Lightning was peppering Hawthorne southeast of Gardnerville on Friday afternoon.
Lightning is hammering Hawthorne as a big thunderstorm cell chugs northeast toward Austin, well east of Carson Valley.
More than a dozen strikes were recorded at lightningmaps.org on Friday afternoon over the last hour.
Forecasters say moisture from the south is increasing the chance of afternoon thunderstorms, mostly in Mono and Mineral counties.
Hawthorne is located just south of Walker Lake in Mineral County.
“A slight chance of thunderstorms remain (Saturday) afternoon, but coverage is expected to be more limited,” according to the Friday afternoon forecast. “Main hazards with storms will be gusty outflow winds in excess of 45 mph with blowing dust, brief heavy rain and the potential for new fire starts.”
Further west, hot and dry conditions are expected to continue with temperatures near 100 degrees in the valleys and upper 80s in the Sierra.
Minden Tahoe Airport recorded a fourth day in a row where the high temperature reached 97 degrees on Friday.
Saturday’s high is forecast to reach 96 degrees, while Sunday is expected to hit 95 before temperatures moderate a bit.
It’ has been 66 days since the last recorded precipitation in Minden, and according to the forecast that’s unlikely to change very soon.
