A series of fast-moving cold fronts brought intermittent strong winds to the Mojave Desert for several days. Minor damage occurred.
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 series of fast-moving cold fronts brought intermittent strong winds to the Mojave Desert for several days. Minor damage occurred.
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 13, 2:45 PM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 245 PM PST SUN DEC 13 2015 .SYNOPSIS...A STRONG PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING GUSTY WINDS...COOLER TEMPERATURES AND CHANCES OF RAIN AND SNOW TO THE AREA TONIGHT INTO MONDAY. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW MAY CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS ACROSS PORTIONS OF LINCOLN AND MOHAVE COUNTIES. A NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL LEAD TO DRY AND COOL CONDITIONS TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WITH LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS AT TIMES. && .DISCUSSION...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. A STRONG PACIFIC STORM IS STILL ON TRACK TO BRING GUSTY WINDS AND A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW TO THE AREA TONIGHT INTO MONDAY. WINDS HAVE BEEN AT OR CLOSE TO ADVISORY LEVEL AT TIMES IN A COUPLE OF PLACES ACROSS WESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY IN CALIFORNIA AND ESMERALDA AND NYE COUNTIES IN NEVADA. RADAR AND WEB CAMS SHOW SNOW HAS BEEN FALLING OVER THE SIERRA. STILL LOOKING FOR ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS OVERSPREADING MUCH OF THE CWA TONIGHT WITH SOME AREAS STILL SEEING ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY AFTER THE WINDS BECOME NORTHERLY. OTHER THAN THE SIERRA...THE MODELS STILL HIT LINCOLN AND MOHAVE HARDEST WITH PRECIPITATION AND THE CURRENT WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES LOOKS GOOD THERE. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE CRASHING TO AROUND OR EVEN A LITTLE BELOW 4000 FEET TONIGHT. THE UPPER LOW WILL BE CLOSING OFF OVER UTAH MONDAY KEEPING A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS MAINLY LINCOLN AND MOHAVE COUNTIES WITH BREEZY TO WINDY NORTH WINDS ALONG WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY UNDER A NORTH/NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN RATHER COOL WITH LOCALLY GUSTY NORTH WINDS AT TIMES. AN UPPER RIDGE WILL BRIEFLY TRAVERSE THE AREA THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND WARMING TEMPERATURES. THE NEXT TROUGH IS FORECAST TO DIG SOUTH OFF THE WEST COAST SATURDAY WITH OUR AREA UNDER AN INCREASING SOUTHWEST FLOW. EXPECT DRY CONDITIONS WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING A TOUCH MORE IN MOST AREAS. MODELS HAVE BEEN DIFFERING WITH THE EASTWARD PROGRESSION OF THIS NEXT TROUGH/LOW BUT AT THIS TIME MOST SOLUTIONS ARE STARTING TO BRING IT TOWARD THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST SUNDAY AND SPREADING MOISTURE INTO THE AREA. FOR NOW WE ARE GOING WITH A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION GENERALLY WEST OF LAS VEGAS AS A RESULT. CONFIDENCE IN PRECIPITATION PLACEMENT SUNDAY REMAINS LOW. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO PICK UP FROM THE SOUTH THROUGH THE EVENING AND THEN TURN MORE SOUTHWEST TO EVENTUALLY WEST WITH GUSTS OF 25-35 KTS. A BAND OF SHOWERS IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY BETWEEN 05Z AND 10Z MONDAY WHICH SHOULD DROP CIGS TO AT LEAST 5-7K FEET AND MAY LOWER THEM AS LOW AS 3K FEET. VSBY MAY ALSO BRIEFLY LOWER TO MVFR. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE LIKELY. STRONGER WINDS ALOFT WILL ALSO RESULT IN MECHANICAL TURBULENCE. AFTER THE SHOWERS EXIT CLOUDS SHOULD BECOME MORE SCATTERED WITH BASES AROUND 5K-8K FEET. THERE IS REDUCED CONFIDENCE IN THE WIND DIRECTION IN THE TAF PERIOD AFTER 10Z MONDAY AS WINDS MAY SHIFT MORE TOWARD THE NORTHWEST (300 TO 330 DEGREES) OR MAY STAY MORE WESTERLY (250 TO 280 DEGREES). SUSTAINED SPEEDS SHOULD BE 15-20 KTS. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...A COLD STORM SYSTEM WILL CROSS THE AREA TONIGHT WITH GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS BECOMING WEST TO NORTHWEST BEHIND A COLD FRONT. GUSTS OF 25-35 KTS ARE EXPECTED AND LOCAL AREAS OF BLDU MAY REDUCE VSBY. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED WITH THE FRONT AND CIGS SHOULD DROP TO 4K-7K FEET AND LOCALLY LOWER. VSBY WILL MAINLY BE MVFR. SNOW LEVELS SHOULD DROP TO 3500-4000 FEET AND SHOWERS MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE OVER TO SNOW AT KBIH AND POSSIBLY AT KIGM. IN ANY AREAS THAT SEE STEADIER SNOW CIGS OF 500-1000 FEET ARE POSSIBLE ALONG WITH IFR VSBY ARE POSSIBLE. CONDITIONS SHOULD IMPROVE FROM WEST TO EAST LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THE DAY ON MONDAY. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT ALONG WITH MECHANICAL TURBULENCE. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. && DISCUSSION...HARRISON AVIATION...STACHELSKI 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 strong wind, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong winds blew down a ten-foot tree in Twentynine Palms.
This gust occurred at Bicycle Lake on Fort Irwin.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2015
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: 604950, 604951.