Anyone traveling to Reno before the SCI convention next week might want to give themselves a little extra time. I live 2 hours west of Reno, and we've got a large storm headed our way. The forecast is calling for rain in the valley and snow in the mountains from Sunday clear into Wednesday. The expectation is for several feet of new snow in the Sierra's. The Sierra's and much of northern Nevada will be tough traveling for a few days. It should not affect Reno International that much, but for those who are driving, you might want to give youreselves some extra time to get there.

After Wednesday, the forecast is for weather to clear and be very nice. You Africans who like to ski will be here at a perfect time to hit the slopes at Lake Tahoe.

My wife and I are flying into SF and driving, do they do a pretty good job keeping the roads clear? Any passes I have to worry about that could be closed?

I'm flying into SF on Friday, driving to Reno
Hopefully the weather is clear by then

Just the big one at Donner Pass/Summit.

With all the traffic going to SCI there should be plenty to eat!

I will be driving from Sacremento airport to Reno late Wednesday night. What can I expect. I am renting an SUV.

Appreciate all input.

Larry

The worst should be over by Wednesday evening. There will be controls in effect over Donner Summit but I 80 will be kept open if at all possible. Expect delays. The plows have a dump bed throwing out volcanic ash/sand mix and the Highway Patrol usually escorts traffic in groups. A 4WD SUV will make driving a little easier.

I will be driving from Redding on Tuesday. I will travel 44 to Susanville then down 395 to Reno. It will be all snow and ice from 20 miles east of Redding but 4WD truck, locker rear end and studded snow tires will take care of business. Was SOS two years ago. Keep the speed down, steady as she goes, pot of coffee, will get it down.

DLS,

Thank you for the heads up. Just got this from www.weather.com

Hoping for a safe journey for everyone coming to Reno. We arrive Sunday.



... WINDS...

* STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE RIDGES WITH EACH WEATHER SYSTEM... ESPECIALLY THROUGH MOUNTAIN PASSES AND IN PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEVADA. SIERRA RIDGE GUSTS OVER 100 MPH ARE NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION... WITH GUSTS ABOVE 40 MPH IN THE WESTERN NEVADA VALLEYS. THE BEST CHANCE FOR STRONG WINDS IS ON MONDAY... AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY.

... TRAVEL IMPACTS...

* THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND WIND IN THE SIERRA MAY PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL DELAYS AND PERIODIC ROAD CLOSURES... ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. PERIODS OF BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WITH LOW VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY NEXT WEEK IN THE SIERRA. AIR TRAVEL INTO AND OUT OF THE RENO AIRPORT MAY BE IMPACTED BY PERIODS OF STRONG WINDS AND/OR SNOW.

kinda of glad i am going over early Sun, hopefully before the s==t hits the fan big time.

Watching the local news here in the San Francisco bay area. They are saying 4-8" of rain in the lower elevations, 10-15" at the higher elevations and the possibility of 10' of snow above 5000'. This weather is supposed to be over the next 10 days. I am heading up Friday mid-day and hope there is a clear window through Interstate 80.

Thanks,

Greg

Hey DLS, looks like we might be almost neighbors. I'm in Sacramento (about 2 hours west of Reno) and will be driving up on Wed morning.

All the reports I see say it should be snowing on Donner Summit most of the week. As long as all of that predicted 10 feet of snow is spread out over 4 or so days, they roads should remain in decent shape. The road crews on I80 usually stay on top of it. If you're driving, in a 2-wheel drive vehicle, there is a good chance you will have to chain up. 4x4's with snow tires rarely have to chain up, but it is still a good idea to carry chains and start out with a full tank of gas just in case gets held up and you want to stay warm. If you're driving a rental, be sure the rental company provides you with chains.

HELP

Ok guys , you have the African s@$@$ himself,

I am driving up from Las Cruces,NM on Sunday, hopefully too arrive Monday ?

Where is this white shit gonna be????

What is your planned rout? Las Cruces/Las Vegas/Reno? Or ??

Kwan,

I'm guessing you'll take I-10 to I-5, right? You won't be getting into snow until the very last part somewhere between Sacramento and Reno.

