Nearly 15,000 NV Energy customers were without power across Nevada early Saturday.

About 4,000 customers lost power about 7:40 a.m. on the west side of the Las Vegas Valley, most near U.S. 95 and Rainbow Boulevard.

No estimated restoration time was available nor was a cause for the outage, according to the NV Energy outage website.

The rest of the outages, about 10,000 customers, were centered in the Reno-Carson City area with a few outages scattered across the state.

Winds gusting to 72 mph were reported about 1:30 a.m. at the Red Rock Canyon Visitor’s Center on the far west side of the valley. The North Las Vegas Airport recorded gusts in the 45-mph range as of 7:30 a.m.

Severe wind warnings have been issued for the entire region. Forecasters say sustained winds will be 30-40 mph with gusts to 65 mph.

⚠️WINTER STORM WARNING UPDATE⚠️

6 to 12 inches of snow are now expected for elevations above 6,000 feet in the Spring Mountains, with a 20-40% chance of 12+ inches of new snow. This includes the Kyle Canyon, Lee Canyon, and Mt. Charleston areas. #NVwx https://t.co/Pe2rGuftnv pic.twitter.com/oBpB0R9Bkk

— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) March 2, 2024

A warning for the Spring Mountains indicates gusts to 85 mph and white-out conditions are possible. Up to 12 inches of snow is forecast for the mountains.

The peak time for wind gusts is expected to be from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, according to the weather service.

At Harry Reid International Airport, 55 flights had been delayed as of 9 a.m. Saturday with five cancellations, according to FlightAware.com.

The airport did not have any major delays for arrivals or departures, according to the Federal Aviation Administration website.

Tens of thousands without power

A powerful blizzard raged overnight into Saturday in the Sierra Nevada as the biggest storm of the season shut down a long stretch of Interstate-80 in California and gusty winds and heavy rain hit lower elevations, leaving tens of thousands of customers without power.

Up to 10 feet (3 meters) of snow is expected in some areas. The National Weather Service said early Saturday that widespread blowing snow was creating “extremely dangerous to impossible travel conditions.” The combination of snow and high winds was most intense in the Sierra Nevada, with more than 3 inches (7 centimeters) of snow falling per hour and wind gusts over 100 mph (161 kph).

⚠️Avalanche Warning⚠️

📍Eastern Sierra Slopes in California
⏰through 7:00 AM PST Sunday

🏔️Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Expect widespread areas of unstable snow. Travel in and below avalanche terrain is not recommended. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/RAb6fr1wS8

— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) March 2, 2024

“High to extreme avalanche danger” is expected in the backcountry through Sunday evening throughout the central Sierra, including the greater Lake Tahoe area, the weather service said.

California authorities on Friday shut down 100 miles (160 kilometers) of I-80 due to “spin outs, high winds, and low visibility.” They had no estimate when the freeway would reopen from the California-Nevada border just west of Reno to near Emigrant Gap, California.

Pacific Gas & Electric reported around 7 a.m. Saturday that 27,000 households and businesses were without power.

Tornado from earlier this afternoon in Madera County. #tornado #cawx pic.twitter.com/fQf6K7efLJ

— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) March 2, 2024

A tornado touched down Friday afternoon in Madera County and caused some damage to an elementary school, said Andy Bollenbacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Hanford.

Some of the ski resorts that shut down Friday said they planned to remain closed on Saturday to dig out with an eye on reopening Sunday, but most said they would wait to provide updates Saturday morning.

Palisades Tahoe, the largest resort on the north end of Tahoe and site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, closed all chairlifts Saturday due to snow, wind and low visibility.

The storm began barreling into the region on Thursday. A blizzard warning through Sunday morning covers a 300-mile (480-kilometer) stretch of the mountains.

Some ski lovers raced up to the mountains ahead of the storm.

Daniel Lavely, an avid skier who works at a Reno-area home/construction supply store, was not one of them. He said Friday that he wouldn’t have considered making the hour-drive to ski on his season pass at a Tahoe resort because of the gale-force winds.

But most of his customers Friday seemed to think the storm wouldn’t be as bad as predicted, he said.

“I had one person ask me for a shovel,” Lavely said. “Nobody asked me about a snowblower, which we sold out the last storm about two weeks ago.”

Meteorologists predict as much as 10 feet (3 meters) of snow is possible in the mountains around Lake Tahoe by the weekend, with 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) in the communities on the lake’s shores and more than a foot (30 centimeters) possible in the valleys on the Sierra’s eastern front, including Reno.

Yosemite National Park closed Friday and officials said it would remain closed through at least noon Sunday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.