First big lightning storm of 2024 knocks out power, sets small fire

Not eight days after it snowed in Carson Valley, the first big thunderstorm of 2024 rumbled across Western Nevada on Monday evening.

The storm rolled into Douglas County from the northeast taking out electricity to 2,802 NV Energy customers around 6:45 p.m., mostly in the northern Carson Valley and around the Carson City line.

The power was restored to most of the customers by 7:30 p.m.

A brief power bump around 7:40 p.m. took out Spectrum internet and cable television. Service was expected to be restored around 10 p.m.

Lightning strikes peppered Western Nevada, setting a small wildfire near Walley’s Hot Springs and a report of another on Kingsbury Grade near Foothill Road.

Heavy rain accompanying the lightning helped douse the 20-by-20-foot Walley’s fire in the sagebrush, according to East Fork firefighters. They were not able to find the Kingsbury fire.

The National Weather Service issued a thunderstorm warning at 5:44 p.m. for parts of Douglas County as the storm crossed into the Pine Nuts. Weather Service radar showed another cell develop directly over Carson Valley as the first one approached and combined as it headed back over the Carson Range toward Lake Tahoe.

A rain gauge on Highway 88 between Centerville and Mottsville recorded .41 inches of rain over 30 minutes between 7:50 and 8:20 p.m.

A spot near Fredericksburg recorded .24 inches over two hours.

There’s a chance of a repeat of afternoon thunderstorms mostly over the Sierra crest in Alpine and Mono counties before heading west.

A high pressure ridge is expected to bring warmer than average temperatures with some lower elevations hitting 90 degrees on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures could cool off by this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.