Carson City residents may see snow on the valley floor by Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather pattern that has settled over the area will continue to bring evening and early morning showers through the weekend and colder temperatures should follow Friday through Sunday.
"There was a lot of subtropical moisture coming up from the southwest," said Mark Deutschendorf, meteorologist "That's what has caused all this rain and snow."
Snow dropped as far south as Mammoth, which saw 4 inches of new snow, while Tahoe saw 3 to 6 inches of snow, and Susanville 3 inches of snow.
"Tahoe ski areas saw about 3 to 6 inches; Tahoe City had about 3 inches," Deutschendorf said. "Not much snow fell around the lake level."
Snow and rain can be expected today and Thursday with the snow level staying around 7,000 feet. There may be some travel restrictions in the higher elevations, Deutschendorf said.
By Friday, a cooler airflow will push the snow level to the foothills and possibly the valley floors. Levels should reach around 5,500 to 5,000 feet by late afternoon. Temperatures should drop to the low 20s with the highs reaching the mid-40s.
The storm came not a minute too soon for Lake Tahoe area ski resorts.
As much as 2 feet of snow over the weekend turned the gray mountains to a glistening white and turned business around on the slopes for the first time this season.
''It's amazing what two days of snow can do,'' Kirkwood Ski Resort spokeswoman Tania Pilkinton said.
''Our numbers are finally going up - people are responding to the snow,'' she said.
Kirkwood expected a total of about 10,000 visits over the three-day weekend. That was down from past years but ''it was good just because it was so bleak before this weekend,'' Pilkinton said.
Another 2 inches of snow fell at Donner Summit late Monday and early Tuesday, and more snow was in the forecast this week. Rain was falling the Reno area Tuesday morning.
The snow helped resorts reach or approach full operation for terrain and lifts.
''It was good. It was a real pick-me-up,'' said Murray Blaney, spokesman at Mount Rose-Ski Tahoe, which had its latest opening date in 13 years.
''It finally felt like a ski season,'' he said.
Northstar-at-Tahoe was busy all three days and close to capacity on Sunday, said spokeswoman Nancy Barna.
''The rest of the season we should be doing fine, even busier,'' she said as word spreads about the conditions, which were stellar Sunday with about 20 inches of powder greeting guests.
Heavenly Ski Resort reported up to 25 inches of new snow over the three days and a larger crowd than expected Sunday.
''All in all, it was a very good holiday weekend - we're extremely happy,'' spokeswoman Monica Bandows-Marini said.
