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RENO, Nev. (AP) — Up to 18 inches of wet, heavy snow fell along the Sierra's eastern front on Tuesday, closing schools in Reno and Sparks and triggering power outages for tens of thousands of northern Nevadans.
Most of the snow had melted in the valleys by Tuesday afternoon. But the National Weather Service warned the moisture would refreeze overnight, making for icy road conditions and isolated freezing fog Wednesday morning with lows forecast in the teens or lower 20s around Reno and as low as single digits around Lake Tahoe.
As much as a foot of snow was reported in eastern Nevada along the Utah line as the storm moved east.
More than 36,000 customers saw power outages for several hours on Tuesday. While more than half had power restored by 3 p.m., about 8,000 still were without power by 6 p.m. The outages were caused by trees falling on power lines and snow accumulating on others, mostly in the Reno-Sparks area,
Snow began falling Monday evening, with totals varying widely across the region, from 18 inches north of Reno and Stead, to 10 inches in Spanish Springs north of Sparks, and 7 inches at Incline Village on Lake Tahoe's north shore, the National Weather Service said.
It was one of the highest single-storm total snowfalls the area has seen in years, the service said.
A foot of new snow was reported at Mount Rose Ski Resort, which opened for the season last week on the southwest edge of Reno. Several inches of snow also fell in Virginia City, Carson City, Gardnerville, Fernley and Fallon.
"That one-and-a-half foot amount, that's very unusual for us," National Weather Service meteorologist Jon Mittelstadt told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "We've had four years of drought, and most of the storms we've had were warm."
More than a dozen schools in Washoe County were closed, mostly as a result of power and heat outages, school officials said.
Travel restrictions were lifted on U.S. Interstate 80 over the Sierra by midmorning Tuesday, but chains or snow tires were required on most other mountain highways into the afternoon.
Numerous minor traffic accidents were reported on icy city streets.
In White Pine County, 13 inches of snow was reported near McGill and more than 12 inches near Ely, the weather service said.
In southern Nevada, several inches of snow fell on Mount Charleston. Rain drops fell near the Las Vegas Strip while gusty winds heralded the arrival of a cold front.
Winds gusted to more than 40 mph in some parts of the Las Vegas valley, and 0.03 inches of rain was measured at McCarran International Airport, National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Outler said.
Temperatures were expected to reach the upper 50s before dropping to the low 40s overnight with the possibility of more showers.
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AP reporter Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report
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