Changing weather this week with a cold storm dropping down from the Gulf of Alaska by Wednesday, bringing high winds, rain, and snow.

Sunny skies Monday will turn to clouds by Tuesday. Rain and snow likely Wednesday into Thursday night. Daytime temperatures around Tahoe will hold in the low 50's ahead of the front, and then drop into the mid-30's on Thursday. Overnight lows will hover around 30, dropping into the high 20's Wednesday night. The National Weather Service has issued the following Special Weather Statement:

240 AM PST MON NOV 9 2009 ...

GULF OF ALASKA STORM SHOULD REACH THE AREA WEDNESDAY...

A COLD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IN THE GULF OF ALASKA IS FORECAST TO DROP SOUTH TOWARD THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA LATER THIS WEEK. THIS STORM WILL BRING A COLD FRONT WITH A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION INTO THE AREA BETWEEN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY.

AHEAD OF THE FRONT WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WINDY CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. GUSTS OF 40 TO 45 MPH MAY OCCUR ALONG HIGHWAY 395 FROM RENO SOUTH TO MAMMOTH LAKES. SIERRA RIDGE GUSTS COULD REACH 100 MPH AS THE COLD FRONT APPROACHES.

ALONG THE FRONT RAIN AND SNOW SHOULD MOVE INTO NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND NORTHWEST NEVADA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND REACH THE RENO-TAHOE AREA WEDNESDAY EVENING. SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE IN THE SIERRA AS SNOW LEVELS DROP BELOW 6000 FEET WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

ONCE THE FRONT PASSES THURSDAY SNOW LEVELS COULD DROP TO THE WESTERN NEVADA VALLEY FLOORS AS COLD AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR A SECOND BURST OF PRECIPITATION MOVING INTO THE AREA THURSDAY...WHICH COULD BRING SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO THE WESTERN NEVADA VALLEY FLOORS. CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/RENO OR LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING STORM.

Read the Weather Statement online.

Tahoe City/Lake Tahoe Forecast

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 52. South wind between 5 and 15 mph.

Monday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. South wind around 10 mph.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 50. Southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tuesday Night: A 10 percent chance of rain after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Wednesday: Rain likely, mainly after 10am. Snow level 7300 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Breezy, with a southwest wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Wednesday Night: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy and breezy, with a low around 29. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26.

Saturday: A slight chance of snow. Partly cloudy, with a high near 43.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Source: NWS Reno.

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