A Pacific low pressure system and associated cold front brought high winds to portions of the Mojave Desert. A couple of thunderstorms also enhanced the winds.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 low pressure system and associated cold front brought high winds to portions of the Mojave Desert. A couple of thunderstorms also enhanced the winds.
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 Apr 8, 2:12 AM PST, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
312 AM PDT MON APR 8 2013
.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG PACIFIC STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TODAY
RESULTING IN GUSTY WINDS...AREAS OF BLOWING DUST AND MUCH COOLER
TEMPERATURES. IN ADDITION...SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE ALSO EXPECTED
MAINLY ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN. COOL
CONDITIONS WITH BRISK NORTH WINDS WILL THEN PERSIST THROUGH TUESDAY
BEFORE WARMING TAKES PLACE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...A STRONG PACIFIC
TROUGH DROPPING INTO THE AREA THIS MORNING WILL CONTINUE TO SHIFT
SOUTHEAST DURING THE DAY BEFORE MOVING TO NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS
REGION BY 12Z TUESDAY. NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL THEN BE OVER THE
CWA THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE STORM CONTINUES TO MOVE WELL OUT
OF THE AREA AND A WEAK SHORT WAVE RIDGE BUILDS ALONG THE WEST COAST.
AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS...THE MAIN IMPACT FROM
THIS STORM WILL BE STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS. SOUTHWEST WINDS AHEAD OF
THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL RAPIDLY TURN THE WINDS TO THE NORTH
BEHIND THE FRONT AND WITH THE STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE/THERMAL
GRADIENTS EXPECTED...GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. THE
STRONGEST NORTH WINDS HOWEVER WILL BE OVER THE MOHAVE DESERT AND
ACROSS INYO/ESMERALDA/ CENTRAL NYE COUNTIES AND THE HIGH WIND
WARNINGS FOR THESE AREAS REMAIN IN PLACE. HOWEVER IT NOW APPEARS
THAT WINDS ACROSS LINCOLN/CLARK/MOHAVE COUNTY WILL BE LESS THAN WHAT
WAS EARLIER THOUGHT AND WILL LOWER THE HIGH WIND WARNING TO A STRONG
WIND ADVISORY...ESPECIALLY FOR CLARK COUNTY WHERE WIDESPREAD GUSTS
TO 55 MPH ARE LIKELY. WINDS SHOULD DECREASE DURING THE LATE
AFTERNOON/OVERNIGHT...BUT WITH THE NORTHERN FLOW/CONTINUED SURFACE
GRADIENTS ACROSS THE AREA...EXPECTED GUSTY NORTH WINDS TO CONTINUE
THROUGH MUCH OF TUESDAY AND WILL LIKELY NEED FURTHER ADVISORIES IN
LATER PACKAGES. WINDS WILL BE LESS ON WEDNESDAY...BUT EVEN HERE
LOCAL GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL STILL BE SEEN...ESPECIALLY IN THE
COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY.
ALTHOUGH WINDS ARE THE MAIN CONCERN WITH THIS STORM...SCATTERED
SHOWERS WILL BE SEEN ACROSS MAINLY THE MOUNTAINS OF LINCOLN/NORTHERN
MOHAVE COUNTY TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY...BEFORE DRYING TAKES
PLACE BY TUESDAY NIGHT. THE COLD POOL ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE
STORM WILL ALSO CREATE UNSTABLE CONDITIONS AND NOT OUT OF THE
QUESTION THAT AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SEEN TODAY. SNOW
LEVELS WILL BE LOWERING TO NEAR 5500 FEET...BUT ONLY LIGHT
ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED.
WITH THE COLD FRONT EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA TODAY...TEMPERATURES
WILL BE MUCH COLDER THAN THE WELL ABOVE NORMAL READINGS OF THE
WEEKEND WITH MOST AREA SEEING A 15 TO 20 DEGREE DROP IN AFTERNOON
TEMPERATURES FOR TODAY. HOWEVER TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE NORTHERN
PORTION OF INYO AND ESMERALDA COUNTIES BY BE AS MUCH AS 30 DEGREES
COLDER. LIMITED WARMING WILL BE SEEN ON TUESDAY UNDER THE NORTHERLY
FLOW...BUT WARMING IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY AS THE
WINDS DECREASE.
.LONG TERM...A WEAK SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED IN THE NORTHWESTERLY FLOW
WILL QUICKLY TRANSITION OVER THE AREA THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...BUT IS EXPECTED TO HAVE LITTLE IMPACT TO THE FORECAST AREA
OTHER THAN A SLIGHT INCREASE TO NORTHERLY WINDS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE
OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF NORTHEAST LINCOLN
COUNTY. DRY NORTHWESTERLY FLOW STILL IN PLACE ON SATURDAY WILL THEN
BEGIN TO SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST ON SUNDAY AHEAD OF THE NEXT AREA OF
LOW PRESSURE TO IMPACT THE REGION. MODELS HAVE BEEN FAIRLY
CONSISTENT WITH THIS FEATURE IN THE EXTENDED AND WITH LATEST RUNS
SHOWING AVERAGE TO ABOVE AVERAGE AGREEMENT...OPTED TO INCREASE
SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE MOJAVE DESERT.
NO OTHER CHANGES TO THE INHERITED FORECAST WERE NEEDED.
