A strong upper level low over the northeast Pacific on the 24th moved southeast, reaching northern California on the 25th. The initial shortwave brought high winds to many locations in western Nevada and snowfall to higher elevations.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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 strong upper level low over the northeast Pacific on the 24th moved southeast, reaching northern California on the 25th. The initial shortwave brought high winds to many locations in western Nevada and snowfall to higher elevations. A secondary shortwave brought another round of snow to the north-central Sierra Nevada the 25th into the 26th.
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 Jan 24, 3:26 AM PST, 7 hours 1 minute earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
326 AM PST Wed Jan 24 2018
.SYNOPSIS...
A cold storm system will bring strong winds today, with moderate
to locally heavy snow amounts to the Sierra and lighter snowfall
for lower elevations tonight. Snow showers Thursday afternoon and
evening may bring additional accumulations. Expect winter travel
impacts from early this evening through Thursday evening. Drier
conditions with mild temperatures return for the weekend.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
Leading edge of precip band has pushed onshore into far northwest
CA and southwest Oregon. This band will make limited eastward
progress this morning, then surge to the east and south this
afternoon and evening as upper trough axis and strong Pacific jet
reach the CA coast then swing inland. While the short duration of
this event will limit snow amounts, there will be a few hours
tonight where heavy snowfall rates peaking at 2-3"/hour could
produce near whiteout conditions and long travel delays in the
advisory areas of eastern CA. Highlights of the storm follow:
* WINDS:
Ahead of the precipitation, winds will continue increasing in
upper elevations through today, with gusty conditions beginning
to surface across the Tahoe basin by mid morning and then in
western NV valleys by midday. The strongest winds will be
concentrated through the Highway 395/I-580 corridor area from
Carson Valley up to near Susanville during the afternoon, and
into the early evening southward into Mono County. Gusts in these
locations could reach 50-60 mph. Wind prone locations such as
Washoe Valley and the stretch of Highway 395 from Cold Springs to
Honey Lake could see peak gusts in the 70-80 mph range for a short
1-3 hour time period.
* SNOW THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY MORNING:
Tahoe into Lassen County: Snow levels will be low from the onset
and generally below 5,000 feet across the Sierra and NE
California this afternoon. Could see accumulating snow on
Fredonyer and Yuba Passes by early afternoon, with snow reaching
Donner Summit around 4 pm. The heaviest snow will most likely
occur between 5 pm-midnight. Gusty winds combined with heavy snow
could produce periods of zero visibility in white out conditions.
Snowfall amounts through Thursday morning will be around 5 to 10
inches between 5500-7000 feet (including around the Tahoe Basin).
For elevations above 7000 feet from Tahoe northward, expect
heavier snowfall totals of 8 to 16 inches.
Alpine & Mono Counties: Initial snowfall looks to arrive around
5-6 pm in Alpine and 8-9 pm for western Mono County. Heaviest snow
is most likely between 9 pm and 1 am for these areas. The band
loses some of its intensity and coverage as it pushes south, which
will limit snow amounts to about 3 to 6 inches along and west of
US-395, 5 to 10 inches along the Sierra crest in Mono and up to 1
foot for Alpine.
Western Nevada/Surprise Valley: A mix of spillover rain and snow
could begin by 6-7 pm this evening with all snow likely for areas
above 5,000-5,500'. Snow levels should fall to most valley floors
by late evening, producing light accumulations.
Snowfall totals are expected to be less than 2" for most areas
around Reno-Sparks below 5000 feet, and generally 1/2" or less for
the Basin and Range. However, totals of 1-4" are looking more
likely for Carson City, Douglas County, Virginia City, foothill
areas around Reno, and the Surprise Valley. Another concern is
that even with minor snow amounts for lower valleys, very cold air
is coming in behind. This could result in wet roadways freezing
up, creating very slick conditions overnight and into the Thursday
morning commute, so allow plenty of extra travel time or consider
delaying your drive until later in the morning if possible.
* SNOW SHOWERS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING:
A secondary shortwave passage with decent upper jet support is
increasing the possibility for another round of snow shower
activity Thursday afternoon and evening, primarily in eastern CA
from Tahoe northward and into parts of far western NV. Heavy
convective bands could occur in these areas, with potential for a
few locations receiving 6-12 inches of snowfall, which could
impact travel on I-80 and CA-89 in far eastern CA. Lighter but
measurable snowfall is probable for Reno-Sparks into eastern
Lassen County, while lake enhancement east of Tahoe could generate
a small area with several inches of snowfall roughly from far
southern Reno to Carson City (including I-580/US-395 through
Pleasant/Washoe Valley) and the Mt. Rose Highway. These are
generalized heads-up projections for the heavier snow totals, as
the actual locations receiving more snow could vary depending on
where the snow bands set up and whether they persist. Bottom line,
prepare for another round of slick driving conditions and travel
delays for the Thursday evening commute.
The snow shower activity will wind down later Thursday evening
after the shortwave passes to the east, although some narrow
bands may linger overnight especially east of Tahoe and Pyramid
Lake. For Friday-Friday night, generally dry conditions will
prevail as flat ridge builds into CA-NV, except very light snow
showers are possible near the Oregon border late Friday night as
a weak shortwave brushes across the Pacific Northwest. MJD
.LONG TERM...Saturday through Tuesday...
