A strong cold front approaching from California brought strong and gusty southwest winds to far western Nevada from the afternoon of March 13th into the early morning hours of March 14. h.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
A strong cold front approaching from California brought strong and gusty southwest winds to far western Nevada from the afternoon of March 13th into the early morning hours of March 14. Gusts of 50 to 60 m.p.h. were common across the region. No damage was reported.
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 13, 8:55 AM PST, 5 hours 5 minutes earlier.
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
900 AM PST WED MAR 12 2003
MAIN EVENT THROUGH THIS EVENING ARE THE STRONG WINDS. SIERRA WIND
SENSORS ARE REPORTING SUSTAINED WINDS BETWEEN 50 AND 60 MPH WITH
GUSTS NEAR 80 MPH. 12Z RENO SOUNDING SHOWS NO BARRIER PREVENTING
WINDS TO MIX DOWN TO THE LOWER VALLEYS. WITH LITTLE TO NO CLOUD
COVER ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE SIERRA...SURFACE TEMPS WILL WARM
INTO THE 60S AND LOWER 70S AND ENHANCE THE MIXING OF STRONG WINDS TO
THE LOWER VALLEYS. GUSTS NEAR 60 MPH WILL BE COMMON ALONG THE EAST
SLOPES OF THE SIERRA...WITH GUSTS NEAR 100 MPH ALONG THE CREST LATER
THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENT WARNINGS FOR WINDS AND WINTER STORM LOOK
IN GOOD SHAPE. WILL NEED TO CONSIDER AN UPGRADE OF A WINTER STORM
WATCH FOR MONO COUNTY ON SATURDAY. BRONG
.REV...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR CAZ070>073...NVZ001>005 THROUGH THIS
EVENING.
...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR CAZ071 ABOVE 5000 FT AND
CAZ002-NVZ002 ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
...SNOW ADVISORY CAZ073 ABOVE 7000 FEET FOR LATE TONIGHT AND
FRIDAY
...WINTER STORM WATCH CAZ073 ABOVE 7000 FEET FOR SATURDAY.CAZ070>073-NVZ001>005-141500- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 620 AM PST THU MAR 13 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NEVADA...THE EASTERN SIERRA AND NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THIS EVENING AHEAD OF A STRONG STORM SYSTEM OFF THE WEST COAST. BLOWING DUST IS ALSO LIKELY IN WEST CENTRAL NEVADA. HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED BY TONIGHT IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA WITH HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER STATEMENT FROM RENO /WWUS45 KREV WSWREV/ AND HIGH WIND STATEMENT /WWUS75 KREV NPWREV/ FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA WITH HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED AGAIN ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY IN THE SIERRA AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA WITH HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE LOWER WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE AROUND LAKE TAHOE AND THE HIGHWAY 395 CORRIDOR IN CENTRAL MONO COUNTY THIS WEEKEND. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER STATEMENT FROM RENO /WWUS45 KREV WSWREV/ FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE AT TIMES ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ACROSS WESTERN NEVADA AND NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA. MORE SNOW IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE REGION BY WEDNESDAY AS ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM REACHES THE WEST COAST. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... HEAVY SNOWFALL...RAINFALL AND WIND INFORMATION FROM SPOTTERS WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FROM TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. MJD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, March 2003
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: 5348773, 5348774, 5348775, 5348776, 5348777, 5348778, 5348779, 5348780.