Hazardous Weather Conditions and Flood Watch in Truckee overnight and on Saturday

December 9, 2016 – The National Weather Service has a High Wind Advisory and Flood Watch in effect in Truckee, overnight and on Saturday.  There is potential for flooding along the Truckee River, as well as other small creeks and streams in the Truckee area.  A flood event could happen quickly.  The peak risk time has been forecasted for Saturday, early afternoon.  This is subject to change.

Some basic safety tips:

– Avoid walking or driving through flood waters.
– Just 6 inches of moving water can knock you down, and 2 feet of water can sweep your vehicle away.

Also be prepared for power outages.

Public Works will make sand bags available for the public this afternoon, at Truckee Fire Station 92, 11473 Donner Pass Rd. and the US Forest Service Ranger Station, 10811 Stockrest Springs Rd.

Editor’s note. Per the National Weather Service in Reno: A moderate-strong atmospheric river (AR) will impact the Sierra and Western Nevada over this weekend bringing heavy rain to the region. Rain will be heavy enough to make driving conditions difficult over Sierra passes through early Saturday. Primary concerns will be the potential for flooding along the Truckee River near Truckee and area streams. A river flood watch has been issued Other concerns include difficult driving conditions due to rain intensity, rock slides in the Sierra, and river rises downstream along the Truckee River system.

These images show the expected liquid and maximum wind gusts through Saturday afternoon. Sierra locations can expect about 1 to 4 inches of liquid equivalent while the Sierra Front could see 0.25 to 1 inch, and 0.1to 0.5 in the Basin and Range.

Finally, expect some gusty winds. Wind gusts will generally be gusting 30-50 mph. This will prove problematic for high profile vehicles and aviation. Expect delays to air travel; check with your airline for details. There will be lulls in the winds during heavier precipitation periods which may lead to erratic wind gust patterns where one moment winds are gusting around 20 mph and the next gusts are up to 50 mph.