A winter storm brought 6 to 8 inches of snow to northwest Nye, Lander, and Eureka counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 LKN wrote it up.
A winter storm brought 6 to 8 inches of snow to northwest Nye, Lander, and Eureka counties.
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 Dec 12, 6:15 PM PST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 615 PM PST WED DEC 12 2012 .SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL STEER PACIFIC MOISTURE INTO THE SILVER STATE. EXPECTING A WIDESPREAD SNOW EVENT TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY MORNING WITH SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OVER SEVEN THOUSAND FEET. THIS STORM WILL BE THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF WINTRY STORMS FOR THE GREAT BASIN. && .UPDATE...UPDATED TO REFRESH POP/QPF/SNOW AMOUNT GRIDS THROUGH 4 AM FOR THE OVERNIGHT. MASSAGED SNOW LEVEL GRIDS TO ENSURE ACCUMULATING SNOW AT TONOPAH BY LATE TONIGHT. BAND OF SNOWFALL THAT HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY FORECASTED BY GFS/ECMWF FOR AT LEAST 2 DAYS IS BEGINNING TO EVOLVE ON RADAR THIS EVENING...WITH REFLECTIVITY ORGANIZING ALONG A MOUNTAIN CITY- TUSCARORA-BATTLE MOUNTAIN-AUSTIN LINE. A CALL TO A SPOTTER IN TUSCARORA INDICATES ACCUMULATING SNOW HAS BEGUN THERE. INITIAL PRECIPITATION WILL BE RAIN BELOW 5500 FEET FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS THIS EVENING /RAINING AT LOVELOCK AND RAIN/SNOW MIX AT BATTLE MOUNTAIN CURRENTLY/ BUT ALL MODELS INDICATE 700 MB TEMPS COOLING ENOUGH TO SUPPORT SNOW AT ALL LOCALES AFTER 10 PM. MADE NO CHANGES TO INHERITED WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES. MODEL QPF GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW THE HEAVIEST SNOW FALLING IN THE WINTER STORM WARNING AREA INTO THURSDAY MORNING...WITH ADVISORY LEVEL SNOWS EXTENDING INTO MUCH OF ELKO COUNTY. HAZARDOUS SNOW-PACKED ROADS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA FOR THE THURSDAY MORNING COMMUTE...AND WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR IMPACTS. TURNER && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 337 PM / SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL STEER PACIFIC MOISTURE INTO THE SILVER STATE. EXPECTING A WIDESPREAD SNOW EVENT TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY MORNING WITH SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OVER SEVEN THOUSAND FEET. THIS STORM WILL BE THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF WINTRY STORMS FOR THE GREAT BASIN. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. AS OF 23Z...THE RADAR AT KLRX PINGS INTO A SWATH OF ACTIVITY FROM ELKO COUNTY...NEAR DEETH...TO LANDER COUNTY. SUFFICE TO SAY THE MOISTURE IS WORKING ITS WAY INTO THE LKN CWA. WHILE VALLEY TEMPERATURES CLIMBED WELL INTO THE 40S THIS AFTERNOON...BOTH NCEP AND NON-NCEP GUIDANCE SHOW 700 MB TEMPERATURES PLUMMETING AFTER 06Z THURSDAY. EVEN AT THIS TIME...THERE IS ONE GLARING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GFS AND THE EC. AT 00Z THURSDAY...THE EC CONTINUES TO DEPICT A SURFACE LOW OF 1002 MB NEAR TONOPAH...WHILE THE GFS PLACES THE CENTER OF SURFACE CIRCULATION NORTHEAST OF THE EC POSITION NEAR THE LANDER...NYE BORDER. FAST FORWARD 12 HOURS AND TWO DIFFERENT TRACKS EMERGE. EXPECTING SNOW TO BLANKET THE CWA FROM PROSPECT PEAK TO ROUND MOUNTAIN. HEADLINE PRODUCTS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THIS EVENT. BY 18Z THURSDAY...THE SURFACE FRONT WILL HAVE PUSHED EAST OF THE LKN CWA...THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS THERE AFTER. AS TIME ELAPSES...THE GFS AND EC PROJECT A POSITIVE TILT SHORT WAVE BY 12Z FRIDAY ENTERING HUMBOLDT COUNTY FIRST AND A THIRD SHORTWAVE EARLY SATURDAY. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE VAGARIES OF THE MODELS...IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE THE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BEYOND THURSDAY. LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY. WEAK RIDGE OVER THE CWA SATURDAY NIGHT...THEREFORE HAVE LOWERED POPS AS EC AND GFS KEEP PRECIP MAINLY CONFINED TO ID AND EXTREME WESTERN NV. EC AND GFS ARE OUT OF PHASE SUNDAY. GFS KEEPS RIDGE OVER CWA WITH A WEAK SHORTWAVE CLIPPING NE NV...WHILE EC HAS A STRONG SYSTEM PUSHING THROUGH ALL OF NORTHERN NV. HAVE KEPT MODERATE POPS IN THE FORECAST OVER NRN NV SUNDAY AS BOTH MODEL SOLUTIONS STILL FORECAST GOOD QPF AMOUNTS. GFS HAS DIRTY RIDGE ACROSS NRN NV SUNDAY NIGHT SO HAVE KEPT SOME LOW POPS IN FORECAST...HOWEVER HAVE LOWERED POPS FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST TO BECOME MORE IN LINE WITH THE EC. ON MONDAY...A RIDGE MOVES OVER THE CWA. THE GFS IS FLATTER AND DIRTY WITH THE RIDGE WITH SHOWERS ACROSS NRN NV WHILE EC SHARPER PUSHING PRECIP NORTH INTO IDAHO. FOR TUESDAY...ANOTHER COLD SYSTEM PUSHES ACROSS THE CWA...THIS TIME GFS THE STRONGEST. LITTLE CHANGE IN THE POP FORECAST DAY 6 AND 7 WITH UNCERTAINTY IN THE MODELS. GUIDANCE IS SHOWING TEMPERATURES A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL TO CLIMO VALUES THROUGHOUT THE LONG TERM PERIOD...HOWEVER EXPECTING SOME ADDITIONAL COOLING IN AREAS WITH LINGERING SNOW COVER. AVIATION...SHOWERS MAY BEGIN AT KWMC AS RAIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON... BUT IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION TO SNOW EARLY THIS EVENING. HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ROUGHLY ALONG A LINE FROM KTPH TO THE NE OVER THE RUBY MTS NEAR KEKO THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. KELY SHOULD REMAIN MAINLY BE DRY THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY...HOWEVER EXPECT GUSTY WINDS TO PERSIST AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING FRONT. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THURSDAY FOR NORTHEASTERN NYE COUNTY...NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY...NORTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND NORTHERN EUREKA COUNTY...RUBY MOUNTAINS/EAST HUMBOLDT RANGE... SOUTH CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY...SOUTHWESTERN ELKO COUNTY. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM PST THURSDAY FOR NORTHWESTERN NYE COUNTY...SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND SOUTHERN EUREKA COUNTY. && 99/99
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 225 PM PST WED DEC 12 2012 NVZ037-040-131030- SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND SOUTHERN EUREKA COUNTY- NORTHWESTERN NYE COUNTY- 225 PM PST WED DEC 12 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NEVADA AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A BATCH OF WINTRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED THIS FORECAST PERIOD. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES IS FORECAST FOR MOST VALLEYS WITH 8 TO 16 INCHES EXPECTED FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 7000 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. MANY LOCATIONS IN CENTRAL NEVADA WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ON THURSDAY. STAY TUNED...ADDITIONAL STORMS EXPECTED THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT WEATHER PHENOMENA ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. NVZ031-034-036-038-039-041-131030- NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY-RUBY MOUNTAINS/EAST HUMBOLDT RANGE- NORTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND NORTHERN EUREKA COUNTY- SOUTHWESTERN ELKO COUNTY-SOUTH CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY- NORTHEASTERN NYE COUNTY- 225 PM PST WED DEC 12 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NEVADA...NORTHEAST NEVADA AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A BATCH OF WINTRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED THIS FORECAST PERIOD. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES IS FORECAST FOR MOST VALLEYS WITH 4 TO 7 INCHES EXPECTED FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 7000 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. MANY LOCATIONS IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEVADA WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ON THURSDAY. STAY TUNED...ADDITIONAL STORMS EXPECTED THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT WEATHER PHENOMENA ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. NVZ030-033-035-131030- HUMBOLDT COUNTY-SOUTHEASTERN ELKO COUNTY-WHITE PINE COUNTY- 225 PM PST WED DEC 12 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL NEVADA...NORTHEAST NEVADA AND NORTHWEST NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING UNSETTLED WEATHER TO NEVADA THIS FORECAST PERIOD. EXPECT SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. MANY LOCATIONS IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEVADA WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ON THURSDAY. STAY TUNED...ADDITIONAL STORMS EXPECTED THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. .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.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Six inches of snow was reported in Battle Mountain.
Seven inches of snow was reported at Bob Scott Summit and six inches in Reese River Valley about 40 miles south of Battle Mountain.
Seven inches of snow was reported in Gabbs.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, December 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: 416499, 416472, 416498.