The Oct. 18, 2021, R-C Morning Report

Genoa, Nev. — Chain controls are in effect for Kingsbury Grade and Spooner Summit this morning after it snowed early this morning. If you’re heading over the Sierra, there are chain controls on Interstate 80, highways 50, 88 and 89 and 395, 20 miles south of the Nevada border to 10 miles north of Lee Vining.

The traffic cameras are definitely showing snow on the passes. Ebbetts Pass snow telemetry is indicating a half-foot of snow, when it’s not reading 20 feet. Carson Pass is only reading 2 inches of snow while Hagen’s Meadow is showing 3 inches.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for Lake Tahoe through 9 a.m. today. A red flag warning and wind advisory was canceled after the moisture arrived earlier than expected.

My rain gauge is reading .22 inches, and there’s signs we had a little ice storm out on the patio furniture this morning. Fish Springs is reading .07 inches.

As of 6:30 a.m. there weren’t any power outages in Western Nevada, according to NVEnergy.com. The Nevada Highway Patrol reported roads are clear. Interstate 80 is a mess, according to the California Highway Patrol, with eight calls since 5 a.m. Expect the rest of the mountain roads to catch up, with the start of the morning commute.

There was plenty of wind blowing this storm in with the top speed in Carson Valley 45 mph in Fish Springs on Sunday afternoon. There was a 42 mph gust at Minden-Tahoe Airport just before 5 p.m. Sunday. It’s still a bit blustery out this morning so be careful out there.

The forecast calls for a slight chance of snow before 8 a.m. before the snow level starts rising to 5800 feet this afternoon. The high is forecast to hit 51 degrees today with the wind out of the southeast to 5-15 mph shifting to the west before lunchtime.

Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com