A storm system brought rain and snow to much of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin on the 2nd. The leftover moisture and colder air in the wake of the storm produced patchy dense fog on the 3rd and 4th.
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 storm system brought rain and snow to much of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin on the 2nd. The leftover moisture and colder air in the wake of the storm produced patchy dense fog on the 3rd and 4th.
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 Dec 2, 3:14 AM PST, 4 hours 46 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 314 AM PST TUE DEC 2 2014 .SYNOPSIS...A WARM STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY BRINGING A PERIOD OF STEADIER RAIN FROM THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. ANY SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE ABOVE 10,000 FEET. THE PRIMARY IMPACT WILL BE SLICK TRAVEL CONDITIONS ON AREA ROADWAYS. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS OR PERHAPS A PERIOD OF STEADIER LIGHT PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO THURSDAY. ANOTHER SYSTEM MAY BRING A FEW SHOWERS TO PORTIONS OF THE AREA FROM FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. && .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. AFTER A WARM AND DRY FALL, DECEMBER IS AT LEAST TRYING TO RESEMBLE THE COLD SEASON BY BRINGING MUCH NEEDED PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS THE PARENT MID/UPPER LEVEL LOW SPINNING NEAR 37N/135W PROCEEDED BY A MOIST PLUME OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE. FOR OUR AREA, THIS LOW ITSELF WILL NOT REALLY BE A DIRECT IMPACT AS IT IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION TO AN OPEN WAVE AS IT APPROACHES THE NORCAL COAST WEDNESDAY. THIS LOW WILL ULTIMATELY PUSH THE FEED OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE INTO OUR AREA TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH A 100 KT+ JET STREAM AT 250 MB. THE COMBINATION OF THIS JET INDUCING LIFT AND THE AMOUNT OF MOISTURE WILL PUSH A BAND OF PRECIPITATION INTO THE FAR WESTERN REACHES OF OUR AREA BY LATER THIS MORNING THAT TRANSITIONS EAST THROUGH TONIGHT. THE LATEST MODELS STILL SHOW A SPREAD IN PRECIPITATION TIMING WITH THE 06Z OPERATIONAL GFS THE FASTEST, THE 06Z WRF AND 03Z SREF IN THE MIDDLE AND THE 00Z OPERATIONAL ECMWF THE SLOWEST. OVERALL IT STILL LOOKS LIKE A STEADIER PERIOD OF PRECIPITATION LASTING 4-6 HOURS IS EXPECTED FROM A BARSTOW TO BISHOP LINE BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON, INTO PAHRUMP BY EARLY THIS EVENING, LAS VEGAS BY MID-EVENING (AROUND 7 PM) AND POINTS EAST AND NORTHEAST BY 8-10 PM. THIS IS A VERY WARM SYSTEM FOR DECEMBER WITH STRONG SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT NOTED WITH A WELL DEFINED WARM NOSE NOTED IN FORECAST SOUNDINGS. THERMAL PROFILES SHOW THE FREEZING LEVEL LARGELY AROUND 10000 FEET IF NOT HIGHER IN SOUTHERN NEVADA AND CLOSER TO 8000-9000 FEET OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA. SO, ANY SNOW BELOW THIS LEVEL WILL BE SHORT LIVED AND LIKELY MIX WITH RAIN. FOR MT CHARLESTON, THIS WILL MEAN AT BEST A FEW WET SNOWFLAKES IN OLD TOWN AND MAYBE AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW IN THE UPPER PARTS OF LEE CANYON BEFORE CHANGING OVER TO RAIN. SIGNIFICANT SNOW TOTALING OVER A FOOT IS EXPECTED ALONG THE CREST OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 10000 FEET. SNOW LEVELS WILL START LOW AND MAY BRIEFLY LOWER ANOTHER 500 FEET IF ANY EVAPORATIONAL COOLING TAKES PLACE BEFORE RISING RAPIDLY AS A FLOOD OF WARM AIR COMES ON IN. THUS THIS WILL BE HEAVY, WET SNOW WHERE IT DOES FALL AND ACCUMULATE OR SIERRA CEMENT. THE MAIN CONCERN THIS MORNING CENTERS AROUND THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE MOISTURE. MODEL SOUNDINGS FROM THE WRF, GFS AND ECMWF ALL PUSH PWATS AT LAS VEGAS TO BETWEEN 0.90 AND 1.01 INCH. THIS WOULD BE A RECORD VALUE BASED ON THE PWAT CLIMATOLOGY FOR OUR AREA FOR DECEMBER, AS THE CURRENT TOP RANK FOR SOUTHERN NEVADA IS 0.85 INCH SET ON 12/12/1995 AND TIED ON 12/21/2010 (THE BIG PRE-CHRISTMAS AR EVENT). MODELS ALSO HAVE INSISTED ON A BAND OF STEADIER PRECIPITATION SETTING UP FROM NEAR TRONA TO ALAMO AND ACROSS THE NORTHERN THIRD OF CLARK COUNTY. THIS MAY BE A WEIRD SET-UP WHERE THE NW PART OF VEGAS COULD GET MORE RAIN. IT ALSO RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT RAINFALL TOTALS ON MT CHARLESTON. ALTHOUGH QPF AMOUNTS WERE RAISED THIS MORNING, ANY HEAVY RAIN SHOULD BE IN A LONG ENOUGH DURATION TO KEEP ANY THREAT FOR OF FLOODING LOW ON THE CARPENTER 1 BURN AREA. HOWEVER, FALLEN