Forecast models predict possibility of upto a foot of snow at lake level by Monday.
RENO NEVADA, NOVEMBER 5, 2020 – A strong cold front will push through the Sierra and western Nevada on Friday bringing gusty winds, much colder temperatures, and chances for rain and snow showers. This storm does appear to herald in a pattern that may possibly stick around through much of November with the potential for lingering cold temperatures and maybe even additional chances for rain and snow.
WINDS: Winds will increase significantly Thursday night into Friday morning with a quick burst of winds that may produce areas of blowing dust, choppy lake conditions, as well as a brief period of fire weather concerns. Gusts up to 45 mph are possible for most areas, with up to 60 mph in wind prone spots, and up to 100 mph for exposed areas along the Sierra Crest.
COLD: Afternoon temperatures will drop significantly from Friday to Saturday, with western Nevada and Sierra valleys in the 30s and 40s. Overnight lows will be well below freezing with a few single digit and sub zero readings possible in the colder Sierra valleys.
PRECIPITATION: A quick burst of rain and snow is likely behind the cold front Friday with a couple inches of snow possible above 6000 feet. While light snow showers are likely most of the weekend with little accumulation, a second burst of accumulating snow may occur Sunday morning. Sunday is currently the best shot at lower valley snowfall accumulations. If you havent put that winter travel kit in your car, then now is the time make it happen. It
s that time of the year where conditions can rapidly change along the Sierra passes so being in tune with all the weather updates as well as Caltrans and NDOT will save you a lot of headaches.
Strong winds are forecast for late tonight into Friday as a cold barrels through the Sierra and western Nevada. Ahead of the front, warm and dry conditions persist with poor humidity recovery
for midslopes and ridges. The peak of the winds will only last 3-6 hours and will overlap with rapidly increasing humidity values at the end of that gusty window, however, fuels are still
critically dry. Larger fuels in the Sierra still require a significant wetting rainfall and/or longer high humidity durations to relieve the dry fuel component. Gusty winds and those critically dry fuels will suffice to create critical fire conditions ahead of this cold front.
Red Flag Warnings are in place for the Sierra from the Tahoe Basin south for wind gusts 35-45 mph in valley areas and near to over 100 mph across ridgelines. Widespread gusty winds are forecast for
western Nevada as well, but humidity values will increase enough to mitigate fire concerns for most locations. The one location that is on the cusp of that is Mineral county (southern half of
zone 429). There will be at least a 3 hour window, possibly up to 6 hours, of low humidity values paired with the gusty winds, so we went ahead and added a Red Flag Warning for that area through
Friday afternoon.