The low pressure center to our south that helped kick off the thunderstorms in western Nevada will stay put in general terms, keeping us under an unstable pattern through the weekend. Temperatures will rise a bit on Friday (upper 70s) as the core of the low will drop farther to the south, but what we lose in terms of dynamic lift we will gain in terms of thermal lift. After a partly cloudy start, widely scattered afternoon thunderstorms will develop Friday…a pattern that will be repeated on Saturday. By Sunday temperatures will rise into the 80s with a chance of mainly afternoon thunderstorms.

As for our recent rain, every little bit helps, but in the larger scheme of things, these storms are several drops in a pretty large bucket. But there is one benefit that helps in a more indirect fashion. The cool temperatures and showers have caused us here in the metro area to use millions of gallons less of water on a daily basis. Since we are still (barely) using water from the Truckee River, it will send more to farmers and Pyramid Lake fish downstream, and ease pressure on water wells here at home.