LEAVES AND CLOGGED DRAINS MAY RESULT IN MINOR PONDING OF WATER IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS IN THE VALLEYS. RAIN WILL TAPER TO SHOWERS TONIGHT AS THE FIRST WAVE MOVES THROUGH. THE LATEST MODELS LEAVE US MOIST, BUT WITH LITTLE FORCING, ONLY HIT AND MISS LIGHT SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED FOR WEDNESDAY, MAINLY IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. WORTH WATCHING WILL BE LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS A JET STREAK LIFTS ACROSS SOCAL AND ARIZONA AND AN ASSOCIATED VORT MAX (ESPECIALLY ON THE OPERATIONAL GFS) LIFTS NORTHEAST ACROSS OUR SOUTHEAST CWFA. A STEADIER PERIOD OF RAIN IS EXPECTED THEN FROM YUCCA VALLEY TO WIKIEUP NORTH TO AT LEAST LAUGHLIN AND KINGMAN AND MAY EVEN SKIM INTO LAS VEGAS, AT LEAST THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE VALLEY. PER THE ECMWF AND GFS, POPS WERE RAISED FOR THIS PERIOD. TEMPS WILL NOT VARY MUCH FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS WITH THIS BEING A WARM SYSTEM. HIGHS AND LOWS WILL BE ABOUT 3-7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY. LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND A WEAK DISTURBANCE PASSING ACROSS SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA THURSDAY MORNING SHOULD LEAD TO AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. THIS PROMPTED AN INCREASE TO POP GRID VALUES THURSDAY OF 15-25 PERCENT WITH SNOW LEVELS STILL REMAINING GENERALLY ABOVE 9000 FEET. AN INDUCED RIDGE WILL THEN DEVELOP OVER THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY AHEAD OF A FAST MOVING TROUGH MOVING INTO THE WEST COAST FRIDAY NIGHT AND ACROSS THE INTERIOR WEST SATURDAY. THERE ARE CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF WITH TIMING AND STRENGTH OF THE TROUGH...THE GFS BEING FASTER AND LESS AMPLIFIED. THE FORECAST LEANS TOWARD THE GFS SOLUTION WHICH WOULD PRODUCE AN INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT PRECIP PRIMARILY OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS WITH SNOW LEVELS ABOVE 8500 FEET. WEAK ZONAL FLOW WILL THEN DEVELOP BEHIND THE TROUGH SUNDAY AND MONDAY WITH DRY CONDITIONS. TEMPERATURES WILL DIP A FEW DEGREES WITH THE TROUGH SATURDAY BUT READINGS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO REMAIN RELATIVELY MILD WITH HIGHS SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...THE PRIMARY IMPACT AT THE AIRPORT COMPLEX WILL BE CIGS ESPECIALLY THIS EVENING INTO WEDNESDAY AS A WARM, MOIST STORM SYSTEM PASSES ACROSS THE AREA. WINDS WILL MAINLY BE 6 KTS OR LESS THROUGH TONIGHT AND FAVOR TYPICAL DIURNAL DIRECTIONAL TRENDS CLOUD BASES WILL LOWER BY LATER THIS MORNING TO 10K-15K THEN DROP TO 5K-7K FEET BY AROUND 00Z WEDNESDAY. A FEW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE IN AND AROUND THE AIRPORT BY 22Z TODAY BUT THE STEADIEST RAIN SHOULD HOLD OFF UNTIL 03Z WEDNESDAY. A STEADY 4-6 HOUR OR SO PERIOD OF MAINLY LIGHT RAIN IS EXPECTED WITH THE RAIN TAPERING TO SHOWERS AROUND 09Z WEDNESDAY OR SO. CIGS WILL DROP TO 3K FEET WITH THE STEADIER RAIN AND SHOULD HOLD THROUGH MID-WEDNESDAY MORNING. VSBY WILL MAINLY BE VFR BUT MAY LOWER BRIEFLY TO MVFR IN ANY HEAVIER RAIN. LOCAL MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH CIGS STILL BELOW 8K FEET...IF NOT LOWER. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...A STORM SYSTEM PASSING ACROSS THE AREA TODAY THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING WILL DROP CIGS TO 3K-6K FEET WITH LOCALLY LOWER CIGS TO 1K-2K FEET POSSIBLE IN ANY HEAVIER PRECIPITATION. VSBY WILL MAINLY BE VFR THOUGH LOWER TO MVFR IN ANY HEAVIER PRECIPITATION. THE STEADIEST PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE A 4-6 HOUR WINDOW AND START AROUND 22Z AT KBIH AND KDAG, 03Z AT KVGT AND KHND AND AROUND 05Z AT KIGM. CONFIDENCE IN STEADIER RAIN IS LOWER AT KEED AND KIFP. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WINDS WILL MAINLY BE 8 KTS OR LESS AND TREND TOWARD TYPICAL DIURNAL DIRECTION. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION...STACHELSKI LONG TERM...ADAIR FOR MORE FORECAST INFORMATION...SEE US ON OUR WEBPAGE: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS OR FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow, 1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter measured eight inches in Aspendell before the snow changed to rain. Several SNOTELs in the area estimated between seven and 10 inches of snow.
Several spotters reported dense fog in Landers, Twentynine Palms, and Yucca Valley.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2014
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: 545139, 545140.