A storm system moved into the Pacific Northwest and northern California the afternoon and evening of the 8th, which brought bands of rain into the morning hours of the 9th. The heaviest rainfall occurred across the Surprise valley, which lead to flash flooding.
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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 storm system moved into the Pacific Northwest and northern California the afternoon and evening of the 8th, which brought bands of rain into the morning hours of the 9th. The heaviest rainfall occurred across the Surprise valley, which lead to flash flooding.
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 Apr 8, 2:19 AM PST, 8 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
319 AM PDT Mon Apr 8 2019
.SYNOPSIS...
Rain will move into northeast California, the Sierra, and northwest
Nevada by late today with the approach of a sharp cold front. It will
be breezy today with winds impacting boating, air, and some ground
travel. The cold front will move through by Tuesday morning with
some travel impacts possible in the higher elevations due to snow.
Much cooler temperatures return Tuesday through Friday with chances
for rain and snow returning late week.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
No substantial change to the short term forecast.
A cold front off the northern California coast will move into northeast
California by around midnight before pushing through the Sierra,
western and west-central Nevada by around sunrise Tuesday. Ahead
of the cold front, gusty southwest to west winds are expected,
especially this afternoon and evening. Stronger winds may persist
longer down in Mono, Mineral, and southern Lyon counties as the
front will not clear those areas until well after midnight. Many
areas will see wind gusts of 30-40 mph, with wind prone locations
along Highways 395 and 95 (Walker Lake) and Interstate 580 (south
of Reno) expected to gust 45-60 mph. Over exposed Sierra ridges,
gusts 80-105 mph are likely as the front nears.
As far as precipitation, anything that falls through the bulk of this
evening will be mainly rain with snow levels above 8500-9000 feet.
As the cold front pushes through late tonight and early Tuesday morning,
travel impacts due to a light snowfall will become possible above
about 5500 feet. Be prepared if traveling in the higher elevations
Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon, scattered showers are expected
under an upper low, with very isolated thunderstorms and a burst
of snow pellets possible. Road accumulations are unlikely with
pavement temperatures expected to warm well above the air temperature
due to the April sun's intensity; however, if persistent heavier
showers develop brief slushy accumulations are possible in the
high Sierra.
Temperatures Tuesday afternoon will be 15-20 degrees colder than
Monday (valleys in the 40s to mid 50s) with blustery north winds.
High pressure returns Tuesday night and Wednesday for precipitation-
free conditions and below average temperatures under cool northerly
flow. -Snyder
.LONG TERM...Thursday onward...
Another cold low drops into the region from the north Thursday into
Friday, and interestingly, ensemble spread has increased from what
we have seen the past several nights. The GEFS suite has trended
weaker, with most members trending farther east with the low as
ridging builds over the eastern Pacific. The EPS suite has stayed on
track, dropping the low directly down the spine of the Sierra.
Anyway you look at it, the ensemble mean points toward below normal
temps and the potential for showers Thurs, but just how cold is to
be determined. This wouldn't be a significant precipitation producer
either way, but additional rain/snow showers, pellets, and even a
rumble of thunder would be possible.
There is decent ensemble agreement in warming for at least the first
part of the weekend, but there is the potential for additional
troughs to drop in from the north the latter part of the weekend
into early next week. There are signs pointing toward a more zonal
flow or weak ridging between the second and third week of April
which could at least mean milder temperatures and less chance for
precipitation. -Dawn
&&
.AVIATION...
Mid and high level clouds continue to stream into California and
Nevada, though precipitation is currently limited closer to the
Oregon border northward. Rain and very high elevation snow (freezing
levels around 9000-10,000 feet) will move into northeast California
later today and into the Sierra and western Nevada this evening and
overnight. A strong cold front will shift through the region
overnight into Tuesday morning, dropping snow levels down to around
5000-5500 feet between 09-15z Tuesday. This may lead to a light
dusting of snow at KTRK, KTVL, and KMMH Tuesday morning, which
should rapidly melt.
Strong and gusty southwest winds across Sierra ridgelines will
continue today, with sustained speeds of 50-70 kts likely leading
to turbulence downstream of the Sierra. For valley locations,
peak gusts may reach 25-45 kts with the potential for low level
wind shear, including at KRNO. The greatest concern for stronger
wind shear would be along the cold frontal boundary 09-15z Tuesday.
Breezy northwesterly winds will continue on Tuesday behind the
cold front. -Dawn
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Lake Wind Advisory from noon today to 9 PM PDT this evening for
Pyramid Lake in NVZ004.
Lake Wind Advisory from noon today to 9 PM PDT this evening
NVZ002.
CA...Lake Wind Advisