Thursday, June 16, 2005 | 10:14 a.m.
The weather forecast for northern Nevada and the Sierra is full of four-letter words - including wind, rain and snow.
The outlook called for snow levels to fall to about 7,000 feet in the mountains by Friday morning with up to 4 inches accumulating above that.
"Snow will have trouble sticking at first due to warm ground temperaturees but will eventually start accumulating overnight," National Weather Service meteorologist Gina Beninato said in Reno. "Motorists and back country adventurists should use caution."
Winds in the 45-50 mph range will precede the storm and cold temperatures will follow it.
At midafternoon Thursday, 64 mph winds were raking Slide Mountain south of Reno with gusts to 83 mph. The area was under a high wind warning.
Lows were expected to dip close to freezing by Friday in the Sierra with highs only in the 50s. Lows in the valleys were to be in the 40s with highs struggling to reach the low 70s in western Nevada.
Beninato said temperatures would remain well below normal through the weekend. "This kind of pattern is more of a late-winter, early-spring pattern," she said. "It is somewhat unusual."
Summer begins on Tuesday.
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