It looks like our temperatures have peaked, as a weak cold front drops down toward our area early Thursday. It is weak enough so that the only upshot will be to drop our high temperatures a few degrees down to the low to mid 70s through Friday before they bounce back up to the upper 70s by Sunday. Winds on Thursday will be moderate, out of the east to about 10 mph.

So how much actual snow (as opposed to rain) do we get on average every year here? It can vary greatly, not only depending on the year, but also where you happen to be in the Great Basin… or even within each individual valley. Official measurements for Reno are taken at the airport for precipitation, although when that system was automated in the mid-90s, it no longer measured snowfall amounts (only water equivalent precipitation.) But historically, Reno received an average of about 23 ½ inches of snow per year at that location. If you look at the edges of town in the western foothills, it’s probably at least twice that number.

How about the snowiest winters? I’ll tell you what the record books say tomorrow.