A closed upper low over the Pacific Northwest brought gusty winds to portions of the eastern Sierra Nevada and western Nevada from late afternoon on the 8th through the morning hours of the 9th.
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 REV wrote it up.
A closed upper low over the Pacific Northwest brought gusty winds to portions of the eastern Sierra Nevada and western Nevada from late afternoon on the 8th through the morning hours of the 9th.
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 Nov 8, 9:41 AM PST, 4 hours 39 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
941 AM PST Wed Nov 8 2017
.UPDATE...
The storm is starting to come in now with Sierra Crest winds
gusting to 80 mph over Ward Mountain. Light precip has also been
recorded in Western Lassen and Central Plumas Counties. This is
all in line with what is expected and no updates are planned at
this time. Valley winds will increase this afternoon and evening.
While the valleys may see some decrease overnight, ridges and
downslope areas will see the winds continue overnight. Peak winds
look to be some time tomorrow morning from 2 am through 10 am
depending on location. They will remain gusty tomorrow afternoon.
Light snow amounts will generally be confined above 8000 feet or
so with any spillover remaining north of Susanville and Gerlach.
&&
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /Issued 235 AM PST Wed Nov 8 2017/
SYNOPSIS...
A storm system will bring windy conditions Wednesday into
Thursday with chances for rain and high elevation snow in the
Sierra; western Nevada will be mostly shadowed with very little
rain. Showers may linger into Friday, then dry conditions return
for Saturday. Another colder storm system may bring a period of
windy conditions with rain and Sierra snow late Sunday into early
next week.
SHORT TERM...
The next system is moving into the Pacific Northwest this morning
with a preceding cloud shield. These clouds will stall cooling a
little keeping temperatures a little warmer than yesterday
morning; still cold, but no records are expected. The largest
threat associated with this system will be gusty winds today and
Thursday.
While models have backed off very marginally for wind speeds and
duration of strongest winds, strong southerly winds will still
occur. Current output shows onset of breezy to gusty winds after
0900 local time with gusts 30-40 mph in northeastern California
and western Nevada. Winds increase further for northeast
California after 1pm and after 3pm for western Nevada as gusts
increase to around 45 mph. Wind prone areas like Washoe Valley or
the Highway 395 corridor between Doyle and Susanville will likely
experience gusts up to 60 mph. These winds will continue overnight
tonight. Peak winds will occur late Thursday morning into the
afternoon as the jet begins to sag southward. Gusts will likely
increase to around 50 mph during this time period. Overall, this
event appears to be shaping up as a moderate wind event for the
region.
These wind speeds present an issue for fire weather concerns for
the Sierra Front from Douglas County through Washoe County. Little
to no precipitation has fallen and grasses remain rather thick
with the ability to rapidly carry fire. Caution should be
exercised today to not create a spark.
Precipitation will dampen the wind field for the Tahoe Basin
somewhat producing lower wind gusts. Still, winds may gust as high
as 40 mph especially along the northern and eastern shore of Lake
Tahoe. Locations east of Highway 95 and Alpine/Mono/Mineral
Counties will experience weaker winds with gusts to around 30 mph.
Precipitation totals are on the lower end of the scale for Sierra
storms with most locations forecast to receive less than 1 inch
along the crest. Localized totals around or a little above an inch
remain possible along the Sierra crest in the vicinity of the
Tahoe Basin. Totals rapidly drop to the Carson range where the
forecast is generally around 0.33". Only token amounts will make
it to the foothills or Highway 395 due to pronounced shadowing.
Snow levels also remain elevated with accumulating snow mainly
above 8000 feet. A few inches, 3-5", will be possible for the
highest passes like Mount Rose Summit. During heavier
precipitation rates, snow levels may fall to 7000 feet, but
accumulation is not expected.
This system exits the region Friday morning with some lingering
breezy winds anticipated until around noon or so. Temperatures
cool behind the front with lows dipping into the low 30s for
western Nevada and low 20s for Sierra Valleys. Boyd
LONG TERM...Saturday and beyond...
Shortwave ridge moves over on Saturday with a break in the weather,
bringing a beautiful pleasant fall day to the region. By Sunday, our
next Pacific storm system is already moving into the Pacific
Northwest with increasing winds across the Sierra and western
Nevada. By Monday, precipitation will start to move into the Sierra
with even stronger winds for northeast CA and western Nevada. The
majority of the dynamics with this system will remain in WA/OR, with
the storm weakening as it moves into the Sierra.
It does look like the snow levels with this storm will start out
around 7500 feet Monday, but fall to near 6000 feet by Monday
evening towards the tail end of the precipitation. Also, it looks
pretty stable for much of the event, with precipitation largely
confined to the Sierra. Lee-side shadowing and strong downslope
winds will likely the bigger impact for western Nevada Sierra Front.
Any spillover into the western Nevada valleys will be brief and
not until after cold frontal passage late Monday.
Zonal flow remains over Northern CA/NV Tuesday and through next week
with the storm track remaining in the Pacific Northwest. This will
keep breezy winds in the forecast, with near normal temperatures and
periods of cloudiness, although very low precipitation chances. Hoon
AVIATION...
VFR conditions are likely to prevail at the main terminals thru this
evening, followed by some reduction to MVFR cigs in -RA for KTRK-
KTVL and mountain obscurations into western NV for tonight and early
Thurs AM.
Winds will be increasing today in the Sierra with potential for
mountain turbulence and localized low-level wind shear. For lower
elevations, winds will increase by this afternoon with gusts up to
30 kt at the main terminals. Stronger winds with gusts up to 45 kt
are likely tonight into Thursday, with higher potential for aviation-
related impacts. MJD/Hoon
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Wind Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 7 PM PST Thursday
NVZ005.
Lake Wind Advisory until 7 PM PST Thursday for Lake Tahoe in
NVZ002.
Wind Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 7 PM PST Thursday
NVZ003.
Lake Wind Advisory from 6 AM to 7 PM PST Thursday for Pyramid
Lake in NVZ004.
CA...Wind Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 7 PM PST Thursday
CAZ070-071.
Lake Wind Advisory until 7 PM PST Thursday for Lake Tahoe in
CAZ072.
&&
For more information from the National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/renoThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet at Slide Mountain (elevation 9650 feet) measured a wind gust of 73 mph.
NDOT sensor at Washoe Valley measured a 63 mph wind gust with sustained speeds of 30-43 mph near the time of the gust.
A wind gust of 65 mph was recorded by the Galena RAWS.
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, November 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: 728656, 728723, 728657.