Heights will be on the rise this weekend as trough exits and a flat
ridge builds into the southwest U.S. Abundant mid and high level
moisture will keep skies variably cloudy with a few showers possible
near the Oregon border Saturday before the storm track lifts
completely north of CA-NV for Sunday-Monday. Temperatures will warm
to above normal levels although clouds could limit the warmup. A
slider type system will brush the area late Tuesday and Tuesday
night with some increase in west winds ahead of it Tuesday
afternoon. This could be the warmest day with best mixing
potential, before the front ushers in cooler air and north-
northeast winds for Wednesday. Hohmann
.WEEK 2 OUTLOOK...Jan 31st-Feb 6th...Issued 3 pm 1/23
Another period of dry weather is looking more and more likely
along the west coast for the first part of February. Something the
meager snowpack here in the Sierra doesn't need.
Long range ensemble models and short term climate models are in
good agreement of a ridge building off the U.S. west coast as a
trough moves through the Midwest and begins to amplify in the
central and northeastern states. This trough along with a trough
deepening in the central Pacific will help to lock the ridge in
the west in place with a dry weather pattern for the west.
Atmospheric River tools show the next AR for the end of January
impacting the Pacific Northwest with the storm track continuing to
move north after that. In this pattern we can still get systems to
slide in from the north but these kind of storms generally don't
bring significant amounts of moisture to the region.
Another factor that could come into play is a building Madden-
Julian Oscillation event. A currently active MJO currently over
southeast Asia is forecast to move into the West Pacific in early
February. If this occurs and the signal remains strong, it would
provide an additional teleconnection and support with dry
conditions along the west coast. This could reinforce the ridge
along the west coast and extend the period of dryness past the
first week of February.
It's impossible to say how long this pattern will last, but for
now all signs are pointing to at least a dry start for February.
For now, we'll just have to wait for winter to return. -Zach
* The Week 2 Outlook discussion is an experimental part of the Area
Forecast Discussion. This product is designed to highlight the
potential for significant pattern changes beyond day 7 and will
not be issued on a daily basis.
&&
.AVIATION...
Winds will continue to pick up this morning along Sierra ridges and
mix to the surface by late morning. Ridge winds to 100 kt will
likely create turbulence in the lee of the Sierra and could create
a period of low level wind shear. The most likely period for wind
shear near the surface will be this morning when surface winds
will be lighter from the south as winds aloft start to mix down.
Snowfall is expected at Sierra terminals with a relatively short, 2
to 4 hour period of moderate to heavy snowfall between 03-09Z
Thursday. Snow accumulations from this initial band of snow for
KTVL/KTRK of 3-8" are possible, with up to 2" for KMMH. For
KRNO/KCXP the most likely scenario is for 1" or less.
After a relatively light period of snow showers Thursday morning,
model simulations are becoming increasingly unstable for Thursday
afternoon and evening as a secondary shortwave/upper jet drops in on
the back side of trough. The airmass will be very cold and
convective snow bands will likely become organized and produce
bursts of heavy snow for the northern Sierra. Some of these snow
showers will push into the Sierra Front to include KCXP/KRNO. For
Sierra airports, snowfall amounts from this secondary wave could
approach amounts expected tonight (additional 3-8") while at
KCXP/KRNO, 1-2" of snow with local amounts to 3" cannot be ruled out
as snow levels will be down to all valley floors. -Zach/WH
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this evening
NVZ003.
Lake Wind Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 4 PM PST this
afternoon for Lake Tahoe in NVZ002.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 AM PST
Friday NVZ002.
Winter Weather Advisory from 7 PM this evening to 4 AM PST
Thursday NVZ003.
Lake Wind Advisory from noon today to 10 PM PST this evening for
Pyramid Lake in NVZ004.
CA...Winter Weather Advisory from noon today to 4 AM PST Friday
CAZ071.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this evening
CAZ073.
Lake Wind Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 4 PM PST this
afternoon for Lake Tahoe in CAZ072.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 AM PST
Friday CAZ072.
&&
For more information from the National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/renoThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 high wind, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet atop Slide Mountain (elevation 9650 feet) measured a 107 mph wind gust with 82 mph sustained winds.
Mesonet station GALN2 4 miles north-northwest of Washoe City (elevation 5610 feet) reported a wind gust of 66 mph.
Mesonet atop Peavine Peak (elevation 8269 feet) measured a wind gust of 101 mph with 85 mph sustained winds.
Mesonet station CLDNV 5 miles west of Stead reported a wind gust of 65 mph. The Associated Press reported that nearly 5000 homes and businesses in the Reno Metropolitan area had been without power due to equipment damage during the peak winds. More than 4200 of those customers were in the Stead area north of Reno.
Mesonet station F0451 3 miles north-northwest of Virginia City reported a 60 mph wind gust.
AWOS station RTS 2 miles north of Stead reported a wind gust of 60 mph.
Cold Springs NDOT sensor reported a peak wind gust of 76 mph.
Snowfall was greatest in the Lake Tahoe Basin where totals ranged from around 6 inches on the east side of the lake to as much as 14-16 inches at the higher elevations.
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, January 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: 737921, 737923, 737960, 737925, 737926, 737959, 737961, 737962.