Water year coming to a wet end

The record 2022-23 water year will go out on a wet note this weekend, with a quarter inch of rain forecast for Carson Valley on Saturday.

The water year officially ends on Saturday, having started on Oct. 1, 2022. If not a drop of rain falls this weekend, the year will have seen 24.16 inches of precipitation.

Forecasters are predicting temperatures will drop to just two degrees above freezing in Minden early Sunday morning but should bounce back up by Monday.

“A cold storm will bring increased winds Friday, with chilly and showery conditions prevailing through the weekend and into early next week,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Justin Collins.

There is a possibility that Valley residents may awake to new snow on Jobs Peak over the weekend.

“Well, the time has finally come to mention the infamous ‘S’ Word,” Collins said. “Snow will be possible in the high Sierra in Alpine and Mono counties starting early Saturday morning and lasting through late Sunday night. Snow levels will start off around 8,500-9,000 feet Saturday morning and slowly drop to 8,000-8,500 feet Sunday evening.”

If it arrives, there could be 1-3 inches of snow on the ground above 8,500 feet.

The storm’s arrival should reduce the amount of smoke in Carson Valley as foresters extinguish the burning they’ve been conducting at the Quarry Fire near Strawberry.