A system moving west to east between 35 and 40 north latitude brought a heavy, wet snow to western 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 REV wrote it up.
A system moving west to east between 35 and 40 north latitude brought a heavy, wet snow to western 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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 11, 7:28 PM PST, 1 hour 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
728 PM PST FRI DEC 11 2009
.UPDATE...
THE CLEARING SKIES HAVE ALSO ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO PLUMMET THIS
EVENING. MANY READINGS HAVE ALREADY FALLEN BELOW FORECAST LOWS.
UPDATE MADE TO REDUCE MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR ALL NV VALLEYS AND
PORTIONS OF NE CA TONIGHT. RC
&&
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 554 PM PST FRI DEC 11 2009/
UPDATE...
CLOUD COVER HAS DECREASED OVER WESTERN NV VALLEYS EARLY THIS
EVENING. IT IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE ALONG WITH SNOW SHOWERS LATER
THIS EVENING. AS SKIES CLEARED...PATCHY FREEZING FOG DEVELOPED IN
THE RENO AREA AND WILL LIKELY FORM IN OTHER VALLEY LOCATIONS
AROUND WESTERN NV UNTIL CLOUD COVER AND SNOW PICKS UP LATER. ZONE
FORECASTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO INCLUDE PATCHY FREEZING FOG...AND
GRIDS WILL BE SENT SHORTLY AFTER 6 PM. RC
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 318 PM PST FRI DEC 11 2009/
SHORT TERM...
SHOWERS DECREASING IN COVERAGE ACROSS THE SIERRA AND WESTERN
NEVADA FOR THE EVENING COMMUTE. HOWEVER A BAND OF MODERATE TO
HEAVY PRECIP EAST SFO AND MONTEREY BAY WILL REACH THE SIERRA
NORTH OF SONORA PASS THIS EVENING AND TRACK INTO WESTERN NEVADA
TONIGHT. ADDITIONAL LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS WILL OCCUR WITH THIS BAND.
MAIN CONCERN CONTINUES TO BE THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON/SATURDAY
EVENING PERIOD AS AN ALMOST PERFECT SET UP FOR A HEAVY SNOW STORM
MOVES INTO THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA. DEEP MOISTURE AHEAD OF
THE LOW WITH SUPPORT FROM JET AND MID AND UPPER LEVEL WAVES WILL
HAVE TO POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE VERY HIGH SNOWFALL RATES. HOWEVER
FAST MOVING WAVE WILL ONLY PRODUCE HEAVY AMOUNTS FOR A 6 HOUR
PERIOD. 12Z AND 18Z RUNS HAVE REMAINED CONSISTENT WITH AN INCH OF
QPF IN THE SIERRA AND AMOUNTS OF 0.25 TO 0.50 FOR THE RENO-CARSON
CITY AREA BETWEEN 4 AND 10PM SATURDAY.
WATCHES FOR THE RENO-CARSON AREA AND SOUTHERN LYON AND MINERAL
HAVE BEEN UPGRADED TO WINTER STORM WARNINGS. TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS UP TO
6 INCHES ON VALLEY FLOORS...WITH AMOUNTS UP TO 10 INCHES IN THE
FOOTHILLS. TOTALS IN THE SIERRA OF 1-3 FEET REMAIN ON TRACK.
FARTHER NORTH AND EAST FOR GERLACH...LOVELOCK AND FALLON...AMOUNTS
WILL BE LIGHTER AS THE MAIN DYNAMICS ARE SOUTH AND WEST OF THESE
AREAS. THUS HAVE ISSUED WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES FOR THOSE AREAS.
DURING THIS TIME HEAVY SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY DANGEROUS WITH
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SIERRA PASSES.
SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL DELAYS ARE LIKELY WITH A GOOD CHANCE AT ROAD
CLOSURES DUE TO THE RAPID SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THIS STORM IS ALSO
WARMER THAN THE PREVIOUS...WITH LOWER SNOW RATIOS. THIS WILL
PRODUCE A HEAVIER WET SNOW ON A LESS DENSE SNOW PACK AND POTENTIAL
AVALANCHE CONDITIONS.
