A low pressure system brought strong winds to northern Nevada, with several sites seeing strong wind gusts.
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 LKN wrote it up.
A low pressure system brought strong winds to northern Nevada, with several sites seeing strong wind gusts.
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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 2:08 AM PST, 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 208 AM PST Wed Dec 12 2018 .SYNOPSIS...A strong cold front associated with a winter weather disturbance will move through the state today bringing snow showers and very windy conditions. High pressure will build over the area Thursday then another weak low pressure system will move through the region Friday night into Saturday with minimal impacts. && .SHORT TERM...Today through Friday. There is good model agreement for the short term period. There is a robust short wave low that will brush northeast Nevada with some snow and very windy conditions after which high pressure will build in. Today. A fast-moving upper level trough of low pressure will traverse the state. Valley snow accumulations should be in the 1-2 inch range with mountains picking up 2-4 inches. Impacts from true snow accumulation will be minimal however driving visibility could be adversely affected from the gusty winds and the blowing snow aspect. A Wind Advisory is in effect for eastern Nevada as well as northern Nye County. Timing will put the cold front moving through Elko County between 12z and 15z. Wind gusts along the front and post-frontal will be around 50 mph with gusts around 60 mph over the Pequop Mountain range. Highway 93 north of Wells, NV and Interstate 80 east of Wells will be especially treacherous during the cold front passage. Snow squalls associated with the frontal passage are possible mainly across Elko county leading to rapid diminishing visibility and onset of stronger winds this morning. High temperatures will be in the 30s. Tonight through Friday. A short wave high pressure ridge will move through the Great Basin. With the rapidity of the subsidence, it appears that a temperature inversion will re-initiate. Dry conditions are expected across the LKN CWFA however by late Friday, precipitation from the next weak system may be moving into northwest Nevada. High temperatures will range from the mid 20s to the mid 30s. Low temperatures will range from the single digits to the teens. .LONG TERM...Friday Night through next Tuesday. Main Concern or Impact: Possible Inversion effect on Temps Brief synoptic overview: SW-NE Polar front jet moves into southern ID, shifting a weak frontal boundary/wave west to east across the area Friday night. After a 500mb ridge axis propagates through Saturday, another frontal slam makes landfall in the Pacific NW Saturday night. Although impressive at the start, this frontal system splits or simply falls apart on Sunday as it moves eastward into far western Nevada. By Monday, either a glimmer of a boundary or deformation field (if it splits and forms another weak wave in southern Nevada) pushes through the area. By early Tuesday, the Pacific ridge builds from the southeast, placing a ridge axis from San Fran to Jackpot. This should keep the polar front jet and better dynamics of the next wet system just along or north of the ID/NV state line. Tuesday and Tuesday night. Changes to Previous Forecast: Nothing significant...minor adjustment Forecast Confidence & Model Discussion: Confident that no significant system will impact the area, and that the pattern remains progressive. However, confidence is below average in regards temps as the inversion could set in, limiting diurnal changes in mainly northern Nevada. Sensible Weather/Impacts: Precip Some light snow Friday night (mainly northern areas), and Sunday evening though Monday (all areas) with minimum accumulation. The lowest valleys could see some rain mix with snow on Monday. Showers possible in far northern Elko and Humboldt Tuesday and Tuesday night with rising snow levels. Winds No issues. Increase in winds Friday and Monday, especially in higher terrain out of the south to southwest. Temps Expect near average (30s) in the valleys of NE Nevada due to inversions, with above average (40s) for most other locations. Overnight lows should be close to average (teens to low 20s) with some of the colder locations in the single digits. && .AVIATION...A fast moving storm system will move across northern Nevada between 11Z-17Z today bringing snow and strong wind gusts. Snow and blowing snow could affect KEKO for a brief period and the cold front should pass between 12z and 15z when brief IFR conditions could occur. Gusty winds will affect KELY and possibly KTPH this afternoon. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 4 AM early this morning to 4 PM PST this afternoon for Northern Elko County-Ruby Mountains/East Humboldt Range-South Central Elko County-Southeastern Elko County- Southwestern Elko County. Wind Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 4 PM PST this afternoon for Northeastern Nye County-Northwestern Nye County-White Pine County. && 92/85/92
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Morey Creek station at 5500 feet.
Ruby Valley NDOT station - 6214 feet.
Warm Springs NDOT site at 5795 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, December 2018
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: 800373, 800372, 800371.