Storm causes local power outages, minor accidents

The storm system which hit Northern Nevada Tuesday morning is "a rare event," said National Weather Service meteorologist Scott McGuire.

"Typhoon Melor that hit Japan last week - the remnants of that super typhoon came across the north Pacific and combined with a powerful jet stream, and it's presently located off the northwest coast," McGuire said. They were the perfect ingredients."

McGuire said the heaviest rains were expected today, and snow in the Sierra, which was at the 7,500-foot level was continuing to rise throughout the day to about the 8,500-foot level with this storm.

"There are no major flood concerns, but some small urban streams could create some nuisance flooding," he said.

The storm started at 8 or 9 this morning across western Nevada, bringing 2-6 inches of rain to the mountains and several feet of snow above the 9,000-foot level, with about half an inch to the valley floor, McGuire said.

"This is a quick-moving storm expected to taper off this evening, turning into a wind event causing possible damage," he said.

There is a high-wind warning from 5 p.m. tonight until 5 a.m. Wednesday with south-to-soutwest winds 25-35 mph and gusts up to 65 mph.

"There will be strong gusts in wind-prone areas like Washoe Valley, and this wind will be capable of causing damage to trees, powerlines and fences," he said.

Several scattered power outages were reported throughout the day Tuesday, but the largest, affecting 1,325 customers primarily in the Mound House and east Carson City area, was attributed to equipment failure, said NVEnergy spokesman Karl Walquist.

The outage was reported around 2 p.m. Most homes were back in service by 3:15 p.m. Service to the remaining 100-150 customers in the Laxalt Drive area was expected to restored by about 6 p.m.

The equipment failure occurred at the Brunswick Substation near U.S. 50 East and was caused by rain water affecting a number of insulators that needed to be replaced, Walquist said.

The forecast for tomorrow calls for showers with highs around 64 degrees. Thursday is expected to be partly cloudy with highs of 71 degrees. Friday will be sunny with 72-degree highs.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chuck Allen said there was only one weather-related accident around the Carson City area Tuesday afternoon. The single-vehicle accident occurred on U.S. 50 near Lake Tahoe. One person was reported to have received minor injuries.

The Associated Press reported that there were several minor accidents on the Mount Rose Highway where several vehicles slid off the road. In Reno, one wreck involved a vehicle traveling north on U.S. Highway 395 that hit the divider wall and sent a chunk of concrete into the windshield of a southbound truck, Trooper Chuck Allen said.

The driver of the truck was transported to Renown Regional Medical Center with unknown injuries, Allen said. The driver of the northbound vehicle was not injured.

"There's about a 10- to 12-inch hole in his windshield where the concrete hit," Allen said. "The roadway is very slick and wet, so we're looking at a weather-related cause."