Heavy Snow in Nevada, December 2 to 3, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Nevada, December 2 to 3, 2001
Start: 2001-12-02T20:00
End: 2001-12-03T10:00
Location: Nevada

December 2 to 3, 2001 · NWS LKN · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A winter storm dumped heavy snow across northeast Nevada.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 LKN wrote it up.

A winter storm dumped heavy snow across northeast Nevada. Amounts include; 24 inches at the Lamoille Canyon snotel, 10 inches at Spring Creek and Austin, 7 inches at Emigrant Pass and at the NWS office in Elko,6 inches in Pine Valley south of Carlin, and 6 inches in Antelope Valley 40 miles south of West Wendover

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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 2, 3:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 2, 3:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

NORTHERN GREAT BASIN FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
345 PM PST SUN DEC 2 2001

CORRECTED ADVISORY INFORMATION

.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO CROSS
NEVADA TONIGHT SPREADING PRECIPITATION ALL ACROSS THE REGION. AFTER
THIS SYSTEM PASSES...WEAKER SYSTEMS WILL PERIODICALLY PASS THROUGH
THE STATE PROVIDING A CHANCE SNOW THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...WESTERN NEVADA WARMED CONSIDERABLY TODAY AND PICKED
UP SOME SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF RAIN AT
LOWER ELEVATIONS. WIND DIRECTION CHANGE AND START OF RAIN INDICATES
FRONT PASSING THROUGH WINNEMUCCA AT THIS TIME. FORWARD PROGRESS
SLOWED TODAY BUT IF CURRENT PACE CONTINUES SHOULD SEE ONSET OF
PRECIPITATION AROUND 5 PM IN THE ELKO AREA. SINCE VALLEY
TEMPERATURES ARE SO WARM THIS AFTERNOON...WILL KEEP SNOW ADVISORIES
GOING FOR HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND ACCUMULATE LESSER AMOUNTS AT LOWER
ELEVATIONS. WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA MAY BE MET FOR ELKO COUNTY AND
EAST CENTRAL AHEAD OF THE FRONT PASSING THROUGH THIS EVENING SO WILL
BE WORKING ON ISSUING NECESSARY PRODUCTS THIS AFTERNOON. SYSTEMS
THAT CONTINUE TO PASS THROUGH NEVADA AFTER THIS ONE LOOK LESS
IMPRESSIVE BUT WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER A CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION
THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. WHITWORTH

.EKO...NVZ031-032-035>037 WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8PM
      NVZ030             SNOW ADVISORY ABOVE 6000 FEET UNTIL 8PM
      NVZ031>034-036     SNOW ADVISORY ABOVE 6000 FEET UNTIL 10PM

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, N Lander & N Eureka

When: December 2, 8:00 PM PST to December 3, 7:00 AM PST
Where: N Lander & N Eureka forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.959, -116.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, S Lander & S Eureka

When: December 2, 8:00 PM PST to December 3, 7:00 AM PST
Where: S Lander & S Eureka forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.959, -116.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sw & Sc Elko

When: December 2, 9:00 PM PST to December 3, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Sw & Sc Elko forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Ruby Mountains/E Humboldt Range

When: December 2, 9:00 PM PST to December 3, 10:00 AM PST
Where: Ruby Mountains/E Humboldt Range forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.294, -115.130 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, X E Elko

When: December 2, 10:00 PM PST to December 3, 10:00 AM PST
Where: X E Elko forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.146, -115.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nevada in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Nevada, December 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: 5275668, 5275671, 5275669, 5275670, 5275672.