Better Chance For Wind Than Rain This Weekend

After a warm September and start to October cooler air will move in this weekend. A front will move through Saturday afternoon, dropping temperatures, increasing wind speeds, and giving areas to the north a chance for light rain. Unfortunately, this does not look like a huge rain maker. Majority of the moisture will stay to our north over the Pacific Northwest. Parts of the Washington coastline could see a few inches of rain next week, while northeast California could get a few hundredths of an inch. The Truckee Meadows will see more wind than anything else.

While the relative humidity will be in the 20’s Saturday, we’ve been so dry lately that wind gusts over 30mph could still make a fire grow out of control. Winds will be coming out of the southwest in front of the low and northwest behind it. While it could be a little hazy Friday, the air will be even cleaner behind the front. Areas south of Tahoe and closer to the Creek Fire will still see poor air quality Friday and at least the first half of Saturday before the front moves through. Wind prone areas could see gusts near 70 miles per hour Saturday. There is a Fire Weather Watch posted for the Tahoe Basin, Sierra Front, Southern Mono County, and the Lahontan Basin from Saturday afternoon through Saturday evening for extremely dry fuels and strong southwesterly winds. Fingers crossed northeast California can receive some rain, helping to put some of the fires out. Such as the Complex Fire. 

Here's a look at forecasted rain totals in the Pacific Northwest compared to northern California and Nevada over the next several days. 

Temperatures will be in the upper 70’s Friday and low 70’s Saturday. This is only a few degrees below normal for this time of year. The average high at the Reno Airport for this time of year is closer to 73 degrees. Lows will be in the upper 30’s and low 40’s over the weekend. The front will drop temperatures by about ten degrees on Saturday, and some high level cloudiness will lower temperatures too. While some more clouds will move in Saturday, most areas will stay dry. The valley will see way more wind than anything else. The low will be out of here by early next week allowing temperatures to warm once again. Have a great weekend and stay healthy.