Winter rolls back

Carson City could see snow today if a storm that soaked the valley Monday and added to the parched Sierra snowpack is strong enough to reach the valley floor.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Chris Smallcomb said snow is expected in Carson City early today and into this afternoon, tapering off late Wednesday morning.

"The best chance of snow is Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night. You could see around two to four inches for snowfall potential at the lowest elevations in Carson City," he said. "The drive home Tuesday afternoon and drive in Wednesday morning could be slow due to the snow."

Rain fell all day Monday, with wind gusts reaching 39 mph, according to Carsonweather.com.

Today snow can be expected before 10 a.m., then rain and snow likely throughout the day with a high near 43 degrees.

Tonight, snow is expected with a low around 28 degrees and south winds around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Wednesday snow showers are likely. It's expected to be mostly cloudy, with a high near 41 degrees and south wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

"In the last 24 hours we've seen about nine-tenths of an inch of rain in Carson City, seven-tenths in Washoe Valley and about four-tenths of an inch in Gardnerville and Minden," Smallcomb said Monday afternoon.

Several weeks of storms have deepened the Sierra snowpack, but it remains well below what is needed to replenish water supplies and lessen the drought, the California Department of Water Resources reported Monday.

The snowpack was about 80 percent of its usual water content across the 400-mile-long mountain range, the agency said. That's short of the 120 percent target California water officials estimate is needed by next month to fill major reservoirs.

In the northern Sierra Nevada, just south of Lake Tahoe, the Department of Water Resources measured the snow Monday at 54 inches deep. The water content was 25 inches, which is 101 percent of the average for this time of year.

The average level for the northern Sierra, which stretches from the Trinity River to the Feather and Truckee rivers, was about 84 percent of normal.

Water resources director Lester Snow said conditions do not look promising.

"Although recent storms have added to the snowpack, California remains in a serious drought," Snow said in a statement. "On the heels of two critically dry years it is unlikely we will make up the deficit and be able to refill our reservoirs before winter's end."

The findings are part of the third snow survey of the season and come days after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state drought emergency that asks Californians to cut by their water use by 20 percent.

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