A winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to portions of central and northern Nevada.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 LKN wrote it up.
A winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to portions of central and northern Nevada.
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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 4, 1:48 PM PST, 7 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 148 PM PST FRI JAN 4 2008 .SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF PACIFIC STORM SYSTEMS WILL MOVE INTO THE GREAT BASIN REGION FOR WINDY CONDITIONS AND SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION BEGINNING TONIGHT AND LASTING INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE STRONGEST STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS NEVADA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. && .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. WATER VAPOR INDICATING PLENTY OF MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG SYSTEM MOVING INTO WESTERN NV ATTM. MODELS FORECASTING COLD FRONT TO PUSH INTO WESTERN HUMBOLDT COUNTY AT 00Z SATURDAY AND PUSH ACROSS RAPIDLY INTO ELKO AROUND 07Z AND INTO WHITE PINE COUNTY AT 12Z. AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...STRONG GUSTY WINDS UP TO 55-60 MPH ASSOCIATED WITH DOWNSLOPING WINDS... TIGHT SFC GRADIENT AND 140 KT JET PUSHING INTO THE AREA ATTM HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS THE CWA THIS AFTN. THEREFORE...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR CWA THOUGH 10 PM STILL LOOKS GOOD. WITH SYSTEM MOVING RAPIDLY ACROSS CWA...QPF AMOUNTS THROUGH 10 AM SATURDAY LOOKS AROUND 3 TO 5 INCHES FOR VALLEYS AND 9 TO 14 INCHES MOUNTAINS. AT SAME TIME...MODELS HAVE BACK OF QPF AMOUNTS OF .25 TO .45...PROBABLY DUE TO THE SPEED OF THE FRONT. WILL KEEP MENTION OF HEAVY SNOW FOR ELKO...LANDER... EUREKA...WHITE PINE AND NORTHERN NYE COUNTIES...BUT MENTION MAINLY HIGHER ELEVATIONS ABOVE 6000 FEET. SNOW/BLOWING SNOW ADVISORIES STILL LOOK GOOD FOR ZONES 030 AND 033 SINCE PRECIP WILL INITIALLY FALL AS RAIN. HOWEVER...HEAVIEST PCPN THIS EVENING HUMBOLDT COUNTY. SNOW SHOWERS EXPECTED SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT WITH CWA UNDER CYCLONIC FLOW. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE MOVES ACROSS CWA SUNDAY. WITH AIRMASS UNSTABLE ATTM EXPECT CONVECTIVE SNOW SHOWERS...HEAVY AT TIMES. LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING AS TROF SHIFTS EASTWARD AS RIDGE BUILDS ALONG THE WEST COAST. HARMER .LONG TERM...MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...WARM AIR ADVECTION ALOFT COMBINED WITH A WEAK SHORT WAVE WILL PROVIDE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION MONDAY NIGHT...MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTH. A BETTER CHANCE WILL COME LATER IN THE DAY ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WHEN THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL WAVE PUSHES THROUGH THE REGION. THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THIS SYSTEM...WITH MAINLY JUST TIMING DIFFERENCES. NORTHWEST FLOW WILL SET UP FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. WEAK UPPER LEVEL WAVES WILL LIKELY BE MOVING THROUGH THE REGION IN THIS FLOW. HAVE CONTINUED WITH GENERALLY LOW CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL BE SEASONABLE FOR THIS PERIOD. KNUTSVIG && .AVIATION...CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE ACROSS THE TAF SITES INTO THE EVENING HOURS. WINDS HAVE BEEN SOUTHERLY AT AROUND 30G45KT ACROSS MOST OF THE SITES. THE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE STRONG INTO THE EVENING HOURS...AND THEN DECREASE OVERNIGHT. EXPECT CEILINGS TO FALL AND PRECIPITATION TO INCREASE TONIGHT...WITH THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION TO BE ORIENTED IN A SW TO NE BAND. AT MOST SITES...SNOW IS EXPECTED TO LIMIT VISIBILITIES TO UNDER A MILE FOR A FEW HOURS TONIGHT...WITH CEILINGS DROPPING TO UNDER 1000 FEET. KNUTSVIG && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FOR NVZ030>032-034>037-013 TO 10 PM FRIDAY EVENING WINTER STORM WARNING FOR NVZ031-032-034-036-037 FROM 8 PM FRIDAY TO 7 AM SATURDAY. WINTER STORM WARNING FOR NVZ013-035 FROM 12 AM SATURDAY TO 10 AM SATURDAY MORNING. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY NVZ030 FROM 6 PM FRIDAY TO 4 AM SATURDAY. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR NVZ033 FROM 12 AM SATURDAY TO 10 AM SATURDAY. WIND ADVISORY FOR NVZ033 UNTIL 12 AM SATURDAY.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
321 PM PST FRI JAN 04 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1010 AM NON-TSTM WND GST ELKO 40.84N 115.76W
01/04/2008 M57.00 MPH ELKO NV OFFICIAL NWS OBS
MEASURED AT NWS OFFICE
0300 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG RYNDON 40.95N 115.61W
01/04/2008 ELKO NV LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEMI TRUCK BLOWN OVER BY WIND ON INTERSTATE 80 NEAR
RYNDON.
&&
JSAVADELPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
641 PM PST FRI JAN 04 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0300 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG RYNDON 40.95N 115.61W
01/04/2008 ELKO NV LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEMI TRUCK BLOWN OVER BY WIND ON INTERSTATE 80 NEAR
RYNDON.
0520 PM NON-TSTM WND GST ELKO 40.84N 115.76W
01/04/2008 M56.00 MPH ELKO NV DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
MEASURED AT LAMOILLE SUMMIT
0553 PM NON-TSTM WND GST ELY 39.25N 114.88W
01/04/2008 M61.00 MPH WHITE PINE NV ASOS
0605 PM NON-TSTM WND GST ELKO 40.84N 115.76W
01/04/2008 M66.00 MPH ELKO NV OFFICIAL NWS OBS
MEASURED AT NWS FORECAST OFFICE.
&&
JSAVADELPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
848 PM PST FRI JAN 04 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0300 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG RYNDON 40.95N 115.61W
01/04/2008 ELKO NV LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEMI TRUCK BLOWN OVER BY WIND ON INTERSTATE 80 NEAR
RYNDON.
0520 PM NON-TSTM WND GST ELKO 40.84N 115.76W
01/04/2008 M56.00 MPH ELKO NV DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
MEASURED AT LAMOILLE SUMMIT
0553 PM NON-TSTM WND GST ELY 39.25N 114.88W
01/04/2008 M61.00 MPH WHITE PINE NV ASOS
0605 PM NON-TSTM WND GST ELKO 40.84N 115.76W
01/04/2008 M66.00 MPH ELKO NV OFFICIAL NWS OBS
MEASURED AT NWS FORECAST OFFICE.
0807 PM NON-TSTM WND GST ELY 39.25N 114.88W
01/04/2008 M72.00 MPH WHITE PINE NV ASOS
&&
JSAVADELThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Six inches of new snow was reported in Spring Creek and the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge and 8 inches in Lamoille. In addition gusty winds caused blowing and drifting of the snow.
Seven inches of new snow fell in Diamond Valley.
Seven inches of new snow was reported at Great Basin National Park. Gusty winds caused blowing and drifting of the snow.
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, January 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: 64947, 64948, 64949.