- “Winds Thursday-Saturday -- We continue to expect an increase in south/southwest winds starting Thursday with valley gusts 25-30 mph, 30-40 mph Friday, and west/northwest 25-30 mph Saturday. These winds are not super strong but will still create areas of critical fire weather conditions each day with Friday having the highest risk. With vegetation still really dry be prepared for new fire starts to spread rapidly. Also the usual wind prone highways will see impacts, plus turbulence and wind shear for flying. I've noticed that sometimes these marginally windy days can have strong turbulence due to sudden directional and speed shifts.
- Weekend Cold -- We'll see a solid push of cold air into the region starting this weekend lasting into early next week with the coldest readings likely Monday. Some of our simulations show highs only in the 50s for W Nevada with potential for widespread valley freezes Tuesday morning. Be prepared to protect sensitive vegetation and irrigation systems if the cold forecast holds, especially if you're in a rural and typically cold valley location (e.g. Minden, Spanish Springs). People outdoors this weekend into Monday/Tuesday will want to plan for colder conditions, especially with an increased risk of mountain snow. And with that......
- Increasing Mountain Snow Potential Sunday-Monday -- Our most recent simulations are showing a weak atmospheric river "filament" coming into N California Sunday late afternoon into early Monday morning, which would set the stage for a period of mountain light snow in the Tahoe, N Sierra, and NE California regions and rain showers in the valleys even into W Nevada. Some simulations are further south with the impacts -- Mammoth? Our forecast confidence overall is low-medium so don't bank on these scenarios yet! However since this would be the first snow of the season for passes and maybe down to Lake Tahoe elevations and hitting in the evening/overnight Sunday-Monday, there could be enhanced travel impacts for the Sierra pass roads including I-80 and Hwy 50 and points north. Specific snow amounts you ask? Good luck with that this far out, but right now it would probably be on the light side of the Sierra storm spectrum. Quick hitting too, maybe 3-6 hours of light snow. We'll keep you updated on this potential -- forecast changes are likely in the coming days but I wanted to provide this heads up.
Right now we're expecting a gradual warm up the balance of next week as high pressure slowly oozes back into the region. “
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