A passing shortwave trough brought a brief period of high winds to the Sierra and the western Mojave Desert.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 passing shortwave trough brought a brief period of high winds to the Sierra and the western Mojave Desert.
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 Jan 14, 7:38 PM PST, 7 hours 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 738 PM PST THU JAN 14 2016 .SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF WEAK STORM SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION THIS WEEK...MAINLY STAYING TO OUR NORTH BUT CLIPPING THE SIERRA AND SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN WITH SOME SHOWER CHANCES AT TIMES. GUSTY WINDS WILL IMPACT THE SIERRA AND WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE WEEKEND ARE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR NORMAL. ANOTHER SYSTEM COULD BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO THE SIERRA EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .UPDATE...NO CHANGES NEEDED TO THE FORECAST THIS EVENING. GUSTY WINDS DEVELOPING ACROSS THE SIERRA ARE THE MAIN CONCERN...WITH GUSTS NEAR MAMMOTH OF 40-50 MPH. ELSEWHERE MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM ACROSS THE REGION OVERNIGHT...WITH SOME LOW CHANCES FOR PRECIP ACROSS THE NORTHERN FRINGE OF THE FORECAST AREA. && .PREV DISCUSSION... 245 PM PST THU JAN 14 2016 .DISCUSSION...AN ACTIVE NORTHERN JET STREAM WILL BRING MULTIPLE STORM SYSTEMS INTO THE WEST OVER THE NEXT WEEK. THE FIRST SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TONIGHT WITH HIGH CLOUDS ALREADY SPREADING ACROSS THE AREA AHEAD OF IT. THIS FAST MOVING SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN INTO ARIZONA ON FRIDAY SPREADING SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS THE SIERRA...THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN AND INTO NORTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY. ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS AND SHEEP RANGE SHOULD BE LIGHT WITH ONLY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AT BEST. VIRGA SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE AS THE FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. UP TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE SIERRA WITH AN INCH OR TWO IN THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN. MORE OF A CONCERN WILL BE A POTENTIAL DOWNSLOPE EVENT ALONG THE SIERRA EASTERN SLOPES LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS REGION. THE WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT FROM BARSTOW DOWN THROUGH TWENTYNINE PALMS COULD SEE ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS AS WELL FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH MID AFTERNOON AS THE FRONT PASSES THROUGH. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS. NORTH BREEZES ARE EXPECTED ELSEWHERE FRIDAY BUT COULD BE LOCALLY STRONGER IN AREAS GENERALLY WEST OF LAS VEGAS. THE SYSTEM QUICKLY HEADS EAST FRIDAY NIGHT WITH SHOWERS ENDING AND WINDS DECREASING AS SHORTWAVE RIDGING TRANSVERSES THE REGION. THE NEXT SYSTEM IN LINE MOVES ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA/NEVADA ON SATURDAY. WE WILL SEE MORE SHOWER ACTIVITY IN THE SIERRA SATURDAY AND POSSIBLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN MOUNTAINS. 1-3 INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE IN THE SIERRA WITH A MOSTLY A DUSTING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN MOUNTAINS. THE GFS HAS THE SYSTEM A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH AND GENERATES LIGHT PRECIPITATION OVER PORTIONS OF CLARK AND MOHAVE COUNTIES SATURDAY AFTERNOON. WE'RE TALKING AN INCH OR LESS OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS AND A FEW HUNDRETHS AT BEST IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. ANOTHER BREAK SUNDAY WITH THE AREA BETWEEN SYSTEMS THEN THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTS EAST AS THE NEXT COUPLE OF PACIFIC SYSTEMS HEADS TO THE WEST COAST. THE FIRST WAVE ONLY BRINGS LIGHT PRECIP TO THE SIERRA MONDAY BUT A MORE SUBSTANTIAL...WETTER SHORTWAVE COULD BRING MORE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO THE SIERRA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. MODEL QPF FORECASTS SUGGEST 6 TO 10 INCHES POSSIBLE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. OTHER AREAS INCLUDING THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN AND SPRING/SHEEP RANGE COULD SEE 2 OR 3 INCHES ON TUESDAY WITH OVERALL RAINFALL AMOUNTS ON THE LIGHTER SIDE...GENERALLY UNDER A TENTH OF AN INCH. OUTSIDE OF THE SIERRA, CONFIDENCE IS LOW IN FORECAST SPECIFICS GIVEN MODEL DIFFERENCES AS THE SYSTEM TRACKS EAST. RIDGING FOLLOWS AS THESE SYSTEMS PASS TO THE EAST AND DRY CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST FOR LATE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL FLUCTUATE DAY-BY-DAY DEPENDING ON CLOUD COVER AND SHOWER ACTIVITY BUT SHOULD GENERALLY REMAIN WITHIN SEVERAL DEGREES OF NORMAL. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...GENERALLY LIGHT WINDS FAVORING TYPICAL DIURNAL TRENDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. OCCASIONAL MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS ABOVE 12K FEET. A COLD FRONT WILL SLIDE THROUGH THE REGION FRIDAY...TURNING WINDS TO THE NORTHWEST LATE IN THE MORNING. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...GENERALLY LIGHT WINDS FAVORING TYPICAL DIURNAL TRENDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE ACROSS THE SIERRA...WHERE STRONG WEST WINDS AND CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION WILL INCREASE AND LAST THROUGH MID-DAY FRIDAY. THIS WILL BRING AREAS OF MECHANICAL TURBULENCE ALONG AND DOWNSTREAM OF THE MOUNTAINS. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FRIDAY MORNING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT WITH ENHANCED NORTH WINDS THAT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE REGION FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. PLEASE REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. && UPDATE...WOLCOTT DISCUSSION/AVIATION...SALMEN 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.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The event time was estimated.
This gust occurred at Bicycle Lake on Fort Irwin.
This gust occurred at Twentynine Palms.
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, January 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: 611609, 611610, 611611.