While there aren’t any major storms on the horizon, the next week will at least be a little unsettled and should add occasional amounts of valley rain and high mountain snow. For Friday, another wave comes through the area, with enough southwest flow to create some shadowing in the valley. Snow levels will be about 8,000’, so travel over the passes shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Reno high temperatures will be in the mid to upper 50s with only a slight chance of showers. After some Saturday morning showers, there’s a break in the action through Sunday, after which another series of storms come through starting Monday, with Tuesday offering the best chance of getting some rain to the valley floor.

Even though we haven’t seen anything like one lately, “Blizzard” is a term that gets bandied about a lot around here, and it is almost always used incorrectly. I will often get calls from weather watchers during a good snowfall telling me that there’s a “real blizzard” going on out there. When I ask them what they mean, the usually reply that the “snow is really coming down.” Tomorrow, I’ll tell you what it really means.