A low pressure system brought strong winds to the northern Sierra and western Nevada.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 low pressure system brought strong winds to the northern Sierra and 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 Feb 25, 11:39 AM PST, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 1139 AM PST WED FEB 25 2009 .UPDATE... GUSTY WINDS ON LAKE TAHOE PROMPTED THE ISSUANCE OF A LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM. UPDATED WIND GUSTS FOR MOST OTHER ZONES TO INCREASE THEM TO BETTER REFLECT CURRENT CONDITIONS AND TRENDS. NO OTHER CHANGES MADE TO FORECAST FOR TODAY...HOWEVER WILL BE LOOKING CLOSELY AT THE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY PERIOD FOR MUCH OF THE CWA. LATEST DATA COMING IN THIS MORNING SUGGESTS ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY ACROSS OUR CA ZONES AND INTO EXTREME WESTERN NV. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS AND ISSUE ANY NECESSARY PRODUCTS WITH THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE. RC && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 407 AM PST WED FEB 25 2009/ SHORT TERM... THERE ARE TWO ITEMS OF AT LEAST MILD INTEREST THIS MORNING. A JET STREAK MOVING INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA IS PRODUCING SOME LIFT FROM THE BAY AREA INTO THE WEST SLOPES OF THE SIERRA AS EVIDENCED BY INCREASING CLOUDS/COOLING CLOUD TOPS IN THE INFRARED SATELLITE. MEANWHILE...A FAST MOVING DISTURBANCE IS NEARING THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST AND ENHANCING SHOWERS THERE. THE SOUTHERN CLOUDINESS WITH THE JET STREAK DOES NOT LOOK TO MAKE IT MUCH OVER THE SIERRA CREST THIS MORNING AS IT IS RATHER SHALLOW (CLOUDS SHARPLY ENDING AT THE SIERRA CREST IN THE INFRARED)...BUT AS THE DISTURBANCE OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MOVES INLAND TODAY IT WILL GIVE SOME LIFT AND DEEPENING OF MOISTURE FOR SHOWERS...ESPECIALLY FROM TAHOE NORTH. THE LEFT EXIT REGION OF ANOTHER JET STREAK WILL NOSE INTO THE SIERRA SOUTH OF LAKE TAHOE TONIGHT AS A NORTHERN BRANCH SYSTEM OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST RUNS INTO FAST ZONAL FLOW OVER CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA. STRONG UPSLOPE FLOW INTO THE SIERRA ALONG WITH THE JET STREAK WILL BRING PRECIP TO THE SIERRA...MOSTLY FROM LAKE TAHOE NORTH. I AM NOT EXPECTED TOO MUCH SNOW FOR THE SIERRA AS THE SYSTEM IS FAST MOVING WITH NOT A LOT OF COLD AIR ALOFT TO ENHANCE INSTABILITY AND CARRY OVER SHOWERS FROM THE WEST SLOPES. FOR THE LOWER ELEVATIONS EAST OF THE SIERRA...THE JET STREAK IS EXPECTED TO INITIATE A GOOD FRONTOGENESIS BAND OVER NORTHERN NEVADA BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. THE 00Z NAM SHOWED THIS FIRING UP PRECIP OUT INTO PERSHING COUNTY WHILE THE 00Z GFS WAS LESS ENTHUSIASTIC. HOWEVER...THE 06Z GFS HAS DEVELOPED LIGHT PRECIP OVER NORTHERN NEVADA AND ADDED CONFIDENCE IN AT LEAST SOME VERY LIGHT PRECIP INTO THE BASIN FROM CIRCA RENO AND LOVELOCK NORTH EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. IN THE BASIN SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80 AND ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 50...STRONG LEE OF THE SIERRA SHADOWING LOOKS LIKELY WITH ALL THE FRONTOGENESIS AND JET SUPPORT FURTHER NORTH. THE OTHER STORY WITH THE INCOMING SYSTEM WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY WILL BE WIND. THE REGION NEVER REALLY GETS A COLD FRONT THURSDAY (EXCEPT PERHAPS FOR THE FAR NORTHERN CWA). IN ADDITION...A DECENT SURFACE GRADIENT WITH STRONG 700 MB FLOW LOOKS TO BE IN PLACE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THIS IS EXPECTED TO REALLY KICK UP WINDS. EVEN AREAS THAT RECEIVE LIGHT PRECIP THURSDAY MORNING SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM GETTING WINDY AS MOISTURE SHALLOWS WITH CONTINUING ALONG AND WEST OF THE CREST SHOWERS ENHANCING THE LOW LEVEL GRADIENT FURTHER. FOR NOW I HAVE HINTED AT WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA FOR MANY OF THE ZONES (GUST 45-57 MPH)...BUT A DECISION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER WILL HAVE TO BE MADE WITH THE NEXT FORECAST PACKAGE. THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY THINGS CALM DOWN AS A SHORT WAVE RIDGE MOVES OVERHEAD WITH NEXT SYSTEM RELOADING IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC. SNYDER LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... ACTIVE PATTERN TO CONTINUE DURING PERIOD WITH A COOLING TREND AND LOWERING SNOW LEVELS BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. THERE ARE TIMING ISSUES WITH THE INITIAL SHORTWAVE AND STRONG PACIFIC JET OVER THE WEEKEND AS THE GFS CONTINUES TO BE FASTEST IN BRINGING THIS FEATURE INTO THE WEST COAST LATE SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. THE ECMWF ACTUALLY SUGGESTS SOME RETROGRESSION OF MEAN TROUGH AND DOES NOT BRING JET ENERGY INTO THE REGION UNTIL SUNDAY. SUBSEQUENT TO THIS...THE GFS DRIVES TROUGH INLAND NEXT WEEK WHEREAS THE ECMWF ACTUALLY SHOWS SOME RETROGRESSION OF LARGE SCALE TROUGH. THE LATTER HAS SUPPORT FROM TELECONNECTIONS. SO FORECAST WILL CONTINUE TO SHOW A HYBRID SOLUTION GOING INTO NEXT WEEK WHICH BRINGS SHORTWAVE ACROSS AREA LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY FOLLOWED BY COLDER WITH SOME CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. IF THE ECMWF TURNS OUT TO BE CORRECT...THEN INITIAL SHORTWAVE MAY JUST LOWER TEMPERATURES AND SNOW LEVELS BRIEFLY AS MILD SOUTHWEST FLOW WOULD LIKELY PUSH THEM UP AGAIN INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. POPS WERE BUMPED UP EVERYWHERE SUNDAY TO TRY AND PINPOINT A PERIOD OF MORE PRONOUNCED PRECIPITATION. OTHERWISE ONLY MINOR CHANGES WERE MADE TO FORECAST THIS MORNING. HOHMANN AVIATION... GUSTY WINDS AND CLOUDS HAVE MITIGATED FOG PROBLEM THIS MORNING AT KTRK. SO VFR TODAY WITH NO ISSUES. FAST MOVING SYSTEM WILL BRING INCREASING SNOW SHOWERS TONIGHT WITH CIGS/VSBYS DROPPING TO MVFR AT KTVL/KTRK WITH PERIODIC CONDITIONS BELOW AIRPORT MINIMUMS 06Z-12Z. ONLY LIGHT SHOWERS AT KRNO/KLOL OVERNIGHT WITH VFR CONDITIONS CONTINUING. RIDGE WINDS WILL INCREASE TO OVER 75KT LATE TONIGHT WITH WINDY CONDITIONS THURSDAY. HOHMANN && .REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR NVZ002. CA...LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR CAZ072. && HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENO
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dust devil, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A possible dust devil descended the foothills just west of Carson City. Flying debris generated by the dust devil damaged 12 automobiles in the DMV parking lot.
Reported wind gusts:
Washoe Valley, 62 kts (71 mph); |Western Nevada Community College in Carson City, 51 kts (59 mph); |Galena RAWS, 50 kts (58 mph). A tractor trailer was overturned on Bowers Mansion Road about 1 mile south of the junction with Highway 395 in Washoe Valley.
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, February 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: 153445, 153446.