25, Passes and roadway summits seeing between 0.05 and 0.50, and the mountains seeing up to 1.3 of water. As for snow, valleys could see between as trace to 3, with some lower elevation valley locations having the highest probability of their first measurable snowfall this winter. Passes and roadway summits could get up to between 2 to 5, and mountains seeing between 4 to 12 of much needed snow. As snow trends have increased with recent model runs, went ahead and issued a Winter Weather Advisory beginning Wednesday evening lasting through early Friday morning for N, SC, and SW Elko, S Lander and S Eureka, as well as the Ruby mountains. As this system departs Friday afternoon the extended forecast sees a unwelcome pattern change as upper level ridging associated with a west coast Rex Blocking builds in from California. This setup looks to hold firm with the upper ridge over northern California and Nevada, with the associated upper low over far southern California or northern Mexico through the remainder of the period. That means quiet weather with light winds and warming temperatures through at least next Tuesday.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE & DEVIATIONS:

There is high confidence in the chances for rain/snow showers transitioning to all snow Wednesday evening through Friday morning.

There is moderate confidence for light snow accumulations in Valleys, with many locations seeing their fist measurable (>=0.1) snowfall for the Winter.

There is high confidence in a pattern change that will see high pressure return, as a blocking pattern sets up over the SW US for Friday through next week.

AVIATION

VFR conditions are forecast to be the primary flight conditions through Wednesday. Clouds will begin to increase tonight through Wednesday morning with VCSH possible for KEKO, KBAM, and KWMC by 20Z Wednesday with ceilings lowering to 5000 feet.

LKN Watches/Warnings/Advisories

Winter Weather Advisory from 10 AM Wednesday to midnight PST Thursday night NVZ031-034-037>039.