Winter may finally be coming to Carson City. After weeks of temperatures in the 50s and 60s during the day, a cold front is expected to move in tonight, dropping temperatures down to freezing and maybe bringing snow early next week.
"An intense cold front is moving rapidly through the region," said meteorologist Scott McGuire with the National Weather Service in Reno. "For those fair weather people, (today) is your last day to get out and enjoy it."
A high wind warning is being issued from 7 p.m. today through 7 a.m. Saturday. Southwest winds are expected to be 25-45 mph, with gusts up to 60 or 70 mph.
It could blow up to 80 mph in wind-prone areas like Washoe Valley and the foothills of west Carson City, McGuire said.
Today's high is expected to be 55 degrees, but it will drop to around 35 degrees Saturday.
"We're going to be struggling to reach freezing," McGuire said.
On Sunday, an unsettled pattern is forecasted to move in, bringing with it some snow showers.
"This is not going to be a classic Sierra storm where it just dumps," McGuire said.
Instead, snow could fall intermittently from Sunday through Wednesday, possibly accumulating three to six inches total over the four days.
One to two feet of snow is expected in the Sierra.
However, he stressed the pattern is unpredictable so the snow forecast could change.
Highs are expected to remain in the 30s with lows in the mid-teens.