An early season winter storm brought heavy snow to portions of central and northern Nevada. Many valley areas in Eureka, Lander, and Elko counties received 6 to 10 inches of snow, with a few areas picking up between 1 and 2 feet.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 LKN wrote it up.
An early season winter storm brought heavy snow to portions of central and northern Nevada. Many valley areas in Eureka, Lander, and Elko counties received 6 to 10 inches of snow, with a few areas picking up between 1 and 2 feet. With leaves still on many trees due to a very warm October, the heavy wet snow broke many tree limbs that fell into power lines causing power outages. The hardest hit area was the town of Carlin where most residents were without power for much of the day. In addition strong winds ahead of the strong cold front gusted to 60 mph at Ely and snapped a large tree in McGill.
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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 2, 3:03 PM PST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 303 PM PST MON NOV 2 2015 .SYNOPSIS...ANY RAIN THIS EVENING WILL TRANSITION TO SNOW AS SNOW LEVELS LOWER TO THE VALLEY FLOORS DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD...INTO TOMORROW MORNING. TRAVEL CHALLENGES ARE LIKELY IN MOST AREAS TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON. MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY WITH LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE. MOSTLY DRY AND A LITTLE WARMER LATER THIS WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. && .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. CURRENT SATELLITE LOOP IS SHOWING AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. OUT AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM...DECENT MOISTURE IS BEING PUSHED ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS AND INTO NORTHERN NEVADA. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ACROSS THE AREA FROM REMOTE SENSING STATIONS ARE SHOWING ROBUST AMOUNTS OF FROM 0.25 TO 0.90 INCHES OR HIGHER...ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF HUMBOLDT AND ELKO COUNTIES. SOME OF THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN LOCALES ARE SHOWING A FOOT OF SNOW OR MORE...WITH ADDITIONAL SNOW HEADED THIS WAY. ALL WATCHES HAVE BEEN UPGRADED INTO WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES OR WARNINGS THIS FORECAST PACKAGE. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW STRONG FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING...STRETCHING ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN LANDER/EUREKA COUNTIES AND INTO SOUTHWEST ELKO COUNTY THIS EVENING INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. IN ADDITION...ANOTHER STRONG AREA OF LIFT WILL BE CONCENTRATED IN NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY. THE AIRMASS REMAINS VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE. THERE HAS BEEN SOME SLOWING DOWN OF THE COLD AIR INTO NORTHERN NEVADA. BUT THINKING THAT DUE TO THE STRONG FORCING...SNOW LEVELS WILL COME DOWN AN ADDITIONAL 500 TO 1000 FEET...HENCE THE DECISION FOR THE WARNINGS IN THE AFOREMENTIONED AREAS. ALSO...THERE COULD BE SOME BREEZY CONDITIONS HELPING TO BRING BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW TO SOME PARTS OF NORTHERN NEVADA. ALL IN ALL...IT LOOKS LIKE A BAD NIGHT FOR TRAVEL LATER TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW MORNING. THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL SLOWLY WORK EAST....BUT ANOTHER PIECE OF ENERGY IS EXPECTED TO DIVE SOUTH ON THE WESTWARD SIDE OF THE SYSTEM...WITH SOME MINOR ACCUMULATIONS DURING THE TUESDAY MORNING-AFTERNOON TIME FRAME. AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL BE QUITE CHILLY AND WILL BE IN THE UPPER 30S TO LOW 40S. .LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT MONDAY. THE ACTIVE PATTERN WILL QUIET DOWN BY THE END OF THE WEEK WITH A HINT AT ANOTHER WEAK STORM SYSTEM BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES BEGINNING ON FRIDAY...BUT FORECAST CONFIDENCE GOOD THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND THEN CONFIDENCE DECREASES ON MONDAY. TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...A SECONDARY 500MB LOW WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY WHICH WILL ENHANCE SNOW A BIT NEAR THIS FEATURE. SNOW AMOUNTS WILL GENERALLY BE LIGHT WITH LESS THAN AN INCH IN MOST AREAS...BUT 1-3 INCHES POSSIBLE NEAR THE LOW MAINLY IN ELKO...LANDER AND EUREKA COUNTIES. NORTHEAST FLOW WILL SET UP NEAR GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK WITH 6-12 INCHES POSSIBLE AND HIGHER AMOUNTS IN THE HIGH ELEVATIONS. COLD ON WEDNESDAY WITH HIGH MAINLY IN THE 30S. