High Wind, Owens Valley
- When
- November 2, 11:10 AM PST
- Where
- Owens Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
This gust occurred 3 miles SE of Independence.
A strong trough of low pressure brought strong winds to southeast California and southern Nevada, along with snow in the higher elevations of the southern Great Basin.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 strong trough of low pressure brought strong winds to southeast California and southern Nevada, along with snow in the higher elevations of the 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 Nov 2, 10:08 AM PST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 1008 AM PST MON NOV 2 2015 .SYNOPSIS...EXPECT ANOTHER DAY OF UNSEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AHEAD OF A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM. WIDESPREAD WINDY CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF THE REGION THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. THERE WILL BE AN INCREASING CHANCE FOR RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS THE STORM SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE AREA. MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL BE FELT AREA WIDE BY TUESDAY WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES LINGERING THROUGH THE WEEK BEFORE SLOWLY RETURNING TO SEASONAL NORMALS BY NEXT WEEKEND. && .UPDATE...UPDATED THE GRIDS THIS MORNING TO REMOVE THE WIND ADVISORY HEADLINE FOR THE EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES. HAVE ALSO INCREASED TEMPERATURES AROUND THE AREA BECAUSE EXCELLENT MIXING HAS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO ALREADY SURPASS THE FORECASTED HIGHS. && PREV DISCUSSION... 239 AM PST MON NOV 2 2015 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A STRONG SHORTWAVE DIVING THROUGH THE EASTERN PACIFIC TOWARDS THE AREA AND APPEARS TO HAVE A DECENT MOISTURE TAP ASSOCIATED WITH IT. PRECIPITATION HAS BEEN FALLING OVERNIGHT IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND NORTHERN NEVADA BUT CLEAR SKIES CONTINUE OVER THE THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH 2 AM. A COUPLE OF NEW TRENDS WERE NOTED IN THE 00Z MODEL DATA INCLUDING SLOWER TIMING FOR BOTH THE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION AND WIND. THE WIND ADVISORY OFFICIALLY BEGAN AT MIDNIGHT IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS AND 4 AM IN OTHER AREAS. HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS SUGGESTS MORE OF A MID MORNING TIME FRAME WHEN WINDS RAMP UP AND NEW MODEL TRENDS KEEP WINDS GOING MOST OF THE NIGHT TONIGHT...INCLUDING THE SPRING MOUNTAINS. WILL BE CONSIDERING EXTENDING THE ADVISORY BY ABOUT ANOTHER 6 HOURS OR SO THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT. THE SYSTEM TRACK ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN KEEPS THE BEST MOISTURE NORTH OF THE CWA SO FORECASTED QPF AMOUNTS ARE LIGHTER WITHIN THE FORECAST AREA. ALSO, THE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION IS LATER WITH THE SLOWER MODEL TIMING AND DRY CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST IN THE SIERRA UNTIL LATE THIS MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON. QPF AMOUNTS IN THE SIERRA LOOK CLOSER TO 3-6 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR HIGHER AMOUNTS OVER THE PEAKS. I THINK THIS JUSTIFIES THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THERE AND WILL GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE IT. THE SLOWER TIMING DELAYS THE SPREADING OF PRECIP EAST OF THE SIERRA BY ABOUT 6 HRS. THIS IS PROBLEMATIC FOR THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THAT GOES INTO EFFECT IN LINCOLN COUNTY AT 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON SINCE THE PRECIP ISN'T FORECAST TO REACH LINCOLN COUNTY UNTIL AFTER 10 PM TONIGHT. 00Z MODEL QPF AMOUNTS CAME IN LIGHTER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS AND UNLESS 12Z MODELS RETURN TO A WETTER SOLUTION, THERE MAY ONLY BE A COUPLE OF INCHES AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 7000 FEET. LEANING TOWARDS CANCELLING THIS ADVISORY. THE ARRIVAL OF A MUCH COLDER AIRMASS IS THE OTHER BIG STORY. OVERALL, TEMPERATURES TODAY SHOULD BE AT LEAST AS WARM IF NOT A DEGREE OR TWO WARMER THAN YESTERDAY. THEN THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT WITH HIGH TEMPS 15-20 DEGREES COLDER TUESDAY AND ANOTHER SEVERAL DEGREE DROP ON WEDNESDAY. THIS COLDER AIRMASS WILL BRING THE FIRST FREEZING TEMPERATURES TO MANY AREAS ACROSS THE NORTHERN CWA BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. A DRY NORTHWEST FLOW WILL BE OVER THE AREA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE DEVELOPS OVER CALIFORNIA. THIS WILL LEAD TO LOCALLY BREEZY CONDITIONS DOWN THE COLORADO RIVER BETWEEN LAUGHLIN/BULLHEAD CITY AND HAVASU FRIDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL WARM UP A BIT BY FRIDAY BUT WILL STILL BE BELOW NORMAL. THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL TRAVERSE QUICKLY EASTWARD ACROSS THE CWA FRIDAY NIGHT AS A SHALLOW TROUGH PUSHES IN FOR THE WEEKEND. THIS TROUGH LOOKS PRETTY WEAK THROUGH SUNDAY AND MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN WELL NORTH OF OUR AREA. THE MAIN IMPACT WILL BE TO KEEP TEMPERATURES FROM WARMING MUCH WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES EXPECTED OVER THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...WINDS SHOULD FAVOR A SOUTHEASTERLY DIRECTION GENERALLY UNDER 8 KTS THROUGH ABOUT 18Z...THEN BECOMING SOUTHWEST AND INCREASING. SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15-25 KTS AND GUSTS TO AROUND 35 KTS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AREAS OF MECHANICAL TURBULENCE LIKELY. SKIES WILL REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR THROUGH TODAY THEN SOME SHOWERS MAY DEVELOP TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY...MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. LIGHTER SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL LIKELY BECOME NORTHWESTERLY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY WITH SUSTAINED WINDS 15-30 KTS AND LOCAL GUSTS TO 50 KTS. MECHANICAL TURBULENCE IS LIKELY. NORTHERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BEHIND A COLD FRONT THAT WILL PUSH TROUGH THE REGION LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY. SHOWERS WILL BE LIMITED TO THE SIERRA EARLY TODAY AND THEN ACROSS THE NORTHERN AREAS LATER TODAY. SHOWERS...LOWERING CIGS AND MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE EXPECTED MAINLY NORTH OF LAS VEGAS TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED HOWEVER...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. && GORELOW/SALMEN/HARRISON 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.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
This gust occurred 3 miles SE of Independence.
This gust occurred at Bicycle Lake.
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, November 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: 602973, 602974.