11/20/09

RENO, Nev. (AP) _ A winter storm with winds gusting to more than
80 mph is expected to leave as much as a foot of snow to the
northern Nevada mountains.

The storm had dumped several inches of snow by late Friday
afternoon, knocking out power for thousands of people, grounding
flights and kicking up dust storms that contributed to a fatal
pile-up that shut down a stretch of Interstate 80. 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 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.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP-11-20-09 1759MST<