Snowflakes fall as a car follows a garbage truck down a residential street in Sparks on Friday. The Reno-Sparks area is expected to get up to eight inches of snow through the weekend. As much as another six feet of new snow is possible in the upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada, where a winter storm warning continues into Monday.
On social media, the National Weather Service in Reno has been tagging this week’s storm as #januBURIED.
It’s a fitting label for the monstrosity forecast that’s coming this weekend in Northern Nevada.
Heavy snowfall is expected to make its debut tonight and following through Sunday morning, said NWS.
That means Carson City and Reno can expect 6-14 inches of snow by Sunday night. As for the valleys and the Foothills, 1-2 feet of snow will cover the area above 5,000 feet.
For other places such as Tahoe Basin, snow is expected to be 2-4 feet. As for the Ridge, snow is expected to be 3-6 feet, above 7,000 feet.
Does this mean there’s a new record or update in historical data for the area’s snowpack? NWS-Reno Meteorologist Brian O’Hara said that will be determined on Monday, in which he describes “a pretty heavy morning,” in snow terms.
And when a meteorologist says that, it’s safe to assume there will be road closures, travel delays and power outages.
Meanwhile, NV Energy is preparing for what’s to come. The company said they staged multiple crews, staff and heavy equipment in potentially hard-to-reach areas of Northern Nevada to improve response time.
NV Energy is reminding its customers to report outages and to call 911 if they encounter a downed line. People should stay away or in their car if they should find a downed power line.
Develop backup plans for those who are on life support. Review safety rules for portable generators. Learn how to override electric garage door openers. Keep refrigerators and freezers closed to reduce food spoilage.
Report outages to NV Energy and keep track of restoration efforts by visiting the outage center at nvenergy.com/outage or by calling customer service at 775-834-4444.
Customers can view outage information and updates via the NV Energy outage center at nvenergy.com/outage. For information about NV Energy, visit nvenergy.com or contact customer service at 775-834-4444.