A wet Pacific storm brought heavy rain to the lower elevations of the Mojave Desert and heavy snow to the mountains.
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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 VEF wrote it up.
A wet Pacific storm brought heavy rain to the lower elevations of the Mojave Desert and heavy snow to the mountains.
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 23, 10:21 AM PST, 1 hour 39 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 1021 AM PST Fri Dec 23 2016 .SYNOPSIS...Low clouds and patchy fog are possible this morning in areas that received rain today. The next system will begin to impact the Sierra Nevada today and sweep across the entire region tonight and Saturday. Valley rain and heavy mountain snows are the primary concern, creating dangerous travel conditions into Christmas Eve. Cooler air will be in place for the holiday into next week. && .UPDATE...Areas of fog have been burning off this morning with the Morongo Valley and Barstow area a little slower to do so and some pockets of dense fog have lingered. High clouds already returning ahead of the next system which is moving into the southern Sierra currently. Forecast on track and have only updated today's forecast to increase cloud cover. && .AVIATION...for McCarran...Winds will remain light today. CIGS have been quite variable across the valley this morning with the clouds and fog. Expect generally BKN120-150 into early evening but pockets of BKN030-050 will be found in parts of the valley. Lower CIGS return by 03Z and will continue to lower overnight with showers and fog and persist through early afternoon on Saturday. Gusty southwest winds are expected late today and Saturday gusting 15-25 kts with potential for stronger gusts. For the rest of southern Nevada...northwest Arizona...and southeast California...Low clouds and pockets of fog remain this morning. CIGS are quite variable 3-5k feet have been the norm with some locations down to 1/4 SM in fog. Wind will increase for much of the area this evening. Next system will bring another round of low CIGS and precip beginning in the Sierra during the day today and most other locations by tonight. Winds will begin to increase this afternoon mainly out of the south-southwest at 10-20 kts, but a few ares could see stronger wind to 35 kts. && .PREV DISCUSSION...424 AM PST Fri Dec 23 2016... .SHORT TERM...through Saturday Night Light wind and antecedent moisture from yesterday's storm has allowed many areas to experience low clouds and fog overnight. A Dense Fog Advisory was issued for portions of San Bernardino County early this morning as persistent dense fog has been observed at Bicycle Lake, Daggett, and Twentynine Palms. Fog will lift and cloud decks get higher as the morning wears on. The next storm system will move in today from the west, bringing wind and precipitation to the entire forecast area. Timing is a little quicker than previously forecast as Snow should begin to top the Sierra crest by early afternoon. Gusty southwest wind and rain will affect the central and eastern portions of the CWA during the evening hours with southerly wind of 15-20 mph gusting to 30 mph common in many areas. Snow levels will fall throughout the storm as cold air move in. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches will be common above 7000 ft with higher totals near the peaks. Lesser amounts will be seen at lower elevations with the final snow level around 4000 feet before precipitation ends. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for the Mountains of Clark County and the Sierra, as well as Lincoln County for the highest elevations. Precipitation will end on Saturday from west to east, leaving clear and much cooler conditions in its wake. .LONG TERM...Sunday through Thursday The upper low will be exiting to the east on Christmas (Sunday). A little moisture wrapping around the back side of the low may linger over northern Mohave County leading to a slight chance of light snow Christmas morning. All of the forecast area should be dry by the afternoon as the upper low moves into the northern plains. Winds look to be generally light but temperatures will be nearly 10 degrees below normal in the wake of the strong upper low. Another upper low off the California coast will dive south to west of San Diego or northern Baja Monday with a west/northwest flow across northern Nevada. Most model solutions keep the low off Baja through Thursday with a ridge building over California. This leads to a dry forecast for the area with temperatures warming to normal levels by Wednesday. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report rain and/or snow amounts along with any road closures, snow levels, or other weather-related impacts through Saturday. && Update/Aviation: Czyzyk Short Term: Berc Long Term: 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.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Several stations reported between 10 and 16 inches of snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2016
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: 667734.