Photo by Brian Corley
Darkness enveloped Carson City before 5 p.m. on Saturday and cold sheets of rain assailed the already soggy streets and rooftops. The high bank of clouds that hovered above the west hills early Saturday dropped into town in the late afternoon, bringing rain, darkness and decreased visibility.
"For the Carson City Area, we expect rain this evening," said Al Cox, a weather service specialist for the National Weather Service. Saturday's overnight low for Carson was expected to be only 34 degrees. "It'll be fairly mild with that cloud cover."
Although Saturday was largely sunny, the winds never let up and windy, rainy weather was expected until this morning. Today, partial clearing should mean a chance of showers.
Cox said that mostly cloudy conditions would be prevalent through the week, though rain would taper Tuesday and return with a new system next Friday.
Things were looking up at Western Nevada Community College, where winds and rain caused damage to the roof of the oldest building on campus Friday.
"Everything's all right so far," said a campus security officer who preferred to remain anonymous. "It was windy earlier but everything has calmed down now."
On Friday, a portion of the roof failed on the Bristlecone Building, but buildings and grounds crews were able to protect computers with tarps before any damage was done.
While snow and freezing rain fell in South Lake Tahoe by Saturday morning, Heavenly Ski Resort reported as much as three feet of naturally fallen snow had accumulated during the recent winter storm. Heavenly's snow report line said they expected to have up to five feet of natural snow by Monday while the snow makers were still running full blast.
"It's dumpin' pretty good right now," said a Heavenly employee who gave only the name Tom. "It's pretty beautiful."
Meanwhile Mount Rose -- also sporting a fresh coat of Sierra powder -- was open to skiers and snowboarders Saturday. According to the Mount Rose snow phone, the Ponderosa and Magnum 6 lifts are open for a total of 25 trails. They report "early winter conditions" and a base snow depth of 12-24 inches.
According to to Lyon County Sheriff's dispatch, there were no new developments in Thursday's 13-car pile up outside of town. One man was killed after sand blown onto Highway 95 alternate cause zero visibility for motorists.
Information
For highway conditions, call (877) 687-6237
or go online at: www.nvroads.com
or, on the radio, in Carson City tune into to 1610 am or in Reno or Lake Tahoe, tune in to 530 am.
Heavenly: (775) 586-7000
Mount Rose: 849-0704