&&
.AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ALL
DAY...AS SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WITH GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40KTS SHIFT TO
THE NORTHWEST BEHIND A COLD FRONT EXPECTED TO PASS OVER THE VALLEY
BEGINNING AROUND 16Z THIS MORNING. WHILE ACTUAL SPEEDS WILL
FLUCTUATE AT TIMES DURING THE DAY...SUSTAINED WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED
AROUND 30 KTS WITH GUSTS AROUND 40 KTS ON AVERAGE. THE STRONGEST
WINDS NOW LOOK TO OCCUR BRIEFLY JUST AS THE COLD FRONT PASSES
THROUGH BETWEEN 16Z AND 17Z...AND THEN AGAIN LATER IN THE DAY
BETWEEN 22Z AND 04Z AS A STRONG NORTH/SOUTH PRESSURE GRADIENT
CONTINUES TO TIGHTEN. GUSTS DURING THESE TIMES ARE EXPECTED TO BE
INTERMITTENTLY ABOVE 50 KTS. THE STRONG WINDS WILL RESULT IN REDUCED
VISIBILITIES THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE DAY DUE TO BLOWING DUST...AS
LOW AS 3 STATUTE MILES.
FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST
CALIFORNIA...WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 KTS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES
DOWN TO AS LOW AS 2 STATUTE MILES WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF
THE AREA TODAY AS A STRONG CLOD FRONT PASSES ACROSS THE REGION. THE
COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETELY THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA BY
EARLY THIS EVENING...LEAVING BEHIND BREEZY TO WINDY NORTH WINDS IN
PLACE THROUGH TUESDAY.
&&
.VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NV...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR
NVZ014-017>019.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR NVZ015-016-
020>022.
AZ...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZZ001>003-036.
CA...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR CAZ520>526.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING FOR CAZ519.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR CAZ527.
&&
JENSEN/KENNEDY
FOR MORE FORECAST INFORMATION...SEE US ON OUR WEBPAGE:
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS OR FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTERHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 510 AM PDT MON APR 8 2013 CAZ520>526-NVZ014-017>019-090700- OWENS VALLEY-WHITE MOUNTAINS OF INYO COUNTY- DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK-WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT- EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT-MORONGO BASIN-CADIZ BASIN- ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY- WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY-SHEEP RANGE- SPRING MOUNTAINS- 510 AM PDT MON APR 8 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A PACIFIC STORM MOVING ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WILL BRING STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS TO THE REGION. SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTING TO OVER 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE THIS MORNING AND THEN WINDS WILL GENERALLY SWITCH TO THE NORTH BEHIND A COLD FRONT AND REMAIN STRONG AND GUSTY. WINDS SHOULD DECREASE OVERNIGHT. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING WITH AREAS OF BLOWING DUST AND SAND LOWERING VISIBILITIES AT TIMES. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IS POSSIBLE TODAY OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS WITH THE SNOW LEVEL LOWERING TO NEAR 5500 FEET BY TUESDAY MORNING. LITTLE SNOW ACCUMULATION EXPECTED HOWEVER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY LOCAL GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE ON TUESDAY BEFORE DECREASING ON WEDNESDAY. WINDS MAY REACH ADVISORY LEVELS WITH AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ESPECIALLY NEAR DRY LAKE BEDS. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. .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-CAZ527-NVZ015-016-020>022-090700- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-NORTHWEST DESERTS- LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY- UPPER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-LINCOLN COUNTY-NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY- LAS VEGAS VALLEY-SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY- 510 AM PDT MON APR 8 2013 /510 AM MST MON APR 8 2013/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL OCCUR THIS MORNING WITH GUSTS TO BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MPH. WINDS WILL SWITCH TO THE NORTH AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE REGION DURING THE DAY. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THESE GUSTY WINDS. VISIBILITIES WILL BE LOWERED AT TIMES DUE TO BLOWING DUST. THERE IS ALSO A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS WITH THE SNOW LEVEL LOWERING TO NEAR 5500 FEET BY TUESDAY MORNING. LITTLE SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED HOWEVER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY LOCAL GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE ON TUESDAY BEFORE DECREASING ON WEDNESDAY. WIND GUSTS MAY REACH ADVISORY LEVELS. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. .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. CAZ519-090700- EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES- 510 AM PDT MON APR 8 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY THIS MORNING BEFORE THE POTENTIAL ENDS BY MID MORNING...HOWEVER GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL BE SEEN DURING THE DAY WITH WIND GUSTS TO OVER 50 MPH LIKELY. A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUES OVER THE AREA THIS MORNING BEFORE DRYING TAKES PLACE THIS AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .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.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
210 AM PDT MON APR 08 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1251 AM NON-TSTM WND GST W SQUAW SPRINGS RAWS 35.37N 117.57W
04/08/2013 M62 MPH SAN BERNARDINO CA MESONET
&&
METZGERPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
340 AM PDT MON APR 08 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1150 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 5 NW DYER 37.68N 118.09W
04/07/2013 M68 MPH ESMERALDA NV TRAINED SPOTTER
A SPOTTER REPORTED A 68 MPH GUST ON HIS HOME WEATHER
STATION.
&&
METZGERPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
517 AM PDT MON APR 08 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0512 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 S PAHRUMP 36.18N 116.00W
04/08/2013 M54 MPH NYE NV TRAINED SPOTTER
WINDS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN OVER 40 MPH SINCE 3 AM PDT.
0512 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 S PAHRUMP 36.18N 116.00W
04/08/2013 M54 MPH NYE NV TRAINED SPOTTER
WINDS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN GUSTING OVER 40 MPH SINCE 3
AM PST.
&&
LJENSENThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The peak gust for this event was measured at Bicycle Lake (KBYS) at 0801 PST.
This gust occurred at Twentynine Palms (KNXP).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2013
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: 442450, 442451.