Due to a strong inversion across the eastern Sierra and western Nevada, freezing rain fell on the morning of January 25th. Hwy.
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.
Due to a strong inversion across the eastern Sierra and western Nevada, freezing rain fell on the morning of January 25th. Automobile accidents were reported along U.S.Hwy. 50 in Lyon County, Nevada. A newspaper report by the Associated Press stated that one person was killed "in a single-vehicle rollover accident about 13 miles east of Reno". The report also said that, due to the icy conditions, a 15-car pileup occurred on U.S. Hwy. 50 near Moundhouse. Power outages were reported in areas north of Reno.
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 Jan 25, 3:55 AM PST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 355 AM PST TUE JAN 25 2005 .SHORT TERM... FREEZING FOG ADVISORIES WILL BE CANCELED WITH THE 4 AM ZONE PACKAGE...AS EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND A WEAKENING INVERSION HAVE CUT FOG DOWN TO A FEW PATCHES OVER THE FALLON...LOVELOCK...AND GERLACH AREAS. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE A BIT TRICKY TODAY OVER THE WESTERN GREAT BASIN...AS EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND WEAK 700 MB WINDS LIMIT MIXING. HOWEVER...IN AREAS WHERE RAIN FALLS...TEMPERATURES MAY KICK UP AS PRECIPITATION DRAGS DOWN WARMER AIR ALOFT AND DESTROYS THE LOW LEVEL INVERSION (I AM NOT EXPECTING MUCH EVAPORATIVE COOLING IN THE MOIST ATMOSPHERE). I HAVE UNDERCUT MOS THE MOST NORTH AND EAST OF RENO...WHERE THERE IS THE LEAST CHANCE OF RAIN OR MIXING TODAY. AFTER THE FIRST OF SEVERAL WAVES TO AFFECT THE REGION THIS WEEK MOVES THROUGH TODAY...THE SECOND UPPER DISTURBANCE WILL APPROACH LATE TONIGHT. THIS WAVE LOOKS A BIT STRONGER THAN TODAY/S...BUT STILL DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A BLOCKBUSTER FOR THE SIERRA AS OROGRAPHIC FLOW IS UNFAVORABLE FOR HEAVY SNOW AND THE JET STREAM WILL APPROACH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RATHER THAN THE SIERRA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN RATHER HIGH...AT OVER 7000 FEET EARLY TODAY FALLING TO AROUND 6000 FEET WEDNESDAY. EVEN THOUGH SNOWFALL LOOKS LIKE A LOW END SNOW ADVISORY AT BEST FOR THE SIERRA...WILL STILL PUT OUT A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THE STORMIER PATTERN UPCOMING THIS WEEK THAN WE HAVE SEEN FOR A WHILE. AFTER WEDNESDAY...WE GET A BREAK UNTIL FRIDAY...WHEN THE MOST POTENT STORM OF THE THREE THIS WEEK MOVES INTO THE REGION. THAT STORM MAY REQUIRE A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE SIERRA FOR LATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. FOR MORE ON THAT STORM...I PASS YOU TO OUR EXTENDED FORECASTER. CHEERS SNYDER .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY... MODELS STILL ON TRACK BRINGING NEG TILT TROUGH INTO AREA FRIDAY. MINUS 26 DEG C AT 500 MB WITH TROUGH AXIS MOVG OVER AREA FRIDAY AFTN AND EVENING. PLENTY OF INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE FOR LIKELY POPS IN SIERRA ZONES AND HIGH CHANCE POPS OVER EXTREME WRN NV. SNOW LEVELS STARTING OUT AROUND 5000 FEET FRIDAY MORNING THEN LOWERING TO VALLEYS FLOORS IN LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS COLD CORE MOVES OVER AREA. CYCLONIC FLOW WITH VORT SHEAR LOBE ON BACK SIDE OF TROUGH SATURDAY WILL KEEP CHC OF SNOW SHOWERS OVER SIERRA WITH SLGT CHC OF WRN NV VALLEYS. TEMPS KEPT A LITTLE BELOW MOS WITH SNOW COVER AND SHOWER ACTIVITY DURING PERIOD. HIGH PRESSURE REBUILDS SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY FOR DRY WEATHER. N-NE FLOW SUN AND MON WILL KEEP TEMPS FROM RECOVERING MUCH WHILE INVERSIONS DEVELOP. NO MENTION OF FOG SUN OR MON WITH ENOUGH NE WIND TO KEEP THINGS STIRRED UP. CYLKE && .REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .NV...NONE. .CA...NONE. &&
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 432 AM PST TUE JAN 25 2005 CAZ071>073-NVZ001>005-260000- GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA-GREATER RENO-CARSON CITY-MINDEN AREA-LASSEN- EASTERN PLUMAS-EASTERN SIERRA COUNTIES- MINERAL AND SOUTHERN LYON COUNTIES-MONO-NORTHERN WASHOE COUNTY- WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING PYRAMID LAKE- 432 AM PST TUE JAN 25 2005 ...RAIN AND SNOW RETURN TO THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA THROUGH SATURDAY... A SERIES OF WEATHER SYSTEMS MOVING IN OFF THE EASTERN PACIFIC WILL BRING PERIODS OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW TO THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA TODAY INTO WEDNESDAY. A BREAK IN THE WEATHER IS FORECAST ON THURSDAY AHEAD OF A STRONGER AND COLDER LOW PRESSURE TROUGH EXPECTED TO BRING MORE RAIN AND SNOW TO THE AREA FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN RELATIVELY HIGH TODAY AND WEDNESDAY UNDER A WEAK SOUTHERLY FLOW. RAIN IS EXPECTED ON THE VALLEY FLOORS OF WESTERN NEVADA WITH SNOW ABOVE 7000 FEET TODAY THEN LOWERING TO 6000 FEET BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS ARE FORECAST TO LOWER FURTHER TO THE VALLEY FLOORS OF WESTERN NEVADA LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND INTO SATURDAY. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO EIGHT INCHES ARE FORECAST IN THE UPPER ELEVATIONS OF THE EASTERN SIERRA BY WEDNESDAY EVENING WHILE HEAVIER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE ON FRIDAY. PERSONS PLANNING TRAVEL IN THE SIERRA THIS WEEK SHOULD CHECK THE LATEST WEATHER AND ROAD CONDITIONS BEFORE DEPARTING. STAY TUNDED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL NEWS SOURCE FOR FURTHER UPDATES TO THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER PATTERN. TRC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area | 2005-01-25 | 70 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, January 2005
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: 5470321.