Name: Heavy Snow in Nevada, December 30 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-12-30T10:00
End: 2002-12-31T10:00
Location: Nevada

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: 2

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 parts of northeast Nevada. Jack Creek Lodge reported 12 inches of new snow; Mountain City picked up 10 inches of new snow, Wild Horse received 9 inches of new snow; and Wells 7 inches.

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 30, 9:17 AM PST, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 30, 9:17 AM PST, 43 minutes before

NVZ030>037-302330-

NORTHERN GREAT BASIN FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
917 AM PST MON DEC 30 2002

WAA SPREADING ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA TODAY. HOLE IN CLOUD COVER
OVER WESTERN HUMBOLDT COUNTY ATTM DUE TO SHORTWAVE RIDGING. EXPECT
THIS TO FILL IN AS VORT MAX OFF CA COAST PUSHES INTO THE AREA BY
EARLY THIS EVENING. BEST DYNAMICS WILL BE OVER NVZ030 AND 31 NEXT 24
HOURS. PROBLEM TODAY...WITH WAA...HOW MUCH WILL SNOW LEVELS RISE.
AIRMASS AT SFC STARTING OUT BELOW FREEZING AND WITH EVAPORATIVE
COOLING EXPECT PCPN SHOULD START OUT AS SNOW ACROSS CWA. HOWEVER...
THINK AREAS BELOW 5000 FEET OVER HUMBOLDT COUNTY WILL SEE A MIXTURE
OF RAIN AND SNOW LATER THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO INCREASING SURFACE
GRADIENTS. ALSO H7 WINDS INCREASE TO 40 KNOTS BY LATER THIS
AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS FOR DOWNSLOPING EFFECTS...
MAINLY OVER NVZ 30. SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP TO VALLEY FLOORS ACROSS
CWA BY MIDNIGHT WITH COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH. CURRENT FORECAST
PACKAGE LOOKS GOOD SO PLAN ON NO UPDATES. HARMER

.EKO...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY AND TONIGHT ABOVE 5K FT NVZ030.
       WINTER STORM WARNING THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING
       NVZ031-034.
       SNOW ADVISORY TODAY AND TONIGHT NVZ032-036 AND ABOVE 5K FEET
       NVZ030.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 30, 5:00 AM PST, 5 hours before

NVZ030>037-311500-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
500 AM PST MON DEC 30 2002

CORRECTED DATE

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL
NEVADA

.DAY ONE...

A STORNG PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING SNOW TO NORTHERN NEVADA TODAY INTO
TONIGHT. THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES OVER FAR NORTHERN NEVADA
WITH LOCAL BLOWING AND DRINFTING OF SNOW DUE TO 15 TO 30 MPH
SOUTHWEST WINDS. NUMEROUS ADVISORIES AND WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED
FOR THE SNOW...SEE WWUS45 KLKN RNOZFPLKN FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THE STORM WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NOON TUESDAY BEFORE THE SNOW TAPERS
TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. SOME ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS REMAIN
POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT NORTHERN NEVADA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER USING NORMAL
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

WALLMANN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, N Elko Cnty

When: December 30, 10:00 AM PST to December 31, 10:00 AM PST
Where: N Elko Cnty forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.146, -115.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sw & Sc Elko

When: December 30, 10:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: Sw & Sc Elko forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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

More

Every storm in Nevada in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Nevada, December 2002

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: 5325508, 5325509.