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...NORTHWEST FLOW WILL DOMINATE WITH A WEAK SHORTWAVE SKIRTING ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY MORNING WITH A FEW LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS MAINLY IN HUMBOLDT AND ELKO COUNTIES WITH ONLY MINOR IMPACTS WITH LITTLE TO NO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COLD IN THE MORNINGS WITH TEENS IN MOST VALLEYS WITH A SLIGHT WARMING TREND INTO FRIDAY WITH HIGHS REBOUNDING BACK INTO THE 40S. SATURDAY...A RIDGE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN WITH QUIET WEATHER AND TEMPERATURES CONTINUING TO WARM...BUT STILL A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. SUNDAY AND MONDAY...A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL MOVE TOWARDS THE AREA WITH INCREASING CHANCES OF VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. SNOW LEVELS MAY DECREASE TO NEAR THE VALLEY FLOORS ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA ON MONDAY...BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW DUE TO MODEL DIFFERENCES AND IT IS STILL SEVEN DAYS FROM THIS POSSIBLE EVENT. && .AVIATION...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING RAIN EARLY TONIGHT CHANGING TO SNOW AT ALL TAF SITES LATE TONIGHT INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS WITH MVFR AND IFR CIGS/VIS LIKELY WITH SNOW. RUNWAYS WILL BE WET BECOMING SLUSHY OR SLICK WITH SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ON THE RUNWAYS LIKELY BY LATE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW MORNING. GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT AT KTPH AND KELY. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST TUESDAY FOR NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY-RUBY MOUNTAINS AND EAST HUMBOLDT RANGE. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST TUESDAY FOR NORTHEASTERN NYE COUNTY-NORTHWESTERN NYE COUNTY-WHITE PINE COUNTY. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM PST TUESDAY FOR SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND SOUTHERN EUREKA COUNTY. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM PST TUESDAY FOR NORTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND NORTHERN EUREKA COUNTY- SOUTH CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY-SOUTHWEST ELKO COUNTY. && 86/90/90
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 244 PM PST MON NOV 2 2015 NVZ030-031-033>041-032245- HUMBOLDT COUNTY-NORTHERN ELKO COUNTY-SOUTHEASTERN ELKO COUNTY- RUBY MOUNTAINS AND EAST HUMBOLDT RANGE-WHITE PINE COUNTY- NORTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND NORTHERN EUREKA COUNTY- SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY AND SOUTHERN EUREKA COUNTY- SOUTHWEST ELKO COUNTY-SOUTH CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY- NORTHWESTERN NYE COUNTY-NORTHEASTERN NYE COUNTY- 244 PM PST MON NOV 2 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NEVADA...NORTH CENTRAL NEVADA...NORTHEAST NEVADA AND NORTHWEST NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 heavy snow, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust to 60 mph was recorded at the Ely ASOS. The high winds snapped a large tree at its base in McGill.
Many valley locations received between 6 and 12 inches of new snow. Austin reported the most snow at 12 inches with Eureka and Beowawe coming in between 6 and 7 inches.
Eight to twelve inches of snow was reported in some areas. Emigrant pass reported 12 inches and 8 inches was reported near Beowawe. Many vehicle slide offs were reported with a few reporting property damage and 1 injury. Damages are estimated.
Snowfall amounts ranged from 8 to 23 inches in the valleys. Wild Horse Reservoir had a whopping 23 inches, closely followed by Tuscarora with 19 inches. Gibbs Ranch had 9 inches and Charleston 8 inches. Many SNOTEL sites had between 1 and 2 feet of snow.
Five to ten inches of heavy wet snow broke many tree limbs which in turn brought down power lines causing power outages. The hardest hit area was the town of Carlin where most residents were without power for most of the day. Some power outages were reported in Elko and in Ruby Valley. The falling tree limbs also damaged some homes, vehicles, and fences. Damages are estimated.
Between 8 and 19 inches of snow was reported by SNOTEL sites, with the highest total of 19 inches recorded at the Green Mountain SNOTEL.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, 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: 602086, 602090, 602091, 602087, 602088, 602089.