Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Reno, NV
Issued by NWS Reno, NV
775 FXUS65 KREV 092135 AFDREV Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Reno NV 135 PM PST Sat Nov 9 2024 .SYNOPSIS... * Smoky and hazy conditions continue within the region today before improving by tomorrow. * Gusty winds, mountain snow and valley rain arrive Monday with possible impacts to travel along the Sierra passes late Monday into Tuesday morning. * Following a brief break in active weather midweek, another system is in the forecast later in the week which looks to keep the region showery, cool, and breezy. && .DISCUSSION... With an upper air ridge over the region this afternoon, the CWA continues to see high pressure dominate its weather pattern by keeping winds relatively calm. Smoke and haze caused by area prescribed burns will linger within the region due to the poor mixing and ventilation in the current stable atmosphere. Please continue to monitor the air quality in your area by visiting airnow.gov especially if you are sensitive to smoke in the air. Forecast guidance shows an upper air trough behind the upper air ridge moving towards the CWA on Sunday morning and passing over the CWA during the day. With this pattern change, the CWA should see adequate mixing and better ventilation into Sierra and far western valleys that clear-out most of this unwanted smoky air. On Monday, forecast guidance depicts another yet stronger upper air trough moving towards the CWA during the day before passing over the CWA going into Monday night and departing Tuesday morning. At the surface, this system looks to bring a period of gusty southwesterly winds, mountain snowfall, and valley rain to the region for the Veterans Day holiday. Upon looking at NBM wind probabilities, the Sierra ridges see around a 40-50% chance for afternoon wind gusts of 70+ mph with valley portions of the CWA seeing a 40-60% chance for afternoon wind gusts of 40+ mph. There may be potential for a Lake Wind Advisory for Lake Tahoe, but not enough confidence at this time to issue one just yet. As for the expected wintry precipitation, models show shower chances moving into the Sierra Mountains beginning on Monday morning before spreading over the remainder of the CWA going through the day and moving out of the region by Tuesday morning. When looking at the Sierra Mountain snow situation, forecast guidance shows the bulk of the expected snowfall coming in the late afternoon and evening hours of Monday. The latest NBM probabilities show around a 50-70% chance of 6 inches or more of snow for the highest elevations of the Sierra Mountains by Tuesday morning. The latest Winter Storm Severity Index (WSSI) shows minor to moderate impacts along the Sierra Passes on Monday going into Tuesday as a result. There is still some uncertainty at this time for a potential winter product as run-to-run snowfall totals have been waffling up and down a bit, but will continue monitoring the situation as the system approaches. It would be advised to check the road conditions via state DOT websites such as Caltrans Quickmap (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) and Nevada 511 (nvroads.com) if you plan on traveling through the expected snow impacted areas on Monday and Tuesday. Snow levels look to drop to around 5500 ft on Monday night which may allow for some lower elevations to see snow mix in following rain showers during the day. Little to no snowfall accumulations are expected at lower elevations should snow occur with minimal impacts seen at this time. A trailing upper air ridge is then seen moving over the CWA by Tuesday afternoon allowing for dry conditions to return to the region. But by Wednesday afternoon, ensemble guidance forecasts wintry precipitation chances starting to return to the region that might last through the late week with yet another Pacific trough moving into the western CONUS behind the aforementioned ridge. There is some good uncertainty with timing of this trough`s progression currently. Therefore, details of this late week system are not very clear outside of the potential for some enhanced winds on Wednesday afternoon for the region along with a cooling temperature trend going into the weekend. Will continue to monitor this situation as it develops and will have more information in future forecast packages. -078 && .AVIATION... * Today we will continue to see clouds filter in from the incoming trough, with light winds for all terminals. Smoke and haze is possible for KTRK and KRNO, which may affect slantwise visibility through the afternoon hours. Better mixing is expected Sunday ahead of the incoming system. * Southwest winds will increase along ridges Sunday afternoon and into the evening. This will introduce LLWS, and turbulence along the Sierra, affecting KTRK, KTVL, KMMH late Sunday into Monday morning. Ridge gusts Monday morning could approach 70+ kts. * Clouds and showers increasing for Monday, bringing concerns for mountain obscuration through early Tuesday morning. HRICH && .REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NV...None. CA...None. && $$