A Pacific storm system brought isolated high winds to the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin.
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 Pacific storm system brought isolated high winds to the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin.
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 25, 7:11 PM PST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 811 PM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 .SYNOPSIS...A PACIFIC STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT BEFORE RAPIDLY SHIFTING INTO UTAH ON MONDAY. THIS WILL BRING LOCAL GUSTY WINDS TO THE AREA THIS EVENING WITH SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS AND A GOOD CHANCE OF RAIN TO THE DESERTS OVERNIGHT. DRIER CONDITIONS WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL BE SEEN ON MONDAY THEN WARMER WEATHER RETURNS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. && .UPDATE...THE REMAINDER OF THE WIND HEADLINES ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 8 PM. UPPER LOW JUST OFF THE SANTA BARBARA/VENTURA COUNTY LINE AND REALLY STARTING TO ACCELERATE EAST. SATELLITE/RADAR DETECTING LINE OF SHOWERS OVER WESTERN INYO AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES...OR ROUGHLY ON A LINE FROM BISHOP TO BARSTOW. OVER THE PAST 3 HOURS NEARLY FOUR TENTHS OF AN INCH OF RAIN HAD FALLEN AT SQUAW SPRINGS RAWS. LATEST RADAR DATA OUT OF EDWARDS SHOWS LINE BEGINNING TO BREAK UP A BIT. NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH YET TO PULL WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE SPRING MOUNTAINS YET. WILL AWAIT 00Z GFS FOR FINAL DECISION ON POPS/WX FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT. && .PREV UPDATE...SINCE PRECIPITATION HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS WESTERN INYO COUNTY...GUSTY SOUTH WINDS HAVE REALLY DIMINISHED. WIND ADVISORY WAS ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT THE TOP OF THE HOUR. WILL LEAVE REMAINING WIND ADVISORIES IN PLACE FOR ANOTHER HOUR. 00Z NAM JUST STARTING ARRIVE. DO HAVE SOME DOUBTS IF SNOW ADVISORY AMOUNTS WILL BE MET IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. IT LOOKS LIKE STRONGEST FORCING WHICH IS PRESENTLY OVER INYO COUNTY LIFTS NORTHEAST ACROSS ESMERALDA...CENTRAL NYE AND LINCOLN COUNTIES. WILL TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NAM DURING THE NEXT HOUR AS DONT IMAGINE THIS WILL BE THE LAST UPDATE OF THE NIGHT. && .PREV DISCUSSION... 314 PM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...THE UPPER LOW WHICH HAS BEEN OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST IS BEGINNING TO SHIFT EAST THIS AFTERNOON. THE INITIAL BAND OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM STALLED ITS EASTWARD PROGRESSION DURING THE DAY...JUST TO THE WEST OF THE CWA. WITH THE LOW SHIFTING EAST AT THIS TIME HOWEVER... THIS BAND AND THE LOW WILL COMBINE EARLY TONIGHT AND SHIFT ACROSS THE CWA OVERNIGHT. THIS WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASING CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE CWA BY EARLY EVENING AND THEN BASICALLY CWA WIDE DURING THE NIGHT. SHORT RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO DIFFER ON QPF AMOUNTS AND PLACEMENTS...BUT SINCE THIS SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY SHIFT ACROSS THE AREA...DO NOT EXPECT ANY WIDESPREAD HEAVY SNOW AND WILL KEEP THE CURRENT SNOW ADVISORIES IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA AND THE SPRING MOUNTAINS. ONE AREA OF CONCERN HOWEVER WILL CONTINUE TO BE LINCOLN COUNTY LATE TONIGHT/ EARLY MONDAY MORNING...BUT CURRENT THINKING IS THAT ONLY A FEW INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE SEEN. BY MONDAY MORNING THE LOW CENTER IS EXPECTED TO BE OVER LINCOLN/WHITE PINE COUNTIES OF NEVADA AND THEN BY LATE MORNING INTO UTAH. THIS WILL BRING DRIER CONDITIONS TO THE ENTIRE CWA DURING THE DAY...WITH SHOWERS BEING LIMITED TO MAINLY LINCOLN COUNTY THROUGH MUCH OF MONDAY. FURTHER DRYING MONDAY NIGHT WILL BRING DRY CONDITIONS TO THE ENTIRE CWA ON TUESDAY. WINDS CONTINUE TO BE A CONCERN WITH THIS SYSTEM THROUGH THIS EVENING. ALTHOUGH CURRENT ADVISORIES HAVE HAD A TOUGH TIME SEEING WIDESPREAD GUSTS TO OVER 40 MPH...STILL EXPECT WINDS TO REACH CRITERIA LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING AND WILL KEEP THEM IN EFFECT. AT THE SAME TIME...WINDS HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE OWENS VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND HAVE ISSUED AN ADVISORY WITH THIS PACKAGE. