246
FXUS65 KREV 260935
AFDREV
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
135 AM PST FRI DEC 26 2025
KEY MESSAGES
* PERIODS OF HEAVY SIERRA SNOW, SIGNIFICANT MOUNTAIN TRAVEL
DISRUPTIONS, AND GUSTY WINDS CONTINUE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON.
* SNOW IMPACTS MAY SPREAD INTO WESTERN NEVADA FOOTHILLS BY THIS
MORNING.
* DRY WEATHER RETURNS THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH COLD
TEMPERATURES AND GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS ALONG SIERRA RIDGES.
DISCUSSION
AS OF THIS WRITING, WE ARE GETTING A RAIN/SNOW MIX AT NWS RENO
WITH A TEMPERATURE OF 35F. DUE TO THE WARMER TEMPERATURES WE HAD
YESTERDAY, ANY SNOW THIS EARLY MORNING WILL HAVE TROUBLE
ACCUMULATING, PRIMARILY ON ROADWAYS. WITH THE LATEST FORECAST RUN,
THE BEST TIMING FOR SNOW IN W NV VALLEYS HAS SHIFTED TO 5-9 AM
THIS MORNING. AS SUCH, WE ARE EXTENDING THE WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR THE RENO-CARSON CITY-MINDEN AREA UNTIL 10 AM.
FOOTHILL COMMUNITIES ABOVE 5500' HAVE A 30% CHANCE OF SEEING AT
LEAST 2 INCHES OF SNOW BY THIS AFTERNOON. IF ISOLATED BANDS OF
HEAVY PRECIP LINE UP JUST RIGHT, ISOLATED LOCATIONS ABOVE 5500'
COULD SEE UP TO 6".
FOR OUR SIERRA COUNTERPARTS, HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
THROUGH MUCH OF TODAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL WRAP UP BY LATE
MORNING BUT A FINAL PUSH OF MOISTURE WILL BRING SNOW SHOWERS
THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. TO COINCIDE WITH THIS, WE ARE EXTENDING
OUR WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM.
WINDS WILL REMAIN ELEVATED THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS, WITH
WIDESPREAD GUSTS UP TO 30-35 MPH. RIDGE WIND GUSTS CONTINUE TO
RANGE FROM UP TO 90 MPH BUT WILL DECREASE TO 60-80 MPH BY
TONIGHT. LOOKING INTO THE WEEKEND, GUSTY RIDGE WINDS WILL
CONTINUE, BUT WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.
A RIDGING PATTERN SETS BACK UP THIS WEEKEND, ALLOWING FOR COLD
NIGHTS AND MILD AFTERNOONS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST
PERIOD. IN THE EXTENDED RANGE, MODELS HINT AT ANOTHER SYSTEM
AROUND NEW YEARS, BRINGING OUR TYPICAL CAST OF CHARACTERS (GUSTY
WINDS, MOUNTAIN SNOW, AND VALLEY RAIN).
-GIRALTE
AVIATION
MVFR CONDITIONS WITH BRIEF PERIODS OF IFR LIKELY FOR SIERRA FRONT
TERMINALS THROUGH MUCH OF TODAY. IFR CONDITIONS WILL BE ASSOCIATED
WITH -RASN/-SN, WITH THE MOST LIKELY TIMEFRAME BETWEEN 26/12Z -
26/18Z. FOR SIERRA TERMINALS, IFR/LIFR CONDITIONS LIKELY THROUGH
MUCH OF THIS MORNING BEFORE RISING TO MVFR BY THE LATE AFTERNOON
HOURS DUE TO SN LIGHTENING UP.
CHANCES FOR RUNWAY ACCUMULATIONS FOR KRNO/KCXP/KMEV HAVE DECREASED
WITH THE LATEST MODEL RUN (<10% CHANCE OF 0.5") DUE TO WARM
ROADWAYS. KTVL/KMMH HAVE THE BEST CHANCE (50%) FOR RUNWAY
ACCUMULATIONS TO EXCEED 6" WITH A 25% CHANCE FOR KTRK BY THIS
AFTERNOON.
MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS AND LLWS WILL IMPACT ALL TAF SITES THROUGH
THE PERIOD. GUSTS UP TO 30 KTS EXPECTED FOR SIERRA FRONT
TERMINALS, WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 KTS FOR SIERRA TERMINALS.
-GIRALTE
AVALANCHE
IMPACTS FROM HEAVY, WET SNOW AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS EXPECTED ACROSS
ALL AVALANCHE CENTER TERRAIN THROUGH THIS EVENING.
* SWE, SLRS, AND SNOW LEVELS: SWE TOTALS UP TO 2.5" ALONG THE
HIGHEST PEAKS, OTHERWISE 1-2". SLRS WILL RANGE FROM 9-11:1,
THOUGH, THOSE MIGHT RISE TO 12-13:1 BY THIS AFTERNOON AS COLDER,
DRIER AIR MOVES IN. SNOW LEVELS WILL STAY BELOW 6000' ACROSS THE
ENTIRE SIERRA.
* SNOWFALL TOTALS AND RATES: AT LAKE LEVEL, 8-15" OF SNOW THROUGH
TONIGHT, WITH AN ADDITIONAL 2-4 FEET POSSIBLE ALONG THE HIGHEST
PEAKS OF THE TAHOE BASIN. TOTALS WILL BE LOCALLY LOWER FOR MONO
COUNTY, WITH UP TO ~2 FEET ALONG THE HIGHEST PEAKS AND UP TO 10" ALONG
US-395. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1.5-2.5"/HR EXPECTED UNTIL ABOUT NOON
(UP TO 3"/HR NEAR MAMMOTH THIS MORNING), AFTER WHICH RATES DROP
BELOW 1"/HR FOR THE REST OF THE DAY.
* RIDGETOP GUSTS: WSW GUSTS UP TO 90 MPH TODAY, SHIFTING MORE
WESTERLY WITH GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH BY THIS EVENING.
-GIRALTE
REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
NV...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON NVZ002.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING NVZ003.
CA...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON CAZ071>073.
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