textproduct: Reno

SYNOPSIS

* Periods of gusty winds, valley rain, and mountain snow to impact recreation and travel today and Friday.

* There is another storm possible for Sunday into Monday with more wind, snow and rain possible.

* Dry and mild weather trend is favored to kick off the start of 2025.

DISCUSSION

The active weather arrives returns to the Sierra and western Nevada with bouts of Sierra snow, rain and strong winds. The first system arrives today and persists, in some fashion, through Friday with another storm projected for Sunday into Monday. Let's take a glance of some of the details.

WINDS: Plan on strong, gusty winds along the Sierra through the weekend with limited periods of lower wind speeds. Wind gusts along the high Sierra, particularly from Tahoe northward will see periods of wind gusts nearing 80-100 mph. Slide mountain already saw wind gusts 110-113 mph around 1 AM. Strongest wind periods will be this morning, Friday morning, with a bit of a break on Saturday and a resurgence on Sunday. Valley and foothill winds will also be problematic the next few days. Wind gusts kicked up along the Sierra front between 12a-1a this morning with gusts at the office exceeding 50 mph. For more details on the winds for today, see the Wind Advisory. The wind forecast is trending toward another round of strong winds for Friday morning and Sunday. Just as an example blended guidance shows a 85% chance of wind gusts exceeding 50 mph for the Sunday storm. The strong winds through the end of the week will impact backcountry recreation, aviation, and high profile vehicle travel through the weekend.

RAIN/SNOW: Precipitation potential returns today with multiple rounds of high Sierra snow and valley rain through Friday afternoon. Snow levels start out relatively low (5500-6000 feet) and then gradually rise up to near 7500 feet by early Friday morning. Be sure to check the roads before you go since road conditions will be quite variable with the fluctuating snow levels. Rain or snow will result in slick road conditions, so let's take it easy until conditions dry out near the New Year. See the Winter Weather Advisory for the latest snow totals projected for this storm through Friday. Western Nevada won't see much precipitation today, with only light intermittent showers blowing over. Better potential for precipitation in western Nevada arrives late this evening into early Friday morning. Another system Sunday brings Sierra snow and valley rain, but the snow levels will remain on the higher end (around 7000- 7500 feet).

Early next week, following the Sunday-Monday storm, the pattern is projected to trend drier to ring in 2025 as the storm track migrates northward toward the Pacific Northwest once again.

-Edan

AVIATION

The next winter storm is en route tonight with LLWS impacts ongoing for all terminals through much of Thursday as FL100 winds near 80 kts. Surface wind gusts will peak between 11-18z today with gusts approaching 30-40 kts.

Ongoing intermittent light snow showers will impact KTVL and KTRK through today into Friday with periods of MVFR/IFR conditions. Precipitation type will start as wet snow early Thursday and transition to wetter rain by early Friday.

Best potential for wetting rainfall for western NV terminals arrives on Friday 6z-12z. Another round of strong winds pushes in Friday morning with similar LLWS and turbulence concerns from Fri 9a-18z.

-Edan

REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories

NV...Wind Advisory until noon PST today NVZ003-005.

Winter Weather Advisory until noon PST Friday NVZ002.

Lake Wind Advisory until 5 PM PST this afternoon NVZ004.

CA...Wind Advisory until noon PST today CAZ070.

Winter Weather Advisory until noon PST Friday CAZ071>073.