A strong cold front moving across the area caused high winds along the lee slopes of the Ruby Mountains.
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The episode as NWS LKN wrote it up.
A strong cold front moving across the area caused high winds along the lee slopes of the Ruby Mountains.
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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 16, 1:28 PM PST, 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 228 PM PDT WED MAR 16 2011 .SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO BRING RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA TODAY. THIS DISTURBANCE WILL EXIT THE AREA LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY MORNING. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING MORE RAIN AND SNOW TO THE AREA LATE FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .UPDATE...WINDS GUSTING 45 TO 50 MPH ACROSS MOST OF THE FCST AREA AS COLD FRONT WORKS ITS WAY ACROSS. THEREFORE POSTED WIND ADVISORY ALL AREAS THROUGH EARLY EVENING. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 139 PM / SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO BRING RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA TODAY. THIS DISTURBANCE WILL EXIT THE AREA LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY MORNING. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING MORE RAIN AND SNOW TO THE AREA LATE FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. UPDATE...PRE-FRONTAL SOUTHWEST WINDS AT WENDOVER HAVE BEEN SUSTAINED AT 30 TO 35 MPH THE PAST HOUR WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 50 MPH. COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH IN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO WITH WINDS SWITCHING TO THE NORTHWEST AND WINDS REMAINING STRONG AND GUSTY THROUGH EARLY EVENING SO HAVE ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 1045 AM/ SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO BRING RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA TODAY. THIS DISTURBANCE WILL EXIT THE AREA LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY MORNING. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING MORE RAIN AND SNOW TO THE AREA LATE FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AVIATION...LOW CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION TODAY...WITH MVFR CIGS EXPECTED AT KEKO EARLY IN THE PERIOD. PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO FALL AS RAIN AT THE TAF SITES...POSSIBLY SWITCHING TO SNOW JUST BEFORE ENDING DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING. A THUNDERSTORM IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION AT KELY...BUT DUE TO LOW CONFIDENCE...KEPT IT OUT FOR NOW. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 247 AM / SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. SATELLITE THIS MORNING SHOWING A LARGE BAND OF CLOUDS ACROSS THE AREA...STRETCHING WEST ACROSS THE EASTERN PACIFIC. THIS LONG FETCH OF MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH EAST ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA FOR TODAY. LARGE UPPER TROUGH CAN BE SEEN OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC AND WESTERN CANADA PER WATER VAPOR IMAGERY. RADAR COMPOSITE CONTINUES TO SHOW LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS OVER THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE ELKO FORECAST AREA...MAINLY NORTH OF THE US 50 CORRIDOR. COUPLE OF ISSUES TO DEAL WITH TODAY...STARTING WITH A HYDROLOGY CHALLENGE. REMOTE WEATHER STATION MOREY CREEK RAWS HAS MEASURED ABOUT A HALF INCH OF RAIN IN THE LAST SIX HOURS. THE RAINFALL...COMBINED WITH WARM OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES...HAS HELPED TO MELT SNOW AND INCREASE RUNOFF. FOR MORE DETAILS...PLEASE SEE THE HYDRO SECTION BELOW. COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO TRAVERSE THE STATE THIS MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON...EVENTUALLY STALLING OUT OVER THE EASTERNMOST SECTIONS OF THE AREA. FORCING ALONG THE FRONT IS FAIRLY DECENT WITH WEAK TO MODERATE UPPER LEVEL DIV-Q FORCING. INSTABILITY ACROSS THE 850-500MB LAYER LOOKS GOOD AS WELL FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. LIFTED INDICES GO NEGATIVE DURING THE LATTER PORTIONS OF THE AFTERNOON IN WHITE PINE AND NORTHERN NYE COUNTIES...SO HAVE ADDED ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO THE FORECAST FOR THESE AREAS. THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF ELKO AND HUMBOLDT COUNTIES MAY SEE UP TO AN INCH OF SNOW IN THE VALLEYS AND UP TO FOUR INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS TODAY. WINDS ARE GOING TO BE BREEZY AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE AREA. INTERNAL OFFICE MODEL SOLUTION IS TRYING TO DEPICT A MINOR DOWNSLOPE WIND EVENT FOR THE LEE-SIDES LATER THIS AFTERNOON. THE CROSS- SECTION DOES SHOW WIND SPEEDS TO 40 KNOTS...BUT STRONGEST WINDS DON'T QUITE MAKE IT TO THE SURFACE. HAVE THEREFORE KEPT WIND SPEEDS AND GUSTS TO JUST BELOW ADVISORY THRESHOLDS...AND WILL PASS ON WORDING TO NEXT SHIFT ABOUT THIS. UPPER LOW WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT TO THE SOUTH...SETTING UP SHOP WELL OFF THE COAST OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. SHORT TERM MODELS INDICATE A BREAK IN THE ACTION FOR THURSDAY WITH SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES IN STORE ALONG WITH CONTINUED CLOUDY CONDITIONS. HAVE KEPT ISOLATED SHOWERS OVER THE AREA AS COLD POOL ALOFT WILL HELP DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE DURING THE DAY. BY FRIDAY ANOTHER WAVE WILL TRY TO MAKE ITS WAY EAST...IMPACTING CA. NORTHERN NV MAY STAY IN THE CLEAR...ALTHOUGH WIND SPEEDS LOOK TO BE RATHER STRONG. TOO EARLY FOR ANY WIND PRODUCTS AT THIS TIME...BUT WILL KEEP AN EYE ON IT FOR FRIDAY. 86 LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY. QUASI-STATIONARY 500MB MEAN TROUGH OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST WILL KEEP THE WEATHER COOL AND UNSETTLED OVER THE GREAT BASIN THIS PERIOD. MODEL CONFIDENCE IS GOOD ON OVERALL PATTERN EVOLUTION ACROSS THE WESTERN CONUS...BUT LARGE SPREAD EXISTS IN STRENGTH AND TIMING OF THE NUMEROUS SHORTWAVES EMBEDDED IN THE BROAD SW FLOW. PRECIP WILL RUN ABOVE AVG...WITH TEMPS BELOW AVG FOR THIS PERIOD. FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY STRONG SHORTWAVE AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT IS PROGGED TO SWING THROUGH THE REGION. QPF AMOUNTS DON'T LOOK IMPRESSIVE WITH THIS WAVE...WITH RAIN SHOWERS CHANGING OVER TO SNOW SHOWERS ALONG THE COLD FRONT. THE BIGGEST IMPACT WITH THIS SHORTWAVE COULD BE THE STRONG WINDS AHEAD OF IT OUT OF THE SW...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL NV. BY SUNDAY THE CLOSED 500MB LOW OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST WILL BEGIN TO EJECT INTO THE WESTERN CONUS. EXPECTING RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS ON SUNDAY AHEAD OF THE MAIN TROUGH. LOOKS LIKE THE MOST WIDESPREAD SNOW AND HEAVIEST QPF AMOUNTS WILL BE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING...WITH BOTH THE GFS/ECMWF SWINGING THE TROUGH THROUGH DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. SMALL BREAK IN THE ACTION MONDAY AFTERNOON AS 500MB TROUGH EJECTS INTO UTAH...WITH ZONAL FLOW OVER THE AREA. IT WILL BE A VERY SHORT BREAK AS YET ANOTHER SHORTWAVE IS FORECASTED TO SWING THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING. UNSETTLED WEATHER COULD CONTINUE STRAIGHT INTO MID-WEEK AS ONE SYSTEM AFTER ANOTHER SETS UP OFF THE PACIFIC. HIGH TEMPS WILL RUN BELOW AVG...WITH LOW TEMPS A LITTLE ABOVE AVG DUE TO ALL THE CLOUD COVER. 95 AVIATION...EXPECT -SHRA TO CONTINUE AT KWMC/KEKO THROUGH THE EARLY AM...BECOMING MORE NUMEROUS AS SHORTWAVE MOVES THROUGH TODAY. SCT -SHRA EXPECTED TO MOVE IN AFTER 20Z AT KELY/KTPH. MAY EVEN GET A RUMBLE OF THUNDER NEAR KELY THIS AFTERNOON. INTERMITTENT MVFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE IN AND AROUND SHOWERS...OTHERWISE VFR THROUGH THE DAY. PRECIP SHOULD END WITH A BIT OF -RASN TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY AT KEKO/KELY RESULTING IN A SHORT PERIOD OF MVFR OR IFR CONDITIONS. 94 HYDROLOGY...LIGHT RAIN DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD...COUPLED WITH SNOW MELT...HAVE CAUSED INCREASES IN RUNOFF INTO MARTIN CREEK. AS OF 200 AM THIS MORNING...MARTIN CREEK WAS SHOWING A STAGE HEIGHT OF 4.3 FEET...WHICH IS BELOW THE MINOR FLOOD STAGE LEVEL OF 5 FEET. THE RIVER LEVEL IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY RISE DURING THE MORNING HOURS AS LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW MELT CONTINUES OVER THE BASIN. WE WILL CONTINUE TO ISSUE NOWCASTS AND RIVER STATEMENTS DURING THE MORNING AS CONDITIONS WARRANT. HIGH FLOWS ON MARTIN CREEK COULD HAVE AN IMPACT TO RESIDENTS IN THE PARADISE VALLEY DISTRICT...AND WILL HAVE TO BE MONITORED CLOSELY. PLEASE STAYED TUNED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FOR UP-TO-THE- MINUTE DETAILS. 86 && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR HUMBOLDT COUNTY... NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY...NORTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND NORTHERN EUREKA COUNTY...RUBY MOUNTAINS/EAST HUMBOLDT RANGE...SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND SOUTHERN EUREKA COUNTY...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY...WHITE PINE COUNTY. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR EXTREME EASTERN ELKO COUNTY. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR NORTHERN NYE COUNTY. && 91/86/95/95
