Sierra winter will make a cold debut

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Friday, Dec. 20, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The first day of winter may arrive with some fanfare in the Sierra, forecasters said.

A winter storm watch was in place for northern Washoe County and the adjoining Sierra starting tonight.

By the time winter starts on Saturday, the watch was expected to cover the Lake Tahoe area and California's Mono County as well.

The storm was picking up moisture over the Pacific on Thursday that was expected to produce weekend snow in the Sierra and extreme northwest Nevada that could be heavy at times.

Cooler temperatures late today and on Saturday may produce more than a foot of snow in the higher Sierra by Saturday night and up to 4 inches in the valleys of northeastern California and extreme northwest Nevada.