I hope you have more than one driver, if you're leaving Cruces Sunday morning you'll have to pretty much drive straight through to get to Reno on Monday.

For those of you traveling to Reno from points west on I-80, there are a few ways to get the most up to date road and weather conditions.

1st - CalTrans has a automated phone service at 800-427-7626 that should provide the most up to date information about the road conditions and chain controls.

2nd - you can listen to the Sacramento talk radio stations. KFBK, AM 1530, in my opinion, has the best information the most often. It's also a very powerful station so you can pick it up in your car from 50 to 75 miles away from Sacramento.

3rd - as you are traveling on I-80, east of Sacramento, there are road signs that give a radio station frequency that broadcasts the current road conditions, just tune in for the latest recorded message.

Everyone - have a safe trip to and from Reno.

If you're traveling by car, be sure to have a full gas tank, blankets, anc chains. We are getting updated weather reports that are predicting this to be a very large, powerful storm that lasts throughout the week. I've heard several reports that predict up to 8" of rain and over 10 feet of snow in the mountains.

For those traveling over I-80 from Sacramento, you might want to consider taking Highway 70 up the Feather River canyon. It is lower elevation and sometimes during the worst storms people can get over that way when Donner Summit is closed down.

It's that damn global warming again..........

David: Thank you for those resources. I saved the number on my cell phone and will be listening to KFBK

DLS: That's good to know, I'll keep the alternate route in mind.

I couldn't believe it, but not only does Alamo not provide chains, they prohibit chains on their vehicles. Their tires are all season, not dedicated snow tires, so that should be interesting.

I'm looking into other companies and will change my reservation if I find a more sensible company.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott Powell:
It's that damn global warming again..........

Yeah, just imagine how bad it'd be without global warming to keep the temps up and the snow down.

David is right, KFBK AM1530 is our dominant station here and they will have frequent weather and traffic reports for those traveling to Reno from the west. Expect Interstate 80 to be closed over the summit a few times this week, and Highway 50 to South Lake Tahoe may be as well a few times.

I suddenly became happy I live far enough from Reno I have to fly!!! I can envision a trail of South African ditch divers from Dallas to Reno!!! Good luck driving guys!!! God help the locals driving to Reno!!!

Brett

Thanks for the advice all.

I am in Kingman and all is fine so far,

But will leave early in the morning for Reno, Appears no snow on my route

If anyone know more my mobile is 281 236 0325, I would ppreciate a headsup while o the way

I'm in Los Angeles at the moment, on Monday, and they are predicting the first big wave to hit this afternoon, with up to 3" or rain and winds with gusts to 70 mph by this evening. That should be hitting central and southern Nevada during the night. I have to drive home today, and am trying to get out of LA as soon as practical in order to reach El Dorado Hills by nightfall.

If you haven't driven from southern Nevada up to Reno before, realize that most of it is along 2 lane roads, and many miles between any towns or assistance. Most of the drive from Las Vegas to Reno is in isolated, remote high desert. This is my main concern for those driving and who don't know what the travel situation is, someone is going to get caught out in a remote stretch of highway and have a problem, and with this weather is could be serious.

I was just sent a very lengthy and detailed weather forecast that was issued by the U.S. Geological Survey for emergency response agencies throughtout the west, and this looks to be the beginning of a very ominous weather period. They are calling for 5-10 inches of rain in nothern CA, and up to 20" in "orographically favored" areas. They are predicting snow measured in "the tens of feet" in the Sierras, predicting that we're going to see an entire year's precipitation in the next couple weeks. Perhaps the most worrisome part of the forecast is for extremely high winds. It says there is a 200 mph jet over California now, and winds in the Sierras will exceed 100 mph at times over the next week or so.

If you're driving and already in Reno, you might consider plans to stay there for awhile. Driving conditions across the Sierras and remote stretches of Nevada are going to be very hazardous at times over the next couple weeks.

The fellow who wrote the forecast says "In short, the next 2-3 weeks (at least) are likely to be more active across California than any other 2-3 week period in recent memory." If you're not from around here, realize that everything that goes through California goes straight into Nevada after leaving our state.

Be safe out there.