ONCE THE MAIN WAVE PASSES LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE IN
THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA INTO SUNDAY. MODELS KEEP MOISTURE
STREAMING INTO THE SIERRA UNTIL SUNDAY EVENING...SO SHOWERS AND
ACCUMULATING SNOW ARE LIKELY TO CONTINUE WELL INTO SUNDAY. BRONG
LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...
MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW RIDGING BUILDING INTO THE SOUTHWEST STATES
NEXT WEEK AFTER THE MAJOR TROUGH MOVES TO THE EAST. HOWEVER...RIDGE
MAY NOT BE VERY STRONG INITIALLY AS LOW PRESSURE IN THE GULF OF
ALASKA CONTINUES TO SEND ENERGY INTO THE PAC NW. THESE SHORTWAVES
ARE NOT EXPECTED TO AFFECT OUR AREA IN A BIG WAY...BUT WE MAY SEE
SOME BRUSH-BY SYSTEMS THROUGH THE WEEK. CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE A
CHANCE OF RAIN/SNOW FOR THE NORTHERN SIERRA MAINLY NORTH OF TAHOE.
BEST CHANCE LOOKS TO BE THE TUE-WED TIME FRAME...AS THE GULF OF AK
LOW SENDS A SHORTWAVE INTO NORTHERN CA.
THE BIG QUESTION REMAINS FOR THE LONG TERM...HOW MUCH SNOWFALL THE
REGION WILL GET FROM THIS WEEKENDS STORM...AND HOW STRONG WILL THE
RIDGE BUILD IN FOR NEXT WEEK. IF THE RIDGE BUILDS IN STRONGER...WITH
A DEEP SNOWPACK ACROSS THE WESTERN NV VALLEYS...WE COULD SEE A
PROLONGED PERIOD OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...FREEZING FOG...HAZE
AND SMOG IN THE LOWER VALLEYS AS HIGH PRESSURE BRINGS LIGHT WINDS...
SUBSIDENCE AND VALLEY INVERSIONS. HOON
AVIATION...
SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION...WITH PERIODS
OF MVFR-IFR CIG/VIS AFFECTING LOCAL TERMINALS THROUGH 06Z.
MAJOR WINTER STORM STILL ON TRACK TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL IMPACTS EXPECTED AT ALL LOCAL TERMINALS DUE
TO HEAVY SNOW AND PERIODS OF IFR-LIFR CIG/VIS BEGINNING BETWEEN
06-09Z. PERIODS OF MODERATE AND HEAVY SNOW ESPECIALLY SATURDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN THE SIERRA. 10 TO 20 INCHES OF NEW SNOW
EXPECTED AT KTRK AND KTVL BY SUNDAY MORNING.
KRNO...UP TO 6 INCHES OF HEAVY WET SNOW EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY
SUNDAY MORNING. PERIOD OF IFR AFTER 12Z SAT. HEAVIEST SNOWFALL
BETWEEN AFTER 00Z SUN (4PM SATURDAY) WITH A FEW HOURS LIKELY OF
<1/4SM +SN. HOON
&&
.REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NV...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR NVZ002.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 PM SATURDAY TO 4 AM PST SUNDAY
FOR NVZ004-005.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 PM SATURDAY TO 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR
NVZ001-003.
CA...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR CAZ071-072.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 PM SATURDAY TO 4 AM PST SUNDAY
FOR CAZ070.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 10 AM SATURDAY TO 10 AM PST SUNDAY FOR
CAZ073.
&&
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENOThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
This storm produced a average of 1 to 2 feet of snowfall. Here are some reports: Mount Rose Ski Area with 26 inches, Incline Village with 19.5 inches, Dagget Pass with 15 inches, and Glenbrook with 12 inches.
A solid 4 to 8 inches of snow fell with this system, especially in the foothills and north of highway 50. Here are some specific snowfall totals: 10 inches in NW Reno and Cold Springs Valley (Far NW Reno), 8 inches at the WFO Reno, 6 inches in Virginia City, and 4 inches at the Reno-Tahoe International airport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, December 2009
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: 205515, 205521.