Nevada Weather Emergency Continues; More Rain, Snow Coming

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Most of Nevada was under an emergency declaration Monday in anticipation of more rain, from California to Utah, and more heavy snow in the Sierra where repeated storms already have made it one of the snowiest winters in decades.

A winter storm warning remains in effect at Lake Tahoe until Wednesday evening.

Snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) an hour are possible at times as the latest storm moves in Tuesday, the National Weather Service said late Monday. Up to 3 feet (91 cm) of new snow is forecast at the highest elevations above the mountain lake along the California line.

A large portion of north-central Nevada was under a flood warning until 11 p.m. Wednesday.

“Urban area and small stream flooding caused by rain and snowmelt is occurring,” the weather service in Elko said late Monday.

An aide to Gov. Joe Lombardo said Monday that the broad expansion of a smaller state of emergency first issued last week will remain in effect for at least the next several days due to road damage already reported in some areas and the next wave of wet weather on the horizon.

All but four of the state’s 17 counties are now included in the emergency declaration the Republican governor originally enacted on Thursday for four counties and Yomba Shoshone tribal lands.

Elizabeth Ray, the governor’s spokeswoman, said Monday that emergency managers remain concerned about rising flood threats due to more wet and windy weather.

Serious damage has not been reported in Nevada, but the next significant storm was fast on the heels of one that just that dropped up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow over the past four days at the top of Tahoe ski resorts, in addition to more than 50 feet (15.2 meters) that already had fallen at some this winter.

Another 12 inches (30 cm) of snow fell Sunday night at Palisades Tahoe ski resort for a four-day total of 41 inches (104 cm) south of Truckee, California, and another 8 inches (20 cm) fell at Mount Rose on the edge of Reno for a total of up to 52 inches (1.3 meters).

Only Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, and the rural counties of Lincoln, Lander and Pershing were not listed in the governor’s declaration.

Lombardo cited highways and local roads damaged by flooding, avalanches and rockslides in a region stretching across mountains, valleys and vast rangelands east to Elko. The declaration lets the state seek federal funding and help for storm damage repairs.

State transportation officials said U.S. 95, a key highway between Las Vegas and Reno, reopened during the weekend after having been closed due to a rock fall near Walker Lake.