Spotter in Incline Village reported 8 inches of snow in 12 hours at 6200 feet.
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.
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 episode as NWS REV wrote it up.
Spotter in Incline Village reported 8 inches of snow in 12 hours at 6200 feet.
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 Mar 22, 2:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
245 PM PST FRI MAR 22 2002
UPPER LOW/ VORT MAX NEAR 37/129 TRACKING EAST. 18Z AVN SPLITS
THIS...TAKING SOME ENERGY INTO THE PACIFIC NW AS IT OPENS INTO A
TROF. TROF SWINGS THRU SIERRA 12Z OR SO AS VORT MAX MOVES INTO THE
TAHOE AREA. OROGRAPHICS SHOULD INCREASE AS THIS DEVELOPS BUT MODEL
QPFS DO NOT SUPPORT A WS WARNING SO WILL GO WITH A FIRST PERIOD
WATCH COVERING HIGHER MOUNTAIN PASSES TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. DOES NOT
APPEAR LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE MAKES IT INTO MONO COUNTY UNTIL MUCH
LATER TONIGHT. IN THE VALLEYS...SCATTERED RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS SHOULD
SPILL OVER THE SIERRA AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP AS THE
FIRST COLD FRONT MOVES THRU TONIGHT. CURRENT WIND ADVISORY UP
UNTIL 7 PM...WINDS SHOULD DECREASE AFTER SUNSET BUT MAY CONTINUE TO
BE LOCALLY GUSTY.
TOMORROW THE AREA WILL BE UNDER CYCLONIC FLOW AS SECOND...COLDER
UPPER LOW APPROACHES. OROGRAPHICS WITH WSW FLOW WILL CONTINUE
THROUGHOUT THE DAY IN THE SIERRA...WITH INSTABILITY SHOWERS IN THE
VALLEYS. STRONG COLD FRONT WITH H7 COLD POOL OF -15C MOVES IN BY
SATURDAY NIGHT. DYNAMICS APPEAR FAVORABLE BUT AGAIN MOISTURE IS
LIMITED. SNOW ADVISORY COVERS PERIOD TWO FOR THE NORTHERN SIERRA.
BY SUNDAY THIS SECOND FEATURE OPENS TO A TROF AND DROPS INTO
SOUTHERN NEVADA BY SUNDAY NIGHT. AVN STILL SHOWING A BROAD AREA OF
NEAR ZERO LIS SUNDAY SO WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE
FORECAST DESPITE THE DEVELOPING NW FLOW. CLEARING AND COLDER SUNDAY
NIGHT. MOSTLY SUNNY AND MILDER MONDAY AS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS.
IN THE EXTENDED...THE PICTURE REMAINS MUDDLED AS EACH MODEL HANDLES
THE NEXT SYSTEM FOR THE TUE-WED TIME PERIOD DIFFERENTLY. AFTER THE
MRF PRESENTED THE IDEA OF A SPLIT SYSTEM WITH THE SOUTHERN LOW
CLOSING OFF WELL TO THE SOUTH AND THE NORTHERN BRANCH OVER THE NW
US...THE 12Z AVN REVERTED TO A MORE DIRECT TROUGH PASSAGE ACROSS OUR
REGION WITH FASTER TIMING BY STARTING THE PRECIP TUESDAY MORNING AND
ENDING BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. HOWEVER...THE OPERATIONAL CANADIAN
MODEL BACKED OFF FROM YESTERDAYS FAST RUN AND NOW HOLDS OFF THE BEST
CHANCE OF QPF UNTIL WEDNESDAY...ALTHOUGH A FEW OF ITS ENSEMBLE
MEMBERS RETAIN THE FASTER TIMING. UKMET NOW FAVORS A LOW CLOSING OFF
THE WEST COAST WITH POSSIBLE DIFFLUENCE OVER OUR WESTERN ZONES.
NOGAPS STILL BUILDS A RIDGE OFF THE WEST COAST WITH THE LEFTOVER
TROUGH FROM THE WEEKEND REMAINING OVER THE ROCKIES AND SOUTHWEST US.
FINALLY...ECMWF LOWERS HEIGHTS AND FEEDS POSSIBLE OVERRUNNING
PACIFIC MOISTURE BY WEDNESDAY BUT SWINGS THE LOW CENTER FARTHER TO
THE NORTH AFTERWARD. WITH THIS MUCH SPREAD AND VERY LOW
CONFIDENCE...THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION WILL BE TO KEEP THE GENERAL
IDEA OF THE CURRENT EXTENDED FORECAST INTACT.
LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS ARE STILL POSSIBLE IN THE NORTH AND CENTRAL
ZONES ON THURSDAY...DEPENDING ON WHICH MODEL IS FOLLOWED. MOST PROGS
DO SUGGEST SOME RIDGING RETURNING BY FRIDAY...EXCEPT FOR A HANDFUL
OF MRF AND CANADIAN ENSEMBLE MEMBERS. SO FOR NOW FRIDAY WILL DEBUT
AS A DRY DAY WITH TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO SEASONAL NORMALS. SG/MJD
.REV...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CAZ072-NVZ002-001-003.
...SNOW ADVISORY CAZ071 ABOVE 5000 FEET TONIGHT AND SATURDAY
...SNOW ADVISORY CAZ072-NVZ002 ABOVE 7000 FEET
TONIGHT AND SATURDAYThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, March 2002
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: 5286144.