Energetic flow (a strong jet stream) from the Pacific Ocean brought high winds to the Surprise Valley on the 12th.
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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 REV wrote it up.
Energetic flow (a strong jet stream) from the Pacific Ocean brought high winds to the Surprise Valley on the 12th.
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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 12, 2:58 AM PST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
258 AM PST WED FEB 12 2014
.SYNOPSIS...
A PACIFIC STORM MOVES INTO FAR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TODAY WITH
GUSTY WINDS AND A CHANCE OF RAIN. A SECOND SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BY SATURDAY PRODUCING STRONG WINDS WITH A
CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW IN THE NORTHERN SIERRA. A MUCH COLDER
SYSTEM MAY BRING A PERIOD OF HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS FOR THE
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
THE FOCUS FOR THE SHORT TERM FORECAST WILL BE PERIODS OF GUSTY WINDS
AND HIGH TEMPERATURES NEARING RECORD VALUES. A DEEP UPPER TROUGH
BETWEEN HAWAII AND ALASKA WILL SEND A SERIES OF SHORTWAVE IMPULSES
ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THIS WEEK. THIS WILL ALLOW THE JET
STREAM AND ASSOCIATED SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE PLUME ACROSS THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST TO DIP SOUTH PROVIDING EPISODES OF GUSTY WINDS AND PERIODS
OF RAIN MAINLY ACROSS OUR NORTHERN ZONES NEAR THE OREGON BORDER.
WINDS HAVE PICKED UP THIS MORNING ACROSS THE SIERRA WITH SLIDE
MOUNTAIN REPORTING SUSTAINED AT 50 MPH WITH GUSTS NEAR 75 MPH. GUSTS
ACROSS THE SIERRA WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS A 140KT JET EDGES SOUTH
TODAY. GUSTY SURFACE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND WIND ADVISORIES
ARE IN PLACE FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND NORTHWEST
NEVADA INCLUDING THE RENO/CARSON/MINDEN AREA. WIND GUSTS OF 45-50
MPH ARE EXPECTED FOR MOST VALLEYS, ESPECIALLY WIND PRONE AREAS
ALONG THE HIGHWAY 395/580 CORRIDOR WHERE GUSTS COULD REACH UP TO
60 MPH. ROUGH BOATING CONDITIONS CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED AND LAKE
WIND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN HOISTED FOR LAKE TAHOE AND PYRAMID LAKE
WITH GUSTS UP TO 35-45 MPH. WINDS WILL BE BREEZY THURSDAY WITH
ANOTHER ROUND OF GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE BY FRIDAY AS THE JET DROPS
BACK SOUTH ACROSS THE SIERRA. THERE IS A BIT BETTER POTENTIAL FOR
A DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT WITH THIS ROUND SO ANOTHER ROUND OF WIND
ADVISORIES IS POSSIBLE.
BEST CHANCES FOR LIGHT RAIN WILL BE MAINLY NORTH OF SUSANVILLE AND
GERLACH TODAY WITH A FEW SPRINKLES POSSIBLE AS FAR SOUTH AS TAHOE BY
TONIGHT AS THE MOISTURE PLUMES DROPS ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE
BEST CHANCES FOR RAIN WILL REMAIN MAINLY OVER THESE NORTHERN AREAS
THROUGH FRIDAY WITH A FEW TENTHS OF AN INCH OF RAIN POSSIBLE WITH
LOCALIZED HIGHER VALUES OVER 0.50" ACROSS FAR WESTERN LASSEN
COUNTY.
THESE GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO PROVIDE AMPLE MIXING THROUGH THE LOWER
ATMOSPHERE WHICH WILL HELP TEMPERATURES WARM INTO MID AND UPPER 60S
ACROSS WESTERN NEVADA. THIS WILL BE CLOSE TO RECORD HIGHS IN THE
RENO AREA, BUT THE COVERAGE OF HIGH CLOUDS LOOKS TO BE THE MAIN
INHIBITOR AS TO WHETHER WE MEET THESE RECORDS. HIGHS ACROSS SIERRA
VALLEYS WILL WARM TO NEAR RECORD VALUES AS WELL WITH HIGHS IN THE
MID AND UPPER 50S. FUENTES
.LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
LARGE LOW IN THE GULF OF ALASKA TO START THE WEEKEND WILL TRACK
TOWARD THE BRITISH COLUMBIA AND PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST FOR THE
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THE BIG STORY HERE IS THE THE POSITION OF THE
LOW WILL PUSH THE JET FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TO OVER RENO-TAHOE
FOR THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK BRINGING A HIGHER POTENTIAL FOR A
SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENT IN THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA.
