Winter Storm Watch: Up to 18 Inches of Snow Headed for the Sierra Nevada, I-80 and Highway 50 at Risk

If you’re driving across the Sierra on Tuesday or Wednesday this week, the trip is going to look very different from the clear roads of the past ten days. A Pacific trough is dropping snow levels to pass elevation from Tuesday morning onward, and by Tuesday night I-80 and Highway 50 are likely to be in chain controls at the same time, with no practical alternative through the central range. If your timing is flexible, Monday or Thursday are the two clean windows.The National Weather Service office in Reno has a Winter Storm Watch …