Nevada, 2016

Wildfire and High Wind in Nevada, October 14 to 19, 2016

October 14 to 19, 2016 · NWS REV · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Two low pressure systems brought a combination of strong winds, significant rain, and high elevation snow on the 14th and 15th.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$30 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS REV wrote it up.

Two low pressure systems brought a combination of strong winds, significant rain, and high elevation snow on the 14th and 15th.

What forecasters said that day

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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 13, 6:47 PM PST, 5 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 13, 6:47 PM PST, 5 hours 43 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area

When
October 14, 12:30 AM PST to October 19, 7:00 PM PST
Where
Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area forecast zone
Property damage
$30 million
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
39.511, -119.499 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A prescribed burn that was thought to be mopped up on October 13th flared up as high winds affected the Carson Range early on the 14th. The Little Valley Fire burned through 2,291 acres and destroyed 23 homes and 17 outbuildings. According to a Reno Gazette Journal investigation, the estimated value of 18 of the homes exceeded 26 million dollars with an independent fire consultant indicating that damages could exceed 80 million. The Little Valley RAWS measured a wind gust of 87 mph around 130 AM PDT on the 14th, close to the time of the wildfire start.

High Wind, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area

When
October 14, 3:00 AM PST to 9:00 AM PST
Where
Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area forecast zone
Measured
64 kt (74 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
39.511, -119.499 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 74 mph were recorded early on the 14th, mainly for the North Valleys of Reno, the foothills of the Carson Range, and in Washoe Valley. These winds were responsible for the rapid spread of the Little Valley wildfire and for a number of delays and cancellations at the Reno-Tahoe International airport.

What these are

Wildfire
A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nevada in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, October 2016

Sources

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: 671404, 671398.