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 225 PM PDT WED MAR 16 2011 NVZ013-031-032-034>037-170400- NORTHERN NYE COUNTY-NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY- SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY- RUBY MOUNTAINS/EAST HUMBOLDT RANGE-WHITE PINE COUNTY- NORTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND NORTHERN EUREKA COUNTY- SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND SOUTHERN EUREKA COUNTY- 225 PM PDT WED MAR 16 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL NEVADA...NORTH CENTRAL NEVADA...NORTHEAST NEVADA AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. WET AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE TODAY WITH RAIN SHOWERS EXPECTED. A COLD FRONT PASSING ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WILL USHER IN COOLER AIR THAT WILL HELP TO LOWER SNOW LEVELS. BY TONIGHT...EXPECT A DUSTING TO AN INCH IN THE VALLEY LOCATIONS...ESPECIALLY IN NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY...WITH UP TO FOUR INCHES IN THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS. THE COLD FRONT WILL BRING STRONG GUSTY WINDS WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED. PLEASE SEE RNONPWLKN FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WET AND UNSETTLED WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED FOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...WITH WINDY CONDITIONS POSSIBLE FRIDAY. BY FRIDAY NIGHT INTO THE WEEKEND...WET AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL RETURN TO CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NEVADA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT WEATHER PHENOMENA ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. NVZ030-170400- HUMBOLDT COUNTY- 225 PM PDT WED MAR 16 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A FAIRLY MOIST STORM SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO DROP LIGHT RAIN ACROSS HUMBOLDT COUNTY TODAY. SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG WITH WINDY CONDITIONS WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH DUE TO A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED. PLEASE SEE PRODUCT RNONPWLKN FOR DETAILS. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO ONE INCH CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE VALLEY WITH UP TO THREE INCHES IN THE HIGHEST ELEVATION MOUNTAINS. THE WARM TEMPERATURES...COMBINED WITH LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...HAS BROUGHT CREEK LEVELS ALONG MARTIN CREEK TO ABOVE MINOR FLOOD STAGE. THIS CREEK FLOWS NEAR THE PARADISE VALLEY DISTRICT IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY. THE HIGHER CREEK LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY. PLEASE STAY TUNED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WET AND UNSETTLED WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED FOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...WITH WINDY CONDITIONS POSSIBLE FRIDAY. BY FRIDAY NIGHT INTO THE WEEKEND...WET AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL RETURN TO HUMBOLDT COUNTY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT WEATHER PHENOMENA ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. NVZ033-170400- EXTREME EASTERN ELKO COUNTY- 225 PM PDT WED MAR 16 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A COLD FRONT WILL BRING STRONG GUSTY WEST WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED. PLEASE SEE PRODUCT RNONPWLKN FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL BRING PERIODS OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT WEATHER PHENOMENA ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Winds gusted up to 71 mph at the Ruby Valley RAWS and 59 mph at the Ruby Lake RAWS.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, March 2011
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: 279072.