A winter storm moved through the northern and central Sierra Nevada depositing up to a foot of snow in the higher elevations.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 winter storm moved through the northern and central Sierra Nevada depositing up to a foot of snow in the higher elevations.
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 Dec 9, 2:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
230 PM PST SAT DEC 9 2006
.SHORT TERM...
NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVING ONTO NRN/CNTRL CA COAST THIS AFTN
STRETCHING ALONG N-S AXIS WITH JET ENERGY DIGGING ALONG 130W. LIGHT
PCPN WITH HIGH SNOW LEVELS MUCH OF TODAY ON WRN SLOPES OF NRN SIERRA
WITH UPPER DYNAMCIS AND FRONTAL FORCING FORECAST TO PUSH INTO SIERRA
THIS EVENING. STRONGEST UVV AND QPF BEWTEEN 06Z TO 12Z TNGT WITH
FRNTL SYSTEM AND UPPER TROUGH AXIS. SHARP CUTOFF IN QPF WITH
SHALLOWER MOISTURE TO W OF SIERRA CREST THUS EXPECTING HIGH END SNOW
ADVISORY AMOUNTS IN ERN SIERRA ZONES FROM LASSEN TO MONO COUNTY.
HAVE EXTENDED SNOW ADVISORY IN SIERRA ZONES TIL 6 PM SUNDAY TO
ACCOUNT FOR UPSTREAM VORT LOBE MOVG ACROSS AREA SUNDAY AFTN WHICH
SHOULD ENHANCE SNOW SHOWER ACTIVITY. SNOW LEVELS IN TAHOE AREA NEAR
7K ACCORDING TO TRK PROFILER AND ESTIMATED FROM MTN TEMPS. SHOULD
SEE SNOW LEVEL DROP TO AROUND 6K THIS EVENING AND DOWN TO 5K BY 12Z
SUNDAY. SCT SNOW SHOWERS EXPECTED OVER MOST OF CWA BY SUNDAY AFTN
UNDER COLD POOL ALOFT BUT NOT FORECASTING ANY SIGNIFICANT SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS IN WRN NV VALLEYS AT THIS TIME. COULD SEE AN INCH OR
TWO IN NRN WASHOE AND SURPISE VALLEY BUT BELOW ADVISORY LEVEL. SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS IN SIERRA ABOVE 7000 FEET AROUND 6-10 INCHES OVERNIGHT
WITH ANOTHER 4-8 POSSIBLE WITH SECOND ROUND BY SUNDAY EVENING WITH
HALF OF THAT AMOUNT OR LESS DOWN TO 6000 FEET ON ERN SLOPES. HIGH
PRESSURE REBUILDING OVER GREAT BASIN MONDAY WITH OVERRUNNING
MOISTURE AND LIGHT PCPN FORECAST NORTH OF I80 FROM LATE MONDAY INTO
TUESDAY NIGHT. AROUND A QUARTER TO A HALF AN ON AN INCH OF LIQUID
PCPN FCST IN NRN SIERRA FM TAHOE NWD TUES MORNING. SNOW LEVELS RISE
TO NEAR 6500 FEET TUESDAY WITH RAIN AND SNOW MIX IN NRN SIERRA
VALLEYS. CYLKE
.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...
NO MAJOR CHANGES TO EXTENDED. FLAT RIDGE PROGGED TO BE OVER THE WRN
THIRD OF THE CONUS ON WEDNESDAY AS A SHORTWAVE MOVES THROUGH THE PAC
NW. THE FAST PROGRESSIVE FLOW TAKES THIS SHORTWAVE QUICKLY EAST AS
THE WRN RIDGE STRENGTHENS ON THURSDAY. THE NEXT IS A SERIES OF
SYSTEMS THEN APPROACHES THE PACIFIC NW ON FRIDAY. THE PATTERN IS
PROGGED TO AMPLIFY WITH THIS UPPER TROUGH DEEPENING AND DIGGING INTO
NRN CALIFORNIA ON SATURDAY. WITH THIS STRENGTHENING SYSTEM MOVING
ACROSS THE REGION...AND THE AMPLIFYING PATTERN SLOWING THE EWD
PROGRESS OF THE UPPER LOW...HAVE KEPT A SLIGHT CHC OF PRECIP IN NWRN
ZONES ON FRIDAY...AND THEN SPREADING IT ACROSS THE ENTIRE KREV CWFA
ON SATURDAY. THERE MAY BE CHANGES IN THE TIMING OF THIS SYSTEM AS
WE APPROACH NEXT WEEKEND...BUT A STRONG UPPER LOW LIKE THIS OVER OUR
REGION WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY PRECIP SO WILL KEEP THE POPS IN THE
FORECAST. OHARA
&&
AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH ARND 06Z THEN PDS OF MVFR CONDITIONS IN
-SHSN...MAINLY ABV 7000 FT. OHARA
&&
.REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NV...SNOW ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM PST SUNDAY FOR
NVZ002.
CA...SNOW ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM PST SUNDAY FOR
CAZ071>073.
&&
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENOThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A total of 12 inches of snow fell at Kirkwood Ski Resort.
A total of 8 inches of snow fell at Heavenly Ski Resort.
At Squaw Valley Ski Resort 10 inches of snow fell at the 8200 ft. elevation with 6 inches reported at 6200 ft.
A total of 10 inches of snow fell at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort.
A total of 7 inches of snow fell at Northstar-at-Tahoe Ski Resort.
A total of 6 inches of snow fell at Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort.
A total of 8 inches of snow fell at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort.
A total of 12 inches of snow fell at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort at an elevation of 9000 ft.
A total of 6 inches of snow fell at an elevation of 8200 ft. 1 mile WNW of Mammoth Lakes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2006
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: 5370, 5371, 5372, 5373, 5374, 5375, 5376, 5377, 5378.