Southerly flow aloft around a ridge of high pressure over the Four Corners along with a disturbance moving through California brought significant moisture (around 1 inch precipitable water) for heavy rain with thunderstorms on the 15th and 16th.
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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.
Southerly flow aloft around a ridge of high pressure over the Four Corners along with a disturbance moving through California brought significant moisture (around 1 inch precipitable water) for heavy rain with thunderstorms on the 15th and 16th.
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 Jul 15, 2:15 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 315 PM PDT THU JUL 15 2010 .SHORT TERM... UPPER RIDGE NEAR 4 CORNERS HIGH WILL PROVIDE INCREASING SOUTHERLY FLOW AND MOISTURE FIRST PART OF PERIOD WITH A TRANSITION TO DRIER AND LOCALLY BREEZY CONDITIONS SUN AS RIDGE GETS SUPPRESSED SOUTHWARD UNDER INCREASING WESTERLIES DEVELOPING UNDER TROF IN THE PACNW. FOR TONIGHT THRU EARLY SAT...RIDGE CENTER WILL REMAIN NEAR THE 4 CORNERS WITH MOISTURE WORKING NORTHWARD ON WESTERN PERIPHERY INTO THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NV. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE PWAT VALUES INCREASING TO 0.75-0.90 INCHES BY THIS TIME FRIDAY ALTHOUGH MID TO UPPER LEVEL LAPSE RATES REMAIN MARGINAL (6.5-7.0C/KM). SHEAR IS RATHER WEAK ALTHOUGH LOCAL CONVERGENCE ZONES NEAR LATE DAY ZEPHYR AND SIERRA CREST SOUTH OF LAKE TAHOE WILL HELP A FEW STORMS BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED. MAIN THREAT WILL BE ONE OR TWO STRONGER CELLS WITH LIMITED STORM MOTION AND HEAVY RAINFALL MAINLY FROM MONO COUNTY INTO THE PINE NUTS. LINGERING ELEVATED INSTABILITY AND WEAK UPPER PV LOBE WILL KEEP SOME CLOUDS IN THE FORECAST LATE FRI INTO SAT MORNING. THERE MAY BE ENOUGH COMBINATION OF LIFT AND INSTABILITY FOR AN ISOLATED STRIKE OR TWO. SO INTRODUCED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF NOCTURNAL THUNDER MAINLY NORTH OF SUSANVILLE AND GERLACH AS WELL AS BASIN AND RANGE. OTHERWISE THE CLOUDS WILL ACT AS A LID AND HELP KEEP TEMPERATURES HIGHER SAT MORNING. MINIMUMS WERE RAISE SLIGHTLY. DRIER WESTERLY FLOW WILL THEN PUSH THROUGH NORTHERN AREAS SAT AFTERNOON WITH INSTABILITY BEING SUPPRESSED TO MONO-MINERAL COUNTIES. BY SUN...ONLY KEPT SOME LINGERING CUMULUS IN THE SOUTHERN AREAS AS MUCH DRIER AIR AND WESTERLY FLOW INVADES MUCH OF THE AREA. TEMPERATURES SHOULD SEE A SLIGHT COOLING IN THE NORTHERN SIERRA BUT REMAIN VERY WARM TO HOT AGAIN ELSEWHERE SUN. MODELS SHOW DECENT THERMAL GRADIENT DEVELOPING WHICH WILL BRING LOCALLY BREEZY CONDITIONS SUN AFTERNOON AND EVENING...A PRELUDE TO WINDY CONDITIONS EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE BEST COOLING WILL OCCUR EARLY NEXT WEEK UNDER WEST COAST TROUGH. SEE LONG TERM AND FIRE WEATHER FOR MORE DETAIL. HOHMANN .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE TROUGH FEATURE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR MONDAY. AS THE TROUGH APPROACHES LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY...SOUTHWEST FLOW INCREASES BRINGING AN EXTREMELY DRY AIR MASS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. THIS DRY AND STABLE AIR MASS WILL BRING AN END TO AFTERNOON CONVECTIVE BUILD UPS FOR THE LONG TERM FORECAST. MODELS APPEAR TO BE A BIT SLOWER WITH THE PROGRESSION OF THE TROUGH INTO THE REGION WHICH WILL MAKE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY THE MAIN TIME PERIOD OF CONCERN FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. BASED ON THE MEX GUIDANCE...A STRONG THERMAL GRADIENT BETWEEN LOVELOCK AND TRUCKEE SETS UP MONDAY AFTERNOON WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR GUST BETWEEN 30 AND 35 MPH FOR MANY AREA ACROSS THE CWA...INCLUDING RENO/CARSON. WINDS WERE INCREASED FOR MONDAY AFTERNOON AND MAINTAINED INTO TUESDAY...WHICH WILL BE THE STRONGEST DAYS FOR WINDS AND THEN GRADUALLY KNOCKED DOWN EACH DAY FOLLOWING. WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WILL BE MORE TYPICAL ZEPHYR DAYS WITH WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 20 AND 25 MPH. TROUGH REMAINS OVER THE WESTERN GREAT BASIN THROUGH AT LEAST FRIDAY...LEAVING THE REGION WITH BREEZY CONDITIONS AND COOLER TEMPS. OVERALL...NO MAJOR CHANGES WERE MADE TO TEMPERATURES FOR THE EXTENDED...WITH NEAR AVERAGE HIGHS ACROSS THE REGION. ALL DAYS IN THE EXTENDED WERE KEPT DRY AT THIS TIME...ESPECIALLY WITH THE LACK OF INSTABILITY AND THE DRY AIR MASS IN PLACE. LINDAMAN && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY WITH ISOLATED TSTMS POSSIBLE IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. SCATTERED CLOUDS IN THE TAF SITES WITH CB POSSIBLE AT ALL TAF SITES FOR THE EARLY EVENING. WIND GUSTS IN THE AFTERNOON SHOULD REMAIN AOB 20KT FOR KRNO AND KTRK...WITH LOWER GUSTS FOR KTVL. IF A TSTM FORMS NEAR A TAF SITE...WINDS COULD BECOME ERRATIC AND GUSTY AT TIMES. LINDAMAN && .FIRE WEATHER... ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ALONG THE SIERRA...REACHING AS FAR NORTH AS THE SOUTHERN TAHOE BASIN. WHILE STORMS WILL LIKELY HAVE LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THEM COVERAGE WILL REMAIN ON THE LOW END OF ISOLATED (10-15%). HAVE INCREASED THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE ON FRIDAY AS THE SOUTHERLY FLOW BRINGS MODIFIED MONSOONAL MOISTURE INTO THE REGION. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH MONO COUNTY INTO THE SOUTHERN TAHOE BASIN WITH ISOLATED STORMS REACHING INTO THE SIERRA AND MUCH OF WESTERN NEVADA. THE LOW LEVELS WILL BE VERY DRY SO RAIN FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL NOT INITIALLY REACH THE SURFACE. BELIEVE THERE IS ENOUGH MOISTURE PRESENT THAT THE STORMS WILL BE ABLE TO MOISTEN THE LOWER LEVELS FAIRLY QUICKLY AFTER STORMS DEVELOP AND THESE STORMS WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME WET. HOWEVER... LIGHTNING THAT DOES STRIKE BEFORE RAIN REACHES THE SURFACE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO START FIRES. THE BEST MOISTURE WILL BE PRESENT THROUGH MONO COUNTY...DECREASING NORTHWARD TOWARD THE OREGON BORDER. THE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE THAT THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT THROUGH THE WEST CENTRAL NEVADA BASIN...MINERAL AND EASTERN MONO COUNTIES...AS WELL AS LASSEN AND NORTHERN WASHOE COUNTIES. THESE STORMS WILL QUICKLY PUSH EASTWARD EXITING THE NORTHERN AREAS BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE ONLY LINGERING STORMS AROUND THE MONO/MINERAL COUNTIES AREA. DRY AIR BEGINS WORKING INTO THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND WITH A SIGNIFICANT DRY SLOT PUSHING ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. THIS VERY DRY AIR MASS WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE AREA AT LEAST THROUGH TUESDAY...POSSIBLY WEDNESDAY. WIDESPREAD MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES CAN BE EXPECTED WITH VERY POOR OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES... ESPECIALLY THROUGH MIDSLOPES AND RIDGES WITH TEENS LIKELY. THIS WILL FOLLOW A PERIOD OF WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES...WHICH WILL HELP TO FURTHER DRY FUELS. WINDS WILL BEGIN INCREASING ON MONDAY WITH AN INCREASING THERMAL GRADIENT AND 700 MB WINDS 1-2 STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL. THE WIND AND LOW RH COMBINATION WILL LIKELY RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS MONDAY AND TUESDAY. DF && .REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. CA...NONE. && HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENO
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
715 PM PDT THU JUL 15 2010
CAZ073-160245-
MONO-
715 PM PDT THU JUL 15 2010
...THUNDERSTORM NEARING BRIDGEPORT...
AT 706 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTH OF BRIDGEPORT...MOVING NORTH AT
10 MPH.
OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING...LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN...AND GUSTY WINDS OF
UP TO 45 MPH...ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
* LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...BRIDGEPORT...HIGHWAYS 395 AND 270.
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.
&&
LAT...LON 3808 11925 3835 11934 3838 11909 3834 11905
3811 11903
TIME...MOT...LOC 0213Z 171DEG 9KT 3818 11916
BRONGThe Reno radar (KRGX), 177 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:28 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Bodie CO-OP reported numerous areas of debris flow over state route 270 with some damage along the edges of the road surface. Also, areas of Cottonwood Rd (south of Bodie) were impassable due to flash flooding.
Desert Creek flows north out of the Sweetwater Mountains of eastern Mono County. The Desert Creek gauge along the creek indicated a rapid spike to near flood stage between 1900PST and 2200PST. Meanwhile, radar indicated over 2 inches of rainfall. This gauge, the heavy rainfall, and a report of flooding over Desert Creek Road in southern Lyon County indicated likely areas of flash flooding along creeks coming out of the Sweetwater Mountains.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2010
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: 233910, 233870.