Nevada, 2001

Winter Storm in Nevada, April 20 to 21, 2001

April 20 to 21, 2001 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Spotters in Minden, Carson City, and Sunridge in NV reported heavysnowfall of 4-6 inches in 4-5 hours.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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.

What happened

The episode as NWS REV wrote it up.

Spotters in Minden, Carson City, and Sunridge in NV reported heavysnowfall of 4-6 inches in 4-5 hours.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 20, 8:00 PM PST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 20, 8:00 PM PST, 0 minutes before
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
900 PM PDT FRI APR 20 2001

MODERATE PRECIP MOVING INTO SIERRA AND SPREADING INTO EXTREME WESTERN
NEVADA THIS EVENING. SPOTTER REPORTS INDICATING UP TO 2 INCHES IN THE
LOWER WESTERN VALLEYS WHILE 4-6 INCHES UPPER ELEVATIONS.  SOME
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO YOSEMITE AREA BUT NOTHING YET MOVING OVER
THE CREST.  IR LOOP SHOWS INCREASING ENHANCED AREA OVER DOUGLAS COUNTY
AND A LITTLE NORTHWARD. THIS AIDED BY GOOD UPPER DIVERGENCE AND AS
UPPER LOW STILL MOVING SLOWLY SOUTH DOWN THE COAST. FLOW A LITTLE MORE
SOUTHERLY OVER CWA ALLOWING LESS SHADOWING SO LOWER VALLEYS SEEING
BETTER PRECIP. MODELS ANALYZED VORTICITY FIELD WELL BUT DIFFER EVEN BY
12Z SATURDAY MORNING AS TO WHERE THE MAIN VORT MAX WILL BE LOCATED.
ETA KEEPS IT JUST ALONG THE COAST WHILE AVN/NGM BEGIN BRINGING IT
INLAND. OBVIOUSLY THE FURTHER WEST WILL RESULT IN LESS SNOWFALL OVER
THE SIERRA. CURRENT SATELLITE TREND IS MORE SOUTHERLY SO WOULD SEEM TO
INDICATE ETA MAY BE CLOSER. YET 12HR QPF ARE REASONABLY CLOSE WITH
0.4-0.6 INCHES OVER SIERRA AND WITH SOME OROGRAPHICS WILL SEE DECENT
AMOUNTS ALONG THE CREST THOUGH MAYBE NOT CURRENT FORECAST AMOUNTS IN
THE SIERRA VALLEYS. SHOULD BE ABLE TO REACH THE LOWER END FORECAST
AMOUNTS SO WILL NOT CHANGE WARNING. ONLY CONCERN WOULD BE FOR RENO
AREA SOUTH THROUGH LYON COUNTY WHERE RADAR/SATELLITE DATA INDICATING
MODERATE PRECIP UNDER GOOD UPPER DIVERGENCE. SPOTTER REPORTS LOWER
VALLEYS SNOW NOT STICKING BUT FOOTHILLS ACCUMULATING. WILL UPDATE TO
INDICATE LOCALLY HIGHER ACCUMULATIONS.  SHOULD SEE PRECIP END BY 12Z
NORTH AND LINGER THROUGH 18Z SOUTH. DP

.REV...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT ZONE 2/72.
       WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10AM SATURDAY ZONE 73

NNNN

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, X Sw Washoe/W Carson City/Nw Douglas

When
April 20, 8:00 PM PST to April 21, 12:00 AM PST
Where
X Sw Washoe/W Carson City/Nw Douglas forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.789, -119.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Nevada in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, April 2001

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: 5239135.