A strong cold front moved through the northern and central Sierra Nevada and western Nevada on April 14th and 15th. Slight damage occurred throughout the region.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 moved through the northern and central Sierra Nevada and western Nevada on April 14th and 15th. Slight damage occurred throughout the region.
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 Apr 14, 10:00 AM PST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
1100 AM PDT MON APR 14 2008
.UPDATE...
MADE A COUPLE CHANGES TO THE FORECAST. FIRST AND LESS CRITICAL IS
CURRENT TEMPERATURES ARE WITHIN A FEW DEGREES OF THE FORECAST
HIGHS...SO WITH SOME HEATING YET TO GO DID INCREASE HIGHS 2-3
DEGREES. WINDS AND COOLING ALOFT WILL HELP LIMIT ANY ADDITIONAL
HEATING BEYOND THAT.
ALSO INCREASED WINDS IN THE GRIDDED DATABASE TO EXPAND THE
COVERAGE OF THE HIGH WINDS TODAY. PREVIOUS FORECAST WAS LOW ON
WINDS IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS BASED ON CURRENT OBSERVATIONS.
LOW IS MOVING AS EXPECTED AND MAY NEED TO EXTEND THE ADVISORIES
AND WARNINGS FOR THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON.
MODELS CROSS SECTIONS SHOW THE MOUNTAIN WAVE IS STRONGEST LATE
THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING. THE SURFACE PRESSURE AND
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS WILL INCREASE LATE THIS AFTERNOON TO HELP
SUSTAIN THE PEAK WINDS A BIT LONGER THAN CURRENTLY FORECAST. BRONG
&&
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 704 AM PDT MON APR 14 2008/
UPDATE...
12Z UPPER AIR SOUNDING AT KRNO SHOWED MOUNTAIN TOP INVERSION AND
CRITICAL LAYER THAT WAS BEING HINTED AT IN THE MODEL DATA FROM 00Z
AND 06Z OVERNIGHT. THIS IS ABOUT 6 HOURS EARLIER THAN PROJECTED
WITH DECENT MIXING OF THE BOUNDARY LAYER ALREADY TAKING PLACE.
THEREFORE THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR STRONG WINDS TO SURFACE EARLIER
THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. ALL WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN
MOVED UP SEVERAL HOURS. UPDATES ALREADY OUT. HOHMANN
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 334 AM PDT MON APR 14 2008/
SHORT TERM...
RIDGE WIND GUSTS HAVE REACHED AS HIGH AS 75 MPH SO FAR THIS
MORNING AT SLIDE MTN WITH 10 TO 20 MPH WINDS MIXING DOWN TO
TRUCKEE AND RENO AIRPORTS. THE WIND EVENT STILL LOOKS ON TRACK
FOR TODAY AND NO CHANGES ARE PLANNED TO THE CURRENT SLATE OF
WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS EXPECTED FROM
LATE MORNING THRU LATE AFTERNOON. THE WESTERN PART OF THE W-CNTRL
BASIN ZONE FROM SILVER SPRINGS TO PYRAMID LAKE MAY ALSO COME CLOSE
OR BRIEFLY REACH HIGH WIND CRITERIA...BUT THE MAJORITY OF THIS
ZONE WILL MORE LIKELY SEE GUSTS STAYING WITHIN ADVISORY CRITERIA.
WINDS WILL DIMINISH BELOW ADVISORY LEVEL BY LATE AFTERNOON IN THE
NORTH AND DURING THE EVENING ELSEWHERE...BUT MOST AREAS WILL STILL
BE BRISK WITH 10 TO 20 MPH WINDS CONTINUING OVERNIGHT.
MOST OF THE MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM WILL REMAIN NORTH
OF THE REGION...BUT ALL OF THE GUIDANCE DATA HAS BEEN CONSISTENT
WITH A BAND OF POST FRONTAL PRECIP AND QPF UP TO 0.15 INCH NORTH
OF A SUSANVILLE TO GERLACH LINE THIS EVENING...WHICH WOULD
TRANSLATE TO AN INCH OR TWO OF WET SNOW SINCE AIR MASS WILL BE
COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW IN THESE AREAS. FARTHER SOUTH...THE CHANCE FOR
MEASURABLE PRECIP WILL DROP OFF WITH ONLY ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS OR
FLURRIES DOWN TO NEAR THE I-80 CORRIDOR. A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS
EARLY TUES MORNING NORTH OF A SUSANVILLE TO LOVELOCK LINE WILL BE
FOLLOWED BY DRYING AND TEMPS MUCH BELOW NORMAL. HIGHS MAY FAIL TO
REACH 50 DEGREES IN SOME LOWER VALLEYS...ESPECIALLY IF STRATOCUMULUS
DECK WITHIN CYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT IS SLOW TO BREAK UP DURING THE
DAY. BRISK NORTHWEST WINDS WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH WILL MAKE THE
AIR MASS FEEL QUITE CHILLY...ESPECIALLY AFTER THE WARM WEEKEND
THAT WAS JUST EXPERIENCED OVER THE REGION.
CLOUDS WILL DECREASE OVER MOST AREAS TUES NIGHT BUT A REINFORCING
SHORTWAVE ROTATING AROUND THE BACK SIDE OF THE MAIN TROF MAY KEEP
SOME PERSISTENT STRATOCUMULUS OVER THE EAST ZONES UNTIL EARLY WED
MORNING. IN AREAS WHERE ENOUGH CLEARING AND DECREASING WINDS TAKE
PLACE...MIN TEMPS ARE LIKELY TO DROP BELOW FREEZING OVERNIGHT.
