Power restored midday to large swath of western Lyon County

High winds downed trees, toppled semis and flattened fences, causing the most damage early Friday morning when it knocked out power to thousands of homes in Carson Valley and hundreds of homes between Mark Twain and Dayton Valley Road in Lyon County.

"The wind caused terrible problems," said Karl Walquist, spokesman for NV Energy, formerly Sierra Pacific Power. "There were outages throughout the region. Crews were out since midnight."

Students at Dayton Elementary, Intermediate and High School were given an extra day of Christmas vacation because power to Dayton Valley Road was out for most of the day.

In Carson Valley, the wind blew down a power line, taking with it others, "like dominos" said Faye Anderson, spokeswoman for NV Energy.

Anderson said the Dayton outage was restored completely by 4 p.m.

Carsonweather.com recorded today's high wind gust in Carson City at 51 mph at 5:26 a.m.

A tractor trailer was toppled by high winds in Washoe Valley this morning. And blowing snow forced Nevada Highway Patrol troopers to escort vehicles through the valley.

Today is expected to be partly sunny with a high of 34 and a low of 17.

On Sunday forecasters predict a slight chance of rain or freezing rain before 10 a.m., with the snow level at 5700 feet and a high near 36 degrees.

Sunday night rain is likely with the snow level at 6,200 feet lowering to 4,300 feet. The low will be around 33. Sunday night can also see 20 mph south winds with gusts as high as 35 mph. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Monday there's a 70 percent chance of snow showers mainly before 10 a.m. It's expected to be cloudy and breezy, with a high near 34.

Monday night is expected to be cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow and a low around 15.

Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.