Changes in store as the week begins, with a strong cold front bringing wet, cold, windy weather to the Tahoe region. Winds will begin Monday, leading to rain and snow at the higher elevations by late Monday night. Temperatures around Tahoe will start in the lower 60's and and drop quickly to the lower 40's by Tuesday. Overnight lows will drop to the low 20s by Tuesday night and remain inthe 30s through the rest of the week. In Truckee, daytime temps will hover in the 40s, with overnight lows in the 20's.

The National Weather Service has issued the following Special Weather Statement: [Read the Complete Statement]

302 AM PDT MON OCT 26 2009 ...
STRONG COLD FRONT TO IMPACT THE REGION TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING THROUGH WESTERN CANADA COUPLED WITH A POWERFUL JET STREAM ALOFT WILL HELP PUSH A STRONG COLD FRONT THROUGH THE REGION TONIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY. GUSTY WINDS, RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS, AND DRAMATICALLY COLDER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED. THE IMPACTS ARE SUMMARIZED BELOW:

* WIND: GUSTY WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED STARTING THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING TONIGHT. WINDS WILL SWITCH TO THE NORTH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING AS THE FRONT PASSES AND REMAIN GUSTY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. STRONGER WINDS ARE LIKELY IN MONO AND MINERAL COUNTIES WHERE WIND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN POSTED. HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES TRAVELING THROUGH THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA WILL BE NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY THESE WINDS. IN ADDITION...BLOWING DUST WILL IMPAIR VISIBILITY FOR A TIME OVER WESTERN NEVADA...ESPECIALLY AREAS NEAR I-80 AND HIGHWAY 50 OVER THE BASIN AND RANGE EXTENDING SOUTHWARD ALONG HIGHWAY 95 TO WALKER LAKE. SIERRA RIDGES WILL LIKELY GUST OVER 100 MPH DURING THIS PERIOD.

* PRECIPITATION: RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE COLD FRONT MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL RANGE FROM 5000 FEET NORTH OF SUSANVILLE TO 9000 FEET OVER MONO COUNTY. THESE WILL FALL QUICKLY TO NEAR VALLEY FLOORS AND LAKE TAHOE LEVEL BY TUESDAY MORNING. DUE TO THE INITIAL WARM CONDITIONS AND QUICK MOVEMENT OF THE COLD FRONT...SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIMITED. AS THE COLDER AIR SPREADS AND OVERTAKES THE ENTIRE AREA TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT...THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR A NARROW BAND OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW SOUTH OF PYRAMID LAKE. IN ADDITION...A SECONDARY DISTURBANCE MAY INCREASE SNOW SHOWER DEVELOPMENT TUESDAY NIGHT...MAINLY SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 50. THIS COULD RESULT IN A MORE WIDESPREAD AREA OF SNOWFALL ACCUMULATION AND POTENTIAL TRAVEL ISSUES ALONG THE EASTERN SIERRA. ANYONE PLANNING TRAVEL TO THE SOUTH OF RENO TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND WEATHER CONDITIONS CLOSELY FOR UPDATES.

* TEMPERATURES: TEMPERATURES WILL BE MUCH COLDER TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY COMPARED TO THE RELATIVELY MILD WEATHER THE REGION HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING. HIGHS IN THE 60S AND 70S WILL BE REPLACED WITH MOSTLY 40S TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. ANY REMAINING SENSITIVE OUTDOOR PLANTS SHOULD BE SHELTERED. YOU SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER WINTERIZING SPRINKLER SYSTEMS AND WRAPPING EXPOSED PIPES.

Tahoe City/Lake Tahoe Forecast
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Breezy, with a west wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.

Monday night: Rain and snow showers after 11pm. Snow level 9200 feet lowering to 6000 feet. Low around 32. Breezy, with a west wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

Tuesday: Snow showers likely, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Breezy, with a north wind between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Breezy, with a east wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. East wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Friday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48.

Friday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Saturday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.
Source: NWS Reno.

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