A cold and soggy forecast will take us through the next couple of days. A chilly low pressure center is moving right over western Nevada, dropping temperatures (into the 50s in the valley) and precipitation (with snow levels coming down to below Lake Tahoe by Thursday morning.) It’s doubtful that more than a couple of inches of snow will fall at the lake itself, with perhaps twice that over the ridgetops, but occasional chain controls could be in effect well into Friday. Temperatures will recover a bit on Friday (back into the 60s in the valley) with occasional rain showers still a good possibility. By Saturday, things should dry out and by Mother’s Day Sunday we should be back into the low 70s.

Sometimes reader questions lead me to places I couldn’t imagine. It all started with a fairly innocuous query popping out of my e-mail inbox. Susan Walker asked the following: “Why do worms come out when it rains a lot?”

I thought I knew the answer to this question. I have always assumed they did this so they wouldn’t drown in the saturated soils. But oh no…it’s never that simple. Find out the real reason tomorrow.