The cycle of rain followed by dry will continue for the foreseeable future, leaving gray skies overhead and valley floors soggy, forecasters predict.
Between Sunday evening and Monday afternoon Carson City received about a half-inch of rain, some of it disguised as snow, said National Weather Service forecaster Steve Goldstein. The snow, less than half an inch, fell during the night and melted by mid-morning.
Today's weather should be similar to Sunday's and the cycle over the last three days will repeat for six to 10 days, although the next system will not be as cold, he said.
"Tuesday will start with high clouds in the morning," Goldstein said. "Those clouds will come down by later in the day."
Spring-like temperatures and sunshine on Saturday were chased away Sunday when a cold front brought rain. The storm was relatively strong, Goldstein said, but the brunt was felt south of Douglas County. "It's like a springtime thunderstorm type of pattern."
Sunday's valley dumping was deepest in Minden, where a weather watcher recorded 4 inches of snow. Three-tenths of an inch was recorded unofficially at the Carson City Fire Station.
Overall, winter precipitation in Carson Country started late but is now about average, Goldstein said. "The Sierra snowpack is a little bit above average."
Sunday-Monday storms dropped about three-quarters to an inch of fresh snow to a base that is well above five feet at most of Lake Tahoe ski resorts.
For up-to-the-minute forecasts visit www.tahoe.com or call the National Weather Service at 673-8100.
