Strong winds around 6 p.m. on Tuesday had searchers in Alpine County packing it in for the night in their hunt for Sun Valley resident Leslie Gray, whose car was found parked for a week near Hangman's Bridge in Alpine County. Searchers from all over the Sierra have been using all the tools at their disposal to try and find out what happened to Gray.
Both Fish Springs and the college reported 40 mph gusts on Wednesday, but I bet we had some in the 50s over on the west side of the Valley. On my way home, I saw the wind uproot a tree along Jacks Valley Road. It just sort of keeled over and some dirt flew up at the roots. I'll bet there are some missing shingles to go along with this one. We got a little bit of rain, but mostly a lot of wind.
Chains or four-wheel drive is being required over Highway 88 from Sorensen's west and on Interstate 80 across Donner Summit. There's a wind watch through Washoe Valley, and it has been shut down to trucks. Otherwise, the roads are pretty clear.
There's a slight chance we'll see some snow flakes fall this morning, and then a couple of rain drops after that. The wind will continue to blow through tonight as another storm rolls in. If there are any April showers to be had from these storms, look for them to come in Thursday evening.