TEMPS ON WED WILL STILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL AS NE-E SFC WINDS AND
NNW FLOW ALOFT WILL LIMIT AMOUNT OF HEATING DESPITE AN EXPECTED
RETURN TO MOSTLY SUNNY CONDITIONS. MJD
LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...
LITTLE CHANGE TO FORECAST THIS MORNING. DETERMINISTIC AND ENSEMBLES
ARE STILL IN STRONG SUPPORT OF RIDGE AT BEGINNING OF PERIOD FOLLOWED
BY DEEP TROUGH SETTLING ACROSS THE PACNW AND INTO THE WESTERN U.S.
OVER THE WEEKEND. THE ONLY DEPARTURE FROM PREVIOUS THINKING WAS THE
ECMWF AT THE VERY END OF PERIOD AND JUST BEYOND AS IT SHOWS MORE
UNDERCUTTING OF ALASKA RIDGE AND THUS HELPS FLATTEN FLOW AND PUSH
TROUGH OUT OF AREA EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE OTHER DETERMINISTIC RUNS AND
MANY OF THE ENSEMBLES DO NOT SUPPORT THIS SCENARIO ALTHOUGH IT IS
WORTH WATCHING. THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ANY SIGNAL IN THE PACIFIC
THAT WOULD SUPPORT SUCH AN UNDERCUTTING. HOWEVER THE SPREAD DOES
INCREASE AMONG THE VARIOUS MEMBERS BEGINNING LATE IN THE WEEKEND. SO
A COMPROMISE SOLUTION SEEMS REASONABLE AT THIS TIME.
IN REGARD TO PARTICULARS...THURSDAY SHOULD BE THE WARMEST DAY AS
THERMAL TROUGH SHIFTS OVER WESTERN NEVADA. TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY
PUSH 70S ONCE AGAIN IN THE LOWER VALLEYS WITH NEAR 60 DEGREES IN THE
HIGHER SIERRA VALLEYS. A LEAD SHORTWAVE TO DEVELOPING PACIFIC
NORTHWEST TROUGH THEN PUSHES THERMAL TROUGH INTO THE BASIN AND RANGE
FRIDAY WHERE THE WARMEST TEMPERATURES WILL RESIDE ALTHOUGH ONLY
SLIGHT COOLING WILL OCCUR ELSEWHERE. THE BIG CHANGE OCCURS SATURDAY
AS PARENT TROUGH DROPS SOUTHWARD AND PUSHES A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE
REGION. SATURDAY WILL BE ANOTHER VERY WINDY DAY WITH MORE WIND
STATEMENTS LIKELY. TEMPERATURES WILL COOL NOTICEABLY SATURDAY WITH
READINGS BY SUNDAY AS MUCH AS 10 DEGREE BELOW NORMAL. TEMPERATURES
COULD BE EVEN COLDER IF THE GFS MAJORITY SCENARIO WINS OUT AND
-30C/500MB FLOW WORKS SOUTHWARD INTO THE GREAT BASIN. RECORD LOW
MAXIMA FOR MID APRIL ARE IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S. HOHMANN
AVIATION...
VFR EXCEPT FOR AREAS OF BLOWING DUST/REDUCED VISIBILITY ACROSS THE
BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING KLOL/KNFL THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WILL BE THE
MAIN ISSUE WITH RIDGE TOP WINDS ALREADY INCREASING RAPIDLY ALONG THE
SIERRA AND FOOTHILLS TO THE IMMEDIATE EAST. LLWS WILL BE AN ISSUE
EARLY THIS MORNING UNTIL AROUND 16Z WHEN INCREASED MIXING/COUPLING
OF ATMOSPHERE AND TIGHTER SURFACE GRADIENT HELP SPREAD STRONGER
WINDS DOWNWARD TO SURFACE. RIDGE TOPS WILL GUST NEAR 95KT WITH LOCAL
GUSTS TO THE LEE OF SIERRA APPROACHING 55KT. WINDS WILL TURN
NORTHWEST AND DIMINISH OVERNIGHT BEHIND COLD FRONT. HOHMANN
&&
.REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NV...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR NVZ005.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR NVZ001.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR NVZ002-003.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR NVZ004.
CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR CAZ070-071.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR CAZ073.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR CAZ072.
&&
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENOPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
1108 AM PDT MON APR 14 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1015 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 NNW VIRGINIA CITY 39.37N 119.67W
04/14/2008 M62.00 MPH WASHOE NV MESONET
NV DOT SITE AT FILE MILE FLAT IN THE VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS
&&
BRONGThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained weather spotter located 3 miles west of Loyalton reported a wind gust of 62 knots (71 mph). Blowing dust associated with the gusty wind caused visibility to drop to less than 1/4 mile.
A trained weather spotter located 2 miles WNW of Eagle Lake estimated wind gusts of 52 knots (60 mph).
A trained weather spotter located 4 miles south of Prosser Creek Reservoir estimated wind gusts of 52 knots (60 mph).
A wind gust to 59 knots (68 mph) was recorded by the Walker RAWS at an elevation of 5440 feet.
A wind gust to 50 knots (58 mph) was recorded by the Bridgeport RAWS at an elevation of 6650 feet.
A trained weather spotter in Lee Vining estimated a wind gust of 52 knots (60 mph).
A 58 knot (67 mph) wind gust was recorded by the Lundy Lake RAWS at an elevation of 7055 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2008
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: 83964, 83965, 83966, 83967, 83968, 83969, 83973.