A strong Pacific storm system brought high winds to much of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. Isolated heavy rain and snow also fell.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 Pacific storm system brought high winds to much of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. Isolated heavy rain and snow also fell.
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 Jan 20, 7:53 PM PST, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 343 PM PST FRI JAN 20 2012 CAZ519-211200- EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES- 343 PM PST FRI JAN 20 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TONIGHT AS A PACIFIC STORMS MOVES TO THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST. A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT ABOVE 7000 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY AS ADDITIONAL HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED. SNOW WILL END OR DIMINISH SIGNIFICANTLY BY LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. AFTER A RESPITE FROM THE SNOW SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. AZZ001>003-036-CAZ520>527-NVZ014-016>022-211200- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-NORTHWEST DESERTS- LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-OWENS VALLEY- WHITE MOUNTAINS OF INYO COUNTY-DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK- WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT-EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT-MORONGO BASIN- CADIZ BASIN-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY-UPPER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY- ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY-NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY- WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY-SHEEP RANGE- SPRING MOUNTAINS-LAS VEGAS VALLEY-SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY- 343 PM PST FRI JAN 20 2012 /443 PM MST FRI JAN 20 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP SATURDAY AS A PACIFIC STORMS MOVES ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AND INTO NEVADA. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM TO 7 PM SATURDAY FOR NORTHWEST SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY...THE SPRING MOUNTAINS AND THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY WITH WIND ADVISORIES IN MOST OTHER AREAS. SOUTHEAST SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND THE LAKE HAVASU ZONES ARE NOT INCLUDED IN ANY WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES AS WINDS WILL REMAIN SIGNIFICANTLY LIGHTER THERE. WINDS WILL DIMINISH QUICKLY EARLY SATURDAY EVENING. ANOTHER STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY BRINGING A GOOD CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW WITH LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. NVZ015-211200- LINCOLN COUNTY- 343 PM PST FRI JAN 20 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A PACIFIC STORM MOVING THROUGH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTO NEVADA SATURDAY WILL BRING STRONG WINDS AND AREAS OF SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW TO LINCOLN COUNTY. NORTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY MAY RECEIVE 3 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW WITH GUSTY WINDS CAUSING BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS IN EFFECT. WINDS AND PRECIPITATION WILL DIMINISH QUICKLY EARLY SATURDAY EVENING. ANOTHER STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY BRINGING A GOOD CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW WITH LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow, 1 high wind, 1 dust storm, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thirteen inches of snow fell in Aspendell.
High winds blew parts of the roofs off two homes and blew over a flag pole in Morongo Valley, and blowing dust reduced visibility to zero and made travel impossible in Landers. The peak measured gust occurred at Twentynine Palms (KNXP).
Dust storm conditions reduced visibility to a quarter mile at Daggett, and blew so much sand onto Harvard Road that it had to be closed. A tree, sign, and power pole were also blown down in the Barstow area. The peak measured gust occurred at Bicycle Lake on Fort Irwin.
Strong winds blew a road sign onto I-15 28 miles southwest of Baker, and blew over a big rig on I-15 just south of the Nevada state line.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2012
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: 354853, 354852, 354854, 354855.