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; 16 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, 6:04 AM PST, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
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 FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 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/RENOThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A 54 knot (62 mph) wind gust was recorded by the Nevada DOT sensor at Five Mile Flat in the Virginia Highlands.
A 52 knot (60 mph) wind gust was recorded by the AWOS wind sensor just west of Silver Springs.
A trained weather spotter located 1 mile southwest of Fallon estimated a wind gust of 52 knots (60 mph). Visibility was less than 1 mile due to blowing dust.
The Galena RAWS wind sensor recorded a wind gust of 69 knots (79 mph).
The Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper reported wind damage which occurred across northwest Reno during the afternoon of April 14th. A portion of a roof was blown off of a house on Tamra Drive. A tree was blown over onto a house on Yori Avenue. And a carport was blown into a house on Thoma Street.
A trained weather spotter located 1 mile southeast of Fallon estimated wind gusts of 50 mph. Visibility was reduced by blowing dust. The spotter also reported that car accidents had occurred as a result of the wind and blowing dust.
The ASOS wind sensor at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport recorded a wind gust of 55 knots (63 mph).
Strong winds uprooted a tree on Plumb Lane in southwest Reno.
A wind gust to 56 knots (64 mph) was reported at the Pyramid Lake Fisheries at Sutcliffe.
A 59 knot (68 mph) wind gust was recorded at Wolf Run Golf Course in southwest Reno.
A 71 knot (82 mph) wind gust was recorded at the NWS Forecast Office in north Reno.
An off-duty NWS employee reported a roof blown off of a swimming pool building at Apollo and Kings Road in Reno.
A 51 knot (59 mph) wind gust was recorded by the Desert Springs RAWS wind sensor at an elevation of 5280 feet.
A 52 knot (60 mph) wind gust was recorded by the Brawley Peaks RAWS at an elevation of 8080 feet.
Strong winds damaged signs and construction sites around the Reno-Sparks area. There were also numerous reports of tree limbs down. Power poles were reported down on the west side of Reno causing power outages.
Power lines were reported down in the North Valleys area 6 miles north of Reno.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, 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: 83981, 83982, 83983, 83984, 83988, 83985, 83986, 83987, 83989, 83990, 83991, 83992, 83993, 83994, 83995, 83996.