A winter storm is set to hit the Sierra Nevada on Sunday, battering the Tahoe area with snowfall and hazardous wind gusts that are expected to impact travel conditions throughout the day.
After a relatively fair forecast on Saturday, a winter weather advisory will be in effect for the Tahoe area from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, Gigi Giralte, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, told SFGATE. Mountain passes, including Donner Summit, are expected to see from 8 to 12 inches of snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph.
“When the precipitation starts, you can see pretty low visibility, which can make travel difficult as well,” Giralte said. “So those two aspects are combining to make travel challenging, specifically over I-80 and Donner Pass.”
Strong winds are the “primary hazard” related to this storm, with potentially dangerous gusts starting late Saturday night and continuing into Sunday, according to the National Weather Service . Impacts could include power outages, downed trees, damage to weak structures and various travel obstacles. Gusts up to 70 mph could affect highways, including parts of Interstate 580, Highway 395 through Carson Valley and Highway 395 near Walker Lake. Lake Tahoe could see waves 2 to 5 feet high and wind gusts up to 60 mph, and gusts on mountain ridges could surpass 100 mph, making backcountry recreation unsafe…