Wind heralds arrival of winter storm

A wind advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. today. It's 6 a.m. and the wind is already blowing. The National Weather Service says that will get worse through the day with southwest winds 20-30 mph gusting up to 65 mph in wind-prone areas, such as Highway 88 through Carson Valley. Strong crosswinds are expected on all north-south oriented highways. There's a high wind advisory on Highway 395 through Washoe Valley.

Coming in behind this front is a pretty serious winter storm, as a very cold low pressure system drops into northern California and Nevada this weekend. Snow levels are expected to hit the valley floors on Friday night and then keep going down by Saturday. The National Weather Service says some of their models say there could be significant snowfall in the valleys of Western Nevada. The forecast ranges from 5 to 10 inches of snow in the valleys. Travel over the Sierra will be a mess.