THE INITIAL PIECE OF ENERGY FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA LOW WILL DROP
SOUTH AND BRING A PERIOD OF RAIN AND SNOW TO THE NORTHERN SIERRA,
NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND NORTHWEST NEVADA SATURDAY NIGHT AND
SUNDAY. MODELS STILL STRUGGLING WITH HOW MUCH OF THE MOISTURE FROM
THE ATMOSPHERIC RIVER OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL REACH THE
NORTHERN SIERRA/TAHOE BASIN. CURRENT PRECIPITATION FORECASTS RANGES
FROM AROUND 0.50 INCH TO JUST OVER 1.00 INCH. WITH SNOW LEVELS
EASILY FALLING TO NEAR 6000 FEET EARLY SUNDAY MORNING, THERE COULD
BE A DECENT AMOUNT OF SNOW FALL AT PASS LEVEL. IN ADDITION TO THE
RAIN AND SNOW, THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A PERIOD OF STRONG WINDS
SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. GUSTS OF 60-75 MPH ARE POSSIBLE ALONG HIGHWAY
395 FOR LASSEN COUNTY, WESTERN NEVADA AND MONO COUNTY.
AS THE LOW APPROACHES THE BRITISH COLUMBIA/PACIFIC NORTHWEST COASTS
ON TUESDAY, THE JET WILL DROP SOUTH INTO A FAVORABLE POSITION TO
OVER THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA. THERE ARE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES
WHERE THE MODELS PLACE THE JET AND COLD CORE OF THE LOW, BUT ALL
POINT TO INCREASING CHANCES FOR SNOW DOWN TO THE WESTERN NEVADA
VALLEY FLOORS BY TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THE COLD LOW JUST OFF
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST AND JET OVER THE SIERRA/WESTERN NEVADA
IS A WELL KNOWN SWEET SPOT FOR HEAVY SNOW EVENTS. THE KEY HERE IS
HOW LONG THE PATTERN HOLDS, WHICH IN THE LATEST MODELS IS FROM
TUESDAY NIGHT AND MOST OF WEDNESDAY. NOT OVERLY LONG, BUT PROBABLY
LONG ENOUGH TO BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOW TOTALS TO THE SIERRA AND
ACCUMULATING SNOW TO THE NEVADA VALLEY FLOORS. BRONG
&&
.AVIATION...
WINDS INCREASING EARLY THIS MORNING WITH THE SIERRA RIDGE WINDS NEAR
50 KTS. THIS WILL TRANSLATE TO PEAK SURFACE GUSTS OF 35-45 KTS
STARTING BY 18Z AT MOST LOCATIONS. LIGHT RAIN WILL MOVE ACROSS
AREAS NORTH OF SUSANVILLE-WINNEMUCCA WITH MVFR CEILINGS AND
MOUNTAIN OBSCUREMENTS POSSIBLE.
THE JET WILL REMAIN OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, SO PERIODS OF STRONG
RIDGE WINDS, MOUNTAIN WAVES AND TURBULENT APPROACHES WILL PERSIST
FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION MAY REACH THE NORTHERN
SIERRA SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY, WITH STRONG WINDS LIKELY FOR THE
SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. BRONG
&&
.REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NV...WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM PST THIS EVENING
NVZ003-005.
LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR LAKE TAHOE IN
NVZ002.
LAKE WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM PST THIS
EVENING FOR PYRAMID LAKE IN NVZ004.
CA...WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM PST THIS EVENING
CAZ070-071.
LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR LAKE TAHOE IN
CAZ072.
&&
FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENO (ALL LOWER CASE)The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Surprise Valley RAWS reported wind gusts as high as 71 mph on the 12th. Meanwhile, a home weather station in Fort Bidwell recorded wind gusts up to 63 mph.
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, February 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: 504503.