A Pacific storm system brought isolated high winds to south central Nevada.
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The episode as NWS VEF wrote it up.
A Pacific storm system brought isolated high winds to south central Nevada.
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 Oct 30, 8:24 AM PST, 3 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 924 AM PDT SUN OCT 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS...Another storm system will move through the region today, bringing strong winds to much of the area and a chance of showers in the Sierra and southern Great Basin. Temperatures will cool to near average values early this week before gradually warming to slightly above average near the end of the week. && .UPDATE...Much of the forecast area had mostly cloudy skies as of this writing with some light showers showing up on radar mainly over Inyo County. Winds were beginning to increase in some areas but were still light in other areas. Overall the forecast looks good and updates are not anticipated this morning. -Harrison- && .PREV DISCUSSION... 302 AM PDT SUN OCT 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...through Tuesday night. Water vapor imagery shows deep upper low currently near 39N/130W slowly moving toward the Pacific Coast. Another vort max centered near 29N/126W was moving rapidly northeastward, embedded within a broad southwesterly flow downstream of the aforementioned upper low. Considerable upper-level moisture was streaming into the western U.S. overnight with mid and upper-level clouds increasing in coverage. Regional radar showed precipitation developing in upslope flow on the western side of the Sierra, but South Lake in Inyo County was beginning to report occasional showers the past couple of hours. Showers are expected to continue today in the Sierra, with isolated/scattered coverage downstream in the southern Great Basin this afternoon. Instability looks marginal/nonexistent today as the trough swings through the Great Basin near 00Z Monday, instead looking to stay farther north closer to the core of the low. As such, did not include thunder in the grids for today, though cannot completely rule out a lightning strike near/north of a Bishop to Pioche line. Hi-res models are not particularly aggressive in generating precip downstream of the Sierra today, so kept PoPs fairly low (slight to low chance), despite the more aggressive (and reasonably consistent) output from the ECMWF/CMC. Snow levels are high, and QPF is light -- so a trace to a couple of inches are all we are expecting near the Sierra crest. By far, the bigger story today will be the winds. Latest high- resolution output continues to show mixed signals for a downslope wind event in the eastern slopes of the southern Sierra (nothing new there), but pattern recognition and the strength of the 500-mb jet streak cresting the ridge today (near 90 kts) is quite favorable for strong winds to reach at least to the mid-slopes with a decent chance of seeing strong winds reaching the US 395 corridor. Current high wind warning remains unchanged. Of note, the orientation of the trough/jet streak has changed with the past 24 hours of simulations, with the flow a bit more southwesterly (rather than W or WSW) and the jet streak more compact, the former being somewhat helpful for downslope winds (more orthogonal orientation to the ridge) and the latter being somewhat detrimental (shorter time window). Moreover, given the tropical fetch occurring across the region tonight and a bit of a slowing trend with onset of precipitation, a little concerned that precipitation will inhibit a more pronounced high wind event. Precip is expected to diminish rapidly late this afternoon or early this evening, which makes this the most likely time for a downslope event. As for the rest of the CWA, fairly high-end advisory-level winds are expected in Inyo County and the southern Great Basin today. NAEFS output features 700-mb winds in the 99th percentile (standardized anomalies 3-4 sigma) in much of Nevada as the jet streak intensifies today thanks to the approaching low. Was tempted to issue a high wind warning for Esmeralda/Nye Counties given a continued slight upward tick with the winds in tonight's simulations. Confidence is not high enough for the upgrade at this point, though I would not be surprised to see an ob or two meet criteria. Another concern is the Spring Mountains later this evening, near the climatologically favored time for downslope events. Latest hi-res simulations do suggest winds meeting or briefly exceeding criteria near Mount Charleston, but there is a notable lack of spread of these winds down to the lower elevations. As such, confidence was too low for an upgrade here too. However, this will be monitored closely today. The winds are expected to be a bit more marginal in central/eastern Clark and Mohave Counties. The LV Valley may have a hard time reaching advisory criteria as the strongest surface pressure gradient is positioned to the northwest (collocated with the 700-mb jet streak). Nevertheless, isolated gusts to 40 mph are certainly possible, so kept the advisory going here as well. Only change to the wind products was to change the start time for Inyo/Esmeralda/Nye Counties to 9 am, given a consistent upward tick in winds by the late morning hours in these areas. Winds should diminish rapidly after mid-evening as the midlevel jet departs. Monday and Tuesday look cooler and quiet, with temperatures near normal and winds considerably lighter than those expected today. Another vort max moves in from the northwest on Tuesday, with the GFS/ECMWF showing a rapid shift of this system southward to southwest Arizona by 12Z Wednesday (as a broad/strong ridge across the central/southern U.S. will prove too tough to move through). All models look dry with the passage of this system, so removed PoPs on Tuesday. .LONG TERM...Wednesday through Sunday. Long term not as clear cut as last night. Models threw a curve ball from 24 hours ago leading to less certainty beyond Thursday. Southern piece of energy associated with Tuesday's trough progged to slide southeast and eventually close off around the northern Gulf of California Wednesday afternoon. As closed low sets over the northern Gulf of California deeper moisture will get pulled back westward across Arizona into Mohave County. Did increase POPs/Sky cover to mention at least a slight chance of showers in southeast Mohave County Thursday night and Friday. After that models diverge with the ECMWF moving the low north across western Arizona while the GFS shifts the low slowly east. Due to the uncertainty left Clark and eastern San Bernardino County dry but did increase the cloud cover. Still looks like the Colorado River Valley south of Hoover Dam will be dealing with a several day stretch of north breezes, especially Wednesday and Thursday. Mild temperatures will persist with both lows and highs running several degrees above normal. && .AVIATION...For McCarran...Winds are expected to be mostly light and variable through early this morning before S or SSE winds kick in 17Z-19Z. Thereafter, winds should veer to SSW and become strong (speeds 15-25 kts with gusts to 35 kts) through sunset before diminishing to around 10-15 kts with occasional gusts to 20-25 kts overnight. SCT-BKN CIGs near or above 10 kft expected today with skies clearing gradually overnight. Mechanical turbulence is likely late this morning through tonight. For the rest of southern Nevada...northwest Arizona...and southeast California...S or SW winds will become strong generally along and north of I-40 today, with speeds 15-25 kts and gusts to 35 kts possible. Even stronger winds are possible in the southern Great Basin. Mountain wave activity is expected downstream of the Sierra this afternoon and tonight. Winds should diminish fairly rapidly after sunset. SCT-BKN CIGs near or above 10 kft areawide today with locally lower CIGs/mountain obscurations near showers in the Sierra/southern Great Basin. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Another storm system will affect the area today, which may produce precipitation in the Sierra and strong winds across much of the area. Spotters should report significant weather according to standard operating procedures. && Short Term/Aviation: Shafer Long Term: Pierce 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.
These winds were measured 40 miles E of Beatty.
This gust was measured in Pioche.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, October 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: 662069, 662070.