textproduct: Reno

KEY MESSAGES

* Light winds and valley inversions will keep hazy skies and air quality reductions through this weekend with patchy freezing fog in some Sierra valleys.

* Dry weather prevails through this weekend into next week with above average daytime temperatures and typical chilly nights.

DISCUSSION

The latest RAP analysis of the upper air pattern shows a high pressure ridge residing over the eastern Pacific and western CONUS. This pattern looks to persist through the weekend causing dry conditions and light winds to prevail across the region. Valley inversions expect to remain in place allowing hazy skies and localized lower air quality in particularly around urban areas through the weekend. Another concern looks to be the freezing fog that is currently seen in the Martis Valley as well as the Mono Lake area. While the Martis Valley will see fog dissipate later this morning, the fog around Mono Lake will continue its pattern of staying in place going into the afternoon before lifting for a few hours. These areas then expect to have the foggy pattern repeat tonight and into tomorrow. Area daytime highs through the weekend are forecast to be in the 40s and 50s. Chilly nights are also on tap with area low temperatures generally in the teens and 20s. Forecast guidance shows cloud coverage increasing a bit tonight which may allow for some areas around Lake Tahoe as well as Virginia City to only drop down to around the 30 degree mark. The cloud cover continues into Sunday before fading going into Sunday night.

Going through the work week: the forecast for temperatures, precipitation chances, and winds is pretty much rinse and repeat from what was seen over the weekend through Wednesday. During Thursday, some of ensemble guidance shows the upper air pattern changing slightly making ridge winds gusting up to around 50 mph possible on Thursday and Friday. There also are low chances (~15% or less) of light snow in the latest NBM in the higher elevations of the Sierra late Thursday into Friday. Low confidence at this time for this to happen, but not anticipating much impact as little to no snowfall amounts are seen at this time should this light snow occurs. -078

AVIATION

VFR conditions are expected for area TAF sites going through the holiday weekend. The only exception is at KTRK where patchy and mainly shallow FZFG is expected through this morning around 14Z and then again tonight into Sunday morning. Haze in W.NV may lead to reduced slantwise visibilities. -078

REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories

NV...None. CA...None.