If you were planning a trip to a state office Tuesday, you’ll want to hold off.

Governor Joe Lombardo announced Tuesday morning that state government offices in Carson, Douglas, Lyon, Storey, and Washoe counties are closed due to severe winter weather.

RELATED | SNOW DAY! Schools in northern Nevada, including WCSD, closed Tuesday due to winter storm

According to the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Department of Public Safety (DPS), snow, freezing temperatures, and gusty winds are expected to continue throughout Tuesday, February 17. Recent storms have already made travel across the region dangerous, with icy roads and limited visibility creating hazardous driving conditions.

Essential public safety and corrections personnel will remain on the job, but all other state offices in the affected counties will stay closed until conditions improve.

Governor Lombardo is urging Nevadans to follow guidance from NDOT and DPS, slow down on the roads, and use extra caution if travel is necessary.

If you don’t have to drive, officials say it’s best to stay home and let road crews do their work.

A winter storm moving into Northern Nevada is forcing the cancellation of several food distribution events scheduled for Tuesday.

The Food Bank of Northern Nevada announced that all Mobile Harvest distributions planned for Feb. 17 have been canceled due to the incoming snowstorm. The impacted sites include Sparks LDS, Virginia City and Hungry Valley.

Officials say safety concerns for volunteers, staff and community members prompted the decision.

The Produce on Wheels distribution in Hawthorne has been rescheduled to Thursday, February 26. Community members planning to attend are encouraged to mark their calendars for the new date.

For those who receive Senior Nutrition Weekend Program boxes, the Food Bank says a final decision will be made tomorrow morning. Updates will be shared as soon as more information becomes available.

The organization is asking for patience and understanding as the storm moves through the region. Residents are encouraged to stay safe and limit travel if possible.

The Bureau of Land Management has opened a public comment period for 14 oil and gas leases in the Elko District in the northeastern part of Nevada.

The potential leases encompass approximately 20,600 acres which could be potentially included in a lease sale this September. The public comment period will end March 11.

“Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources,” the BLM explained in a press release. “Before development operations can begin, an operator must submit an application for permit to drill detailing development plans. The BLM reviews applications for permits to drill, posts them for public review, conducts an environmental analysis and coordinates with state partners and stakeholders.”

A lease sale for 11 oil and gas parcels in Nye County across 19,957 is scheduled for March 31. According to the BLM, it completed scoping on the parcels in September of 2025 and held a public comment period which closed in December of last year. A 30-day public protest period to receive additional public input closes on March 2. According to the BLM’s website, they received expressions of interest on all 11 parcels and plan to issue leases on March 31.

Under the Trump administration, the BLM has shifted tactics away from preferential treatment for wind and solar energy projects towards boosting domestic energy production largely within the oil, gas, coal and geothermal sectors, and deregulating access to natural resources on federal land all in a bid to increase domestic energy production.

The BLM controls the vast majority of land within the state of Nevada and almost all of it within Clark County. The federal agency manages approximately 245 million acres of land, located primarily in western states and Nevada has the highest percentage of federally controlled land in the nation.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.