Winter Storm in Nevada, December 19 to 20, 1998

Name: Winter Storm in Nevada, December 19 to 20, 1998
Start: 1998-12-19T00:01
End: 1998-12-20T18:00
Location: Nevada

December 19 to 20, 1998 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 10
Property damage: $150,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area

When: December 19, 12:01 AM PST to December 20, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.511, -119.499 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall combined with bitterly cold temperatures in Western Nevada, caused icy roadways that produced numerous automobile accidents. As many as 80-90 accidents were reported just in the Reno-Sparks urban area. A multiple car accident on Interstate 80, approximately 10 miles east of Reno resulted in one fatality and several injuries. The cold temperatures over the next several days caused many water pipes to break in residences and businesses throughout the area.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Storm, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area	1998-12-19		Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nevada in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Nevada, December 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5673671.