Strong thunderstorms occurred across the eastern Sierra and far western Nevada.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Strong thunderstorms occurred across the eastern Sierra and far 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 May 29, 1:23 PM PST, 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 223 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 .SHORT TERM... THUNDERSTORMS FORMATION MORE WIDESPREAD THAN YESTERDAY...ALTHOUGH STRONGEST STORMS ARE NOT QUITE AS STRONG AS YESTERDAY. OTHER THING OF INTEREST IS THERE IS MORE LIGHTNING WITH SMALLER CORES TODAY INDICATING HEAVY RAINFALL MAY NOT BE AS MUCH OF AN ISSUE WITH MORE SMALL HAIL FORMATION. OTHERWISE...PREV FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK WITH SCT TO NUMEROUS STORMS THIS EVENING...POSSIBLY CONTINUING OVERNIGHT FOR AREAS NORTH OF I-80 AS WEAK VORT LOBE MOVES NORTH TONIGHT. DO HAVE MY DOUBTS RIGHT NOW ABOUT REALLY STRONG STORMS GIVEN WHAT HAS OCCURRED SO FAR...BUT IT IS STILL EARLY YET. FOR SAT...GFS/NAM BOTH SHOW ANOTHER WEKA UPPER LEVEL WAVE ROTATING WWD ACROSS CNTRL NV. NAM IS A BIT SLOWER...MORE TOWARD EVENING HOURS. ASSUMING TODAYS FCST CONTINUES ON TRACK...EXPECT FOCUS OF CONVECTION TO BE NEAR AND EAST OF HWY 95 ACROSS ERN AREAS. TO THE WEST...STORMS FROM TODAY WL LIKELY HAVE SOME STABILIZING EFFECT SO STORMS WL NOT BE AS STRONG...AND POSSIBLY COULD BE MORE SHOWERS WITH MORE ISOLD STORMS. TWO CAVEATS...ONE IS THAT AFTERNOON ZEPHYR CONTINUES TO TRY TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE...BUT WITH UPPER LVL EAST FLOW...IT MAY BE HARD TO COME BY. TWO...STORMS TODAY HAVE NOT BEEN STRONG AS EXPECTED WHICH MAY NOT STABILIIZE THINGS AS MUCH. STORM MOTION ALSO APPEARS TO DECREASE TOMORROW SO LCL HEAVY RAIN POSSIBILITY TO CONTINUE. BY SUN...WK UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO MOVE EAST AND WEAKEN...AND DO NOT SEE ANY SIGNIFICANT FORCING IN MID-UPPER LVLS ATTM. EXPECT LOW-END SCT STORMS TO DEVELOP AS INSTABILITY LOOKS OK WITH 500-1000 J/KG CAPE AND LI DECREASING TO -3 BY AFTERNOON. MAIN CONCERN MORE HEAVY RAIN MOST AREAS. HOWEVER...FLOW BECOMES SLIGHTLY MORE SSW ALOFT SO AFTERNOON ZEPHYR EXPECTED TO MAKE PERHAPS ITS FIRST APPEARANCE FOR RENO-TAHOE. THIS SHOULD PUSH STOMRS OFF CREST BY LATE AFTERNOON INTO WRN NV AND COULD SET UP A GOOD CONVERGENCE ZONE ACROSS PINE NUTS/VIRGINIA RANGE WHERE STORMS COULD BE LOCALLY STRONGER IF NOT SEVERE. MON...REALLY NOT MUCH CHANGE FROM SUN AS NEW UPPER LOW DEVELOPS NR 130W. FLOW MAY BACK MORE TO S...BUT REALLY HAVE A HARD TIME SEEING MUCH CHANGE FROM SUN FCST. LCL ZEPHYR IN AFTERNOON WITH SLOW MOVING SCT STORMS. WALLMANN .LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD. THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW A REX BLOCK OVER THE ERN PACIFIC WITH A DEEP CUT OFF LOW POSITIONED JUST OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE GFS...ECMWF AND CANADIAN ALL SHOW A 564 DAM 500-MB LOW NEAR 34N 130W AT 00Z WEDNESDAY. THE MAIN SYNOPTIC FLOW WILL REMAIN NORTH OF THE REX BLOCK ACROSS NRN BRITISH COLUMBIA/ALBERTA. THIS LOW SHOULD REMAIN QUASI-STATIONARY ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO PUMP MOISTURE NORTH INTO THE ERN SIERRA AND WRN NEVADA. THE DEFORMATION ZONE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE WILL ALSO BE OVER THE WRN GREAT BASIN SO THIS WILL HELP TO ENHANCE UVV ACROSS THE REGION. WITH LLVL MOISTURE REMAINING IN PLACE...AND THE UPR LVL FORCING...WILL CONTINUE WITH A CHANCE OF TSTMS OVER THE SIERRA ZONES AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OVER WRN NEVADA. ON FRIDAY THE GFS STARTS TO PULL THE UPPER LOW TO THE EAST TOWARD THE CALIFORNIA COAST. HOWEVER THE EURO KEEPS THE SYSTEM IN PLACE OFF THE COAST. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE EXTENDED. OHARA && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE KREV CWFA THIS EVENING. SCT SLOW-MOVING TSTMS WILL DROP LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL THROUGH 03Z. WIND GUSTS TO 50 KTS CAN BE EXPECTED INVOF THE STRONGER TSTMS. OHARA && .REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. CA...NONE. && HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 607 AM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 CAZ070>073-NVZ001>005-300115- SURPRISE VALLEY CALIFORNIA-LASSEN-EASTERN PLUMAS- EASTERN SIERRA COUNTIES-GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA-MONO- MINERAL AND SOUTHERN LYON COUNTIES-GREATER RENO-CARSON CITY- MINDEN AREA-WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING PYRAMID LAKE- NORTHERN WASHOE COUNTY- 607 AM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EASTERN SIERRA... NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LOW PRESSURE NEAR THE CALIFORNIA COAST WILL MAINTAIN HIGHER THAN NORMAL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY OVER THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA TODAY. THIS WILL ALLOW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL...GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS TO 50 MPH AND HEAVY RAIN. A FEW STORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS. THE FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL IS LOW...HOWEVER FLOODING MAY OCCUR IN AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN AND POORLY DRAINED URBAN AREAS. ACROSS WESTERN NEVADA...THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOWS WILL CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING DUST AND VISIBILITY OF 3 MILES OR LESS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY ARE LIKELY TO REMAIN OVER THE AREA...AS LOW PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO STAY NEAR THE CALIFORNIA COAST THROUGH NEXT WEEK. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON. HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENO BRONG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 158 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 NVZ004-292130- WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING PYRAMID LAKE- 158 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR SAND MOUNTAIN MOVING WEST... AT 146 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ARE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 13 MILES SOUTHEAST OF STILLWATER...OR 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FALLON...AND MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH. OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AROUND ONE INCH PER HOUR REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE MILE...SMALL PEA OR MARBLE SIZE HAIL...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH...WITH AREAS OF BLOWING DUST... ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...SAND MOUNTAIN CAMPGROUND AND SAND MOUNTAIN. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS RADIO... WEATHER.GOV/RENO ON THE INTERNET...OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. JHW
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 217 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 NVZ003-004-292145- GREATER RENO-CARSON CITY-MINDEN AREA-WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING PYRAMID LAKE- 217 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM SOUTHEAST OF DAYTON MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH... AT 214 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ARE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR RAWE PEAK...OR 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DAYTON...AND MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH. OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AROUND ONE HALF INCH PER HOUR REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN THREE MILE...SMALL PEA SIZE HAIL...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH...ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...DAYTON...GOLD HILL...STEWART AND DAYTON VALLEY AIRPARK. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS RADIO... WEATHER.GOV/RENO ON THE INTERNET...OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. JHW
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 234 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 CAZ071-292215- LASSEN-EASTERN PLUMAS-EASTERN SIERRA COUNTIES- 234 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NEAR SIERRAVILLE NORTH TO LAKE DAVIS... AT 234 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ARE TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM GRIZZLY CAMPGROUND TO SIERRAVILLE...OR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF BECKWOURTH TO SIERRAVILLE...AND MOVING WEST AT 5 MPH. FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AROUND ONE INCH PER HOUR REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE MILE...AND SMALL PEA OR MARBLE SIZE HAIL... ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. * LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...BECKWOURTH...CALPINE...LAKE DAVIS... PORTOLA...SATTLEY AND SIERRAVILLE. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS RADIO... WEATHER.GOV/RENO ON THE INTERNET...OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. JHW
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
257 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0256 PM HAIL S SIERRAVILLE 39.58N 120.37W
05/29/2009 M0.50 INCH SIERRA CA TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTED PEA TO MARBLE SIZED HAIL ACCUMULATING ON
THE GROUND WITH EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINFALL.
&&
SMCGUIRESPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 301 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 NVZ003>005-300000- GREATER RENO-CARSON CITY-MINDEN AREA-NORTHERN WASHOE COUNTY-WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING PYRAMID LAKE- 301 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS TO AFFECT PYRAMID LAKE THROUGH 5 PM... AT 357 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ARE TRACKING THUNDERSTORMS 7 MILES EAST OF SUTCLIFFE...OR 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PYRAMID LAKE...AND MOVING NORTHWEST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH...WITH AREAS OF BLOWING DUST...ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...NIXON...PYRAMID LAKE... SUTCLIFFE...THE NEEDLE ROCKS AND TOHAKUM PEAK. IF ON PYRAMID LAKE...THE TIME TO SEEK SAFE HARBOR IS NOW. DONT BE CAUGHT ON THE WATER IN A THUNDERSTORM. STRONG WIND GUSTS AND LIGHTNING NEAR THUNDERSTORMS POSE AN IMMEDIATE DANGER TO BOATERS. JHW
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 304 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 NVZ001-004-292300- MINERAL AND SOUTHERN LYON COUNTIES-WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING PYRAMID LAKE- 304 PM PDT FRI MAY 29 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING TOWARD LAHONTAN RESERVOIR... AT 300 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ARE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 13 MILES NORTHWEST OF US 95 AT LYON-CHURCHILL CO LINE...OR 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LAHONTAN RESERVOIR...AND MOVING NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH. FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AROUND ONE INCH PER HOUR REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE MILE...SMALL PEA OR MARBLE SIZE HAIL...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH...WITH AREAS OF BLOWING DUST... ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...FORT CHURCHILL STATE PARK...LAHONTAN RESERVOIR AND US 50 AT LYON-CHURCHILL CO LINE. IF ON OR NEAR A LAKE...RIVER...OR SWIMMING POOL...GET OUT OF THE WATER AND MOVE INDOORS OR INSIDE A VEHICLE NOW. DONT BE CAUGHT ON THE WATER IN A THUNDERSTORM. STRONG WIND GUSTS AND LIGHTNING NEAR THUNDERSTORMS POSE AN IMMEDIATE DANGER TO BOATERS. JHW
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
A dust devil was observed in a field west of Pyramid Highway at Calle de la Plata north of Reno.
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, May 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: 168754.