Reno Winter Storm
Extreme Storms
Storm grounds Reno flights; I-80 crash stalls cars
RENO, Nev.—A winter storm with winds gusting to more than 80 mph Friday knocked out power for thousands of people in northern Nevada, grounded flights and kicked up dust storms that contributed to a fatal pile-up that shut down a stretch of U.S. Interstate 80.
The storm had dumped several inches of snow on the Sierra by Friday afternoon and was expected to bring as much as a foot to the mountains by Saturday. But the high winds postponed scheduled openings Friday at several ski resorts before next week’s Thanksgiving holiday.
One gust of 104 mph was recorded near the Mount Rose Ski Resort between Reno and Lake Tahoe, where winds were sustained between 35 mph and 50 mph.
The howling winds reduced visibility to near zero with blowing dust and dirt in the middle of the day on I-80 about 60 miles east of Reno where the eight-vehicle wreck killed one, seriously injured six and shut down both westbound lanes for several hours.
“I believe it was weather related,” Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chuck Allen said about the crash that backed up westbound traffic for miles. The eastbound lanes were not effected.
The wreck about 1 p.m. involved four semitrailer trucks and three pickup trucks, including one in which the person who died had been a passenger, Allen said. The name of the victim had not been released.
The storm also brought rain and snow flurries to the valley floors in the Reno area, where power lines were toppled.
