High winds on Thursday morning clocked the National Weather Service radar on Virginia Peak, collapsing one side of it.
The radar is located northeast of Reno at about 8,300 feet and was hit by a 145 mph wind gust.
Forecasters say the tower has survived higher winds, but might have been weakened by lightning strikes over the last several years.
It will take days of fair weather to fix, something that's not in the upcoming forecast, according to a weather service spokesman. There are at least two storms headed this way, one on Christmas Eve and the other on Christmas Day.
