Chilly weather on the horizon

After the first day of October brought the season's first rain and hail, it's time to insulate your pipes, cover the tomatoes and pull out the wool sweaters because Carson City is getting a bit nippy.

With nighttime lows dipping below freezing, today's high is expected to barely reach the upper 50s.

Tuesday was a breezy and chilly afternoon with the appearance of snow pellets in central Carson City. Light snow whitened nearby mountains.

Lake Tahoe residents reported snow flurries at about 4:30 a.m.

By Thursday, things should warm up a bit with highs in the low to mid 60s, said Al Cox of the National Weather Service. Lake Tahoe may see some snow 5,00 to 1,000 feet above the lake level. Friday might see a 20 percent chance of snow at the lake.

A slight chance of showers is forecast in Friday morning in Carson City where Saturday and Sunday should have highs in the upper 60s.

Cox said the odds of any more 80-degree days are pretty slim.

"We probably won't be seeing those anytime soon."

According to the University of Nevada, Reno state climatologist John James, September was one of the warmest and driest months on record.

"This was a continuation of the drought pattern of the past four years, which has been characterized by well below normal precipitation, unusually high temperatures and loss by evaporation," he said.

The Sierra Nevada, usually the most productive water-generating area in the state, was only two-thirds to three-quarters normal for the water year with no precipitation in September.

In general, Nevada only had 50 to 70 percent of normal water this year, James said.