A strong cold front brought gusty winds to much of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. Isolated high winds occurred.
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 VEF wrote it up.
A strong cold front brought gusty winds to much of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. Isolated high winds occurred.
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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 13, 9:31 PM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 931 PM PST SAT MAR 13 2010 .SYNOPSIS...LOCALLY GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL PERSIST BEHIND AN EXITING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA LATE SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY LEADING TO MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING TO ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS BY MONDAY. && .UPDATE...WINDS ARE STILL DIMINISHING IN LINE WITH FORECAST TRENDS. UPDATED TO REDUCE CLOUD COVER AND POPS IN THE EASTERN ZONES OVERNIGHT. && .PREV DISCUSSION... 305 PM PST SAT MAR 13 2010 .SHORT TERM...WINDS HAVE BEEN MEETING ADVISORY CRITERIA IN AREAS WHERE WIND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN IN EFFECT...ACROSS ESMERALDA...NYE...INYO AND WESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE WINDS DECREASING RAPIDLY AFTER 4 PM IN WESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND WILL ALLOW ADVISORY TO EXPIRE AT THAT TIME. OTHER ADVISORIES CONTINUE UNTIL 6/7 PM. SOME ISOLATED GUSTS MEETING ADVISORY CRITERIA HAVE BEEN NOTED IN LINCOLN COUNTY AND THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY. WILL OPT NOT TO EXPAND THE ADVISORY TO INCLUDE THESE AREAS AS BELIEVE THESE WINDS WILL BE LOCALIZED AND SHORT LIVED...BASED ON MOS GUIDANCE AND NAM12 SFC WIND PROG. THE CLOSED LOW WHICH BROUGHT A BAND OF SHOWERS TO LINCOLN...NORTHEAST CLARK AND NORTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY WILL MOVE INTO NORTHEAST ARIZONA OVERNIGHT. A FEW SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT IN EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY AND NORTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY...MAINLY EARLY THIS EVENING. THE LOW WILL NOT MAKE MUCH PROGRESS EASTWARD SUNDAY BUT MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THE LOW SHOULD BE JUST EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. HOWEVER...THERE WILL STILL BE SOME LOCALLY GUSTY NORTH WINDS...MAINLY DOWN THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY. LATER SHIFTS WILL NEED TO MONITOR TRENDS FOR A POSSIBLE LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR LAKE MOHAVE AND LAKE HAVASU. A FAIRLY STRONG UPPER RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY AND TUESDAY LEADING TO MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...LIGHTER WINDS AND TEMPERATURES WARMING TO ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS. .LONG TERM...MODELS TAKE STRONG SHORTWAVE ENERGY INTO THE PACIFIC NW AND SOUTHWESTERN CANADA WEDNESDAY WHICH EXTENDS SOUTHWARD AND RESULTS IN A WEAK UPPER TROUGH OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S. IT SHOULD NOT HAVE MUCH IMPACT ON THE AREA WEATHER...AT LEAST INITIALLY...WITH TEMPERATURES REMAINING WELL ABOVE NORMAL. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF HAVE ENERGY DIVING OUT OF SOUTHERN CANADA THURSDAY AND SLIDING BY THE AREA FRIDAY. THERE WERE CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODELS ON HOW THE ENERGY EVOLVES RANGING FROM A CLOSED 545 500MB LOW MOVING THROUGH UTAH AS DEPICTED BY THE EC...TO A MORE PROGRESSIVE OPEN WAVE AS FORECAST BY THE GFS. TENDED TO LEAN TOWARDS THE ECMWF WITH INCREASING NORTH WINDS...SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES AND LITTLE PRECIPITATION...MAINLY SLIGHT CHANCES CONFINED TO LINCOLN COUNTY. DRY NORTHWEST FLOW TO RIDGING INDICATED FOR NEXT WEEKEND WHICH SHOULD BRING ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND LIGHT WINDS TO THE AREA. .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...A SURFACE COLD FRONT HAS CROSSED THE VALLEY AND GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS ARE OCCURRING BEHIND IT. THESE STRONGER WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVERNIGHT AND THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING BEFORE DECREASING IN THE AFTERNOON. SUSTAINED WINDS AROUND 20KTS CAN BE EXPECTED TONIGHT WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30KTS BUT OCCASIONALLY AS HIGH AS 35 KTS. THE GUSTY WINDS MAY PRODUCE AREAS OF REDUCED VISIBILITIES DUE TO BLOWING DUST BUT WIDESPREAD LOWER VISIBILITIES ARE NOT ANTICIPATED. NO PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED WITHIN THE VALLEY OR OVER LOCAL MOUNTAINS FROM THIS SYSTEM BUT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS POSSIBLE OVER NORTHWEST ARIZONA WITHIN THE MORMON MESA TO THE PEACH SPRINGS CORRIDOR. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT CURRENTLY MOVING SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA OVERNIGHT AND INTO SUNDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE 20-30KTS SUSTAINED WITH GUSTS FROM 40-50KTS POSSIBLE. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO REACH KEED AROUND 01Z SUNDAY AND SHOULD BE COMPLETELY THROUGH THE CWA BY 04Z THIS EVENING. MODERATE TO SEVERE MECHANICAL TURBULENCE IS EXPECTED ACROSS MOST LOCATIONS. && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && MORGAN/HARRISON/SALMEN HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
654 PM PST SAT MAR 13 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0600 PM NON-TSTM WND GST PAHRUMP 36.21N 115.99W
03/13/2010 M48 MPH NYE NV CO-OP OBSERVER
A WEATHER SPOTTER MEASURED A WIND GUST OUT OF THE NORTH
AT 48 MPH WITH SUSTAINED WINDS MEASURED AT 38 MPH.
&&
ELPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
1018 PM PST SAT MAR 13 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0634 PM NON-TSTM WND GST RED ROCK CANYON 36.14N 115.45W
03/13/2010 M50.00 MPH CLARK NV MESONET
A NORTH NORTHWESTERLY GUST OF 50 MPH WAS MEASURED AT RED
ROCK CANYON AT AN ELEVATION OF 3756 FEET.
0751 PM NON-TSTM WND GST HORSE THIEF SPRINGS RAW 35.77N 115.91W
03/13/2010 M47.00 MPH SAN BERNARDINO CA MESONET
A SOUTH SOUTHWESTERLY WIND GUST WAS MEASURED AT HORSE
THIEF SPRINGS RAWS AT AN ELEVATION OF 5000 FEET.
0830 PM NON-TSTM WND GST DESERT NWR RAWS 36.58N 115.14W
03/13/2010 M50.00 MPH CLARK NV MESONET
A NORTHERLY WIND GUST OF 50 MPH WAS MEASURED AT DESERT
NWR RAWS AT AN ELEVATION OF 7120 FEET.
0841 PM NON-TSTM WND GST KANE SPRINGS RAWS 37.25N 114.71W
03/13/2010 M58.00 MPH LINCOLN NV MESONET
A NORTHWESTERLY WIND GUST OF 58 MPH WAS MEASURED AT KANE
SPRINGS RAWS AT AN ELEVATION OF 4382 FEET.
&&
ELThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
This gust occurred 12 miles SW of Elgin.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, March 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: 210704.