No one is getting over the passes this morning without chains or snow tires. Both Donner Pass and Echo Summit requires chains. So far, Highway 88 is only requiring chains or snow tires starting at Sorenson's and headed west for a long ways. Both Highway 50 and Kingsbury Grade require chains or snow tires, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation. The valleys are clear along the commute to Reno.
It looks like the Weather Service hit the nail on the head for this morning. It definitely rained and there are little tufts of snow on the bushes outside. It will continue to snow until about 11 a.m. today and then turn to scattered rain showers. Winds will be blowing at about 7-15 mph. Less than half an inch will accumulate this morning, it at all.
The impression that April was a pretty wet month held true in the Valley, but it didn't do that much in the Sierra. Minden had 112 percent of its average precipitation during the month, a whopping .37 inches. However, up on the mountain, the Snotel meters were showing percentages in the 60s and 70s ranging from Ebbett's Pass with 78 percent to Spratt Creek with 55 percent. The Carson River Basin is averaging just over half its normal precipitation for the water year.
