A strong low pressure system diving in from the northwest brought a period of high winds to much of southern Nevada.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 strong low pressure system diving in from the northwest brought a period of high winds to much of southern 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 Mar 5, 7:39 AM PST, 2 hours 36 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 739 AM PST Sun Mar 5 2017 .SYNOPSIS...A low pressure system moving into the Pacific Northwest will bring strong winds to much of the area by this afternoon and early evening. This system will also bring snow to the Sierra with some light snow possible across the southern Great Basin this afternoon. The Mojave Desert will remain dry. A dry northwest flow will usher in much cooler temperatures for Monday but temperatures are expected to warm to well above normal levels by the end of the week. && .UPDATE...Widespread thick high clouds were noted over roughly the southeast half of the forecast area this morning. This area of cloud cover is forecast to gradually shift southeast throughout the day but I did feel the need to increase sky cover from about Las Vegas south and east for the morning. Otherwise the forecast appears to be on track for today. =Harrison- && .PREV DISCUSSION... 310 AM PST Sun Mar 5 2017 .SHORT TERM...through Tuesday night. Upper low currently just off the Pacific Northwest coast will continue to dig and push inland this morning. This will bring an increasing surface pressure and thermal gradient to the area which will increase the southwest winds significantly as the day goes on. Although the winds will be gusty starting late morning over most areas it looks like the best window for seeing warning level winds will be between 2pm and 6pm, especially across San Bernardino, southern Nye, Clark and Lincoln Counties where gusts approaching 60 mph will be possible. Once the cold front moves through the winds behind the front will shift to the northwest and winds will decrease rather rapidly, although gusts to 25 mph will still be possible through the evening. Significant downslope winds in the Sierra have not really materialized yet, but there is still a possibility of winds approaching 60 mph over the mid slopes and over 40 mph in the western Owens Valley through the day. However, it does look like the strongest winds affecting much of the Owens Valley will be late afternoon with post frontal north winds. 300 AM radar imagery showing showers moving into the Sierra near Mono County and the trend over the next few hours will be for those showers to push south into the southern Sierra. Most of the precipitation will be intercepted by the Sierra, but there will be enough moisture and energy associated with the front to bring a few showers to Esmeralda, central Nye and Lincoln Counties this afternoon. Great snow accumulations will be over the Sierra where up to a foot of new snow will be possible. Other areas will see just light amounts, with the exception of northern Lincoln where 1-3 inches of snow could fall in the higher elevations. Depending on how strong this front is, we could see a few showers developing over portions of southern Nye and Clark counties this evening, but chances are pretty small. This system will exit the area Monday leaving behind northerly winds and much cooler temperatures. Readings will generally be about 10-15 degrees below normal. Warming temperatures will be seen Tuesday as high pressure starts to rebuild over the area along with lighter winds. .LONG TERM...Wednesday through Saturday. Generally higher pressure will be in place across the region late this week allowing for a warming trend to continue through the long term period. Occasional periods of breezy conditions are possible as disturbances move through the nearly zonal flow to the north of the area. Temperatures by the end of the week are expected to run around 10 degrees above normal, hovering around 80 degrees in Las Vegas. There is some indication that a break in the zonal flow may occur sometime next weekend, bringing with it the potential for enhanced winds and perhaps some precipitation for at least the Sierra. Model agreement is poor at this time so confidence in any specifics is very low. && .AVIATION...For McCarran...Winds will increase to 20 to 30 knots with gusts 40 to 50 knots during the afternoon with the strongest winds likely between 22z-01z this evening. A cold front is forecast to move through southern Nevada between 02z-05z this evening with winds shifting to the west/northwest behind the front. High clouds will likely persist through Sunday. For the rest of southern Nevada...northwest Arizona...and southeast California...Lower level clouds and snow spreading into the Sierra this morning and across Esmeralda, central Nye and Lincoln Counties this afternoon and evening. Winds will increase during the day with many areas seeing sustained south to southwest winds 20 to 35 knots and gusts 40 to 55 knots. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotter activation is not expected. Spotter are encouraged to report any significant weather according to standard operating procedures. && Short Term/Aviation...Gorelow Long Term...Wolcott 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.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
This gust occurred 40 miles E of Beatty.
The peak gust occurred 9 miles NNE of Mercury.
The peak gust occurred 3 miles NE of Mount Charleston.
The peak gust occurred at Nellis AFB. Many trees and power poles were knocked down around the Valley.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, March 2017
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: 681186, 681187, 681188, 681190.