Weather
An atmospheric river of moisture is still on it’s way to California.  Big snow is imminent in Tahoe.
“20-30 inches East side of the lake, 30-40 inches West side of the lake, and up to 50 inches on the highest peaks along the crest by Monday morning.” – Bryan Allegretto/opensnow.com
“A series of systems will bring much needed rain and snow to the region beginning late tonight and lasting through the weekend. The first system arriving late tonight will bring light showers to the valley and moderate snow accumulations to the mountains. Snow levels will be low with the first system and should bring snow to foothill communities. The second system is much warmer and wetter and will lead to periods of heavy rain and snow this weekend. The valley will see 1 to 3 inches of rain and the mountains above 7000 feet could see up to 3 feet of snow by the end of the weekend.” – NOAA Sacramento, CA
NOAA Winter Weather Advisory for Thursday:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 318 PM PST WED FEB 5 2014 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM PST THURSDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RENO HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM PST THURSDAY. * TIMING: SNOW WILL DEVELOP THURSDAY MORNING ACROSS THE TAHOE BASIN AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING BEFORE ENDING. * SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 2 TO 6 INCHES AT LAKE LEVEL WITH 5 TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET. * IMPACTS: SNOW WILL CREATE SLICK DRIVING CONDITIONS ON AREA HIGHWAYS THURSDAY. ROADS AFFECTED INCLUDE INTERSTATE 80...U.S. 50 AND CALIFORNIA 88.
NOAA Special Weather for Weekend Atmospheric River:
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 318 PM PST WED FEB 5 2014 ...SERIES OF STORMS TO AFFECT THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA INTO THE WEEKEND... A WET WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED INTO THE WEEKEND AS A SERIES OF PACIFIC STORMS AFFECT THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA. THE FIRST IS EXPECTED THURSDAY AND WILL SPREAD SNOW INTO THE EASTERN SIERRA WITH LIGHTER SNOW INTO WESTERN NEVADA. THE HEAVIEST SNOWS ARE EXPECTED IN THE SIERRA SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. A STRONGER STORM IS EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND AND WILL MAKE ITS PRESENCE FELT FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL INCREASE WITH STRONG GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA FRIDAY NIGHT. IN ADDITION, THIS STORM WILL TAP INTO A SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE PLUME THAT WILL LAST INTO THE WEEKEND. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW ARE POSSIBLE IN THE SIERRA FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY WITH LIGHTER AMOUNTS INTO WESTERN NEVADA. SNOW LEVELS WITH THE FIRST SYSTEM TOMORROW ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN NEAR THE VALLEY FLOORS. FOR THE WEEKEND, SNOW LEVELS CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEMATIC. AT THIS TIME, SNOW LEVELS LOOK TO START BELOW 5000 FEET EARLY FRIDAY EVENING THEN RISE TO OVER 7000 FEET BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO FALL AGAIN TO NEAR 6000 FEET SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING. THE FORECAST REMAINS UNCERTAIN FOR THE WEEKEND...BUT IT APPEARS MORE LIKELY WE WILL SEE A SIGNIFICANT WET PERIOD. MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN OUR YOUTUBE BRIEFING LINKED FROM OUR WEB PAGE AS WELL AS OUR FORECAST DISCUSSION AND WIND AND WINTER WEATHER STATEMENTS.
