Winter weather advisory nudged ahead to 4 a.m.

A winter weather advisory for Western Nevada has been moved forward six hours to 4 a.m. Tuesday because snowfall is expected during the morning commute, according to the National Weather Service.

Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley urged residents and visitors to take extra time on the roads on Tuesday.

“If you are going to be out on the roadways give yourself more travel time,” he said, “Reduce your speeds, increase your distance from other cars and plows, have an emergency car kit with blankets and warm layers, and prepare your vehicle ahead of time.”

High winds were blowing the snow off Jobs, Jobs Sister and Freel peaks on Monday afternoon.

“We are currently mostly at a lull in the action with the precipitation and winds across the region,” forecasters said on Monday afternoon.

Douglas County’s Clerk-Treasurer Amy Burgans said her office is ready for a stormy Election Day.

“Douglas County election staff diligently prepared for the winter weather and have planned for all contingencies,” Amy Burgans said. “The voting centers will remain open and ready to serve our residents from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.”

Douglas County Public Works got a taste of stormy weather on Monday morning when a big branch fell across Orchard Road thanks to 60 mph.

“Our crews are well-trained and our equipment is in great shape, so we are ready a get our roads plowed as quickly as possible, but we are asking for the public’s patience as our crews service multiple miles of county road infrastructure,” Douglas County Transportation Engineer Jon Erb said.

The county generally sends snowplows out when 4 inches of snow has accumulated on the roads it maintains.

Highways, including 395, 50, Kingsbury Grade, Genoa Lane, Foothill Road and 208 are plowed by the Nevada Department of Transportation.

The towns of Gardnerville, Genoa, and Minden, and various general improvement districts also handle plowing of roads within their jurisdictions.

For more information on snow removal, call the Douglas County Public Works Department at (775) 782-9035.

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While the sun’s out in Carson Valley and most of the light snow that fell is already melted away, highways at Lake Tahoe are still slushy.

The real story over night was the wind. The Fish Springs Fire Station had a 59 mph gust at 1:38 a.m. Monday. A wind gauge in Jacks Valley recorded a 59 mph gust at 11:20 p.m. Sunday.

Minden-Tahoe Airport recorded three 47 mph gusts at 1-1:35 a.m. Monday as the storm arrived. 

The wind contributed to a big tree branch down across Orchard Road just west of Scotti overnight.

Douglas road crews were able to get half the branch off the roadway by dawn, and were clearing the rest of the tree.

While it snowed in the Valley for the second time in five days, conditions were too warm for it to stick most places.

Fredericksburg resident Jeff Garvin reported .22 inches of rain as of 6:19 a.m. with some light snow falling.

Minden weather watcher Stan Kapler said he had .1 inches on Monday morning.

A winter weather advisory was delayed on Sunday until 10 a.m. Tuesday after forecasters determined the first blast would be weaker for Monday.

Tuesday snowfall totals of 3-6 inches are forecast for Carson Valley and 6-10 inches for the foothills.