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE EXTREME NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE CWA...DAYTIME TEMPERATURES CONTINUED TO BE ABOVE NORMAL...BUT WITH THE STORM PASSAGE TONIGHT...LOOK FOR DAYTIME HIGHS ON MONDAY TO BE AROUND 10 DEGREES COOLER. A WARMING TREND WILL THEN BEGIN ON TUESDAY. .LONG TERM...SHORTWAVE ENERGY EJECTS INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON WEDNESDAY WITH A TRAILING WEAKNESS IN THE FLOW ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST. MODELS INDICATE THAT THIS FEATURE WILL HAVE DECENT MOISTURE DEPTH IN THE H7-5 LAYER AND COULD PRODUCE A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA AND NORTHERN ZONE MOUNTAINS. OTHERWISE...DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ELSEWHERE. THIS FEATURE MOVES EAST THURSDAY AND IS REPLACED BY LIGHT WESTERLY UPPER FLOW. THE FORECAST BECOMES INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT BEYOND THURSDAY AS MODELS HAVE VERY DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS WITH REGARDS TO A LONGWAVE TROUGH OFF THE PACIFIC NW COAST. THE GFS MOVES THE WHOLE TROUGH SOUTH AND EAST INTO THE GREAT BASIN OVER THE WEEKEND WHICH WOULD LEAD TO INCREASING CLOUDS AND WIND WITH POTENTIALLY COOLER CONDITIONS AND SHOWER CHANCES ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES. IN CONTRAST...THE ECMWF MAINTAINS A MEAN PACIFIC TROUGH WITH SHORTWAVE ENERGY LIFTING NORTHEASTWARD AND MAINLY IMPACTING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST STATES. FOR OUR AREA...THE ECMWF WOULD LIKELY RESULT IN LOCAL GUSTY AFTERNOON WINDS OVER THE WEEKEND AND WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES UNDER A DEEP LAYERED SOUTHWEST FLOW. IT SEEMS THAT THE PRUDENT COURSE OF ACTION AT THIS POINT IS TO WAIT FOR BETTER MODEL CONSENSUS BEFORE MAKING ANY BIG CHANGES TO THE DAY 5-7 TIME PERIOD. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...GUSTY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AND BECOME INCREASINGLY SOUTH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. WIND SPEEDS WILL GENERALLY BE 15-25KTS WITH GUSTS OF 30-35KTS. SCT HIGH CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE OUT OF THE AREA WHILE LOW TO MID LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES FROM THE WEST. CIGS WILL LOWER TO AROUND 8-10K FEET AFTER 04Z ALONG WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS MAINLY AFTER 06Z. THE BEST TIME FRAME FOR PRECIPITATION IN THE VALLEY WILL BE BETWEEN 06Z-12Z MONDAY WITH CIGS DOWN TO AROUND 5K FEET POSSIBLE. DRY CONDITIONS AND SOUTH WINDS AROUND 10KTS ARE EXPECTED ON MONDAY. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...SOUTH WINDS BETWEEN 20-30KTS WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40KTS TO CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA...CURRENTLY IN THE SIERRA THEN SPREADING INTO THE EAST THROUGH THE NIGHT. CLOUDS FROM 6-8K FEET WILL SPREAD WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA WILL POTENTIALLY LOWER CIGS NEAR SHOWERS. THE SYSTEM MOVES EAST MONDAY WITH SHOWERS ENDING IN THE EARLY MORNING AND MUCH LIGHTER WIND CONDITIONS AREAWIDE. && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM PDT MONDAY FOR NVZ019. AZ...NONE. CA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM PDT MONDAY FOR CAZ519. && UPDATE...PIERCE PREV DISCUSSION...JENSEN/SALMEN HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 453 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-260700- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-NORTHWEST DESERTS- LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES- 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-LINCOLN COUNTY- NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY-WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY- SHEEP RANGE-SPRING MOUNTAINS-LAS VEGAS VALLEY- SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY- 453 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 /453 AM MST SUN MAR 25 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE PACIFIC STORM OFF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST WILL RAPIDLY MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT. THIS WILL RESULT IN GUSTY WINDS AND SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN THE AREA MOUNTAINS. WIND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR MOHAVE COUNTY ARIZONA...THE LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA AND THE MORONGO BASIN OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY CALIFORNIA. IN ADDITION...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WAS ALSO ISSUED FOR THE SPRING MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA ABOVE 6000 FEET TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AS THE STORM SHIFTS EAST...DRYING WILL BE SEEN ON MONDAY WITH NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY. .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.
2 strong wind, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong winds knocked out power to 1900 customers east of downtown Las Vegas.
This gust occurred in Rachel, and blew shingles off the roof of a business.
This gust occurred 1 mile ESE of Red Rock Canyon.
This gust occurred in Pioche.
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, March 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: 363171, 363172, 363173, 363174.