Another red, white and blue morning in Topaz Ranch Estates.
John Flaherty | Special to The R-C
The wind blew so hard it knocked the clocks forward an hour early Sunday morning.
Mottsville residents reported a 104 mph gust early this morning and a wind gauge off Highway 88 recorded an 81 mph gust at 3:10 a.m. and a 71 mph gust at 6:50 a.m.
Winds may have been responsible for toppling a big rig near June Lake in Mono County at around 7 a.m. A 59 mph wind gust was recorded at 7:10 a.m. near that location. Campers, trailers and other high-profile vehicles are prohibited on Highway 395 from Bishop to the Nevada state line, and north of Reno from the state line to Johnstonville.
High profile vehicles 9 feet or taller are prohibited on Interstate 580 from East Lake Boulevard to Mount Rose Highway.
A 56 mph wind gust blasted through Carson Valley early this morning with sustained west southwest winds of 30 mph or higher accompanying the time change, according to the Minden-Tahoe Airport weather station.
A wind advisory is in effect through 11 a.m. today with southwest winds of 20-35 mph gusting up to 55 mph. Some wind prone locations could see gusts of up to 70 mph, with gusts over the Sierra Crest hitting 120 mph.
Wave heights of 2-5 feet are expected on Lake Tahoe.
The strongest wind gusts are expected along the Highway 395 corridor, which includes Highway 88 in Carson Valley.
There are chain controls over Mount Rose, but none anywhere else, with temperatures in the upper 40s in Carson Valley before dawn today.
With a week to go in winter a spring weather pattern is setting up with mild temperatures and breezy conditions over the next week.
A storm next weekend could be colder and wetter but may be too fast to leave much moisture behind.
Today’s storm brings mostly wind, but another system is due to approach late Monday night and into Tuesday morning.
Forecasters say the middle of the week will be milder before next weekend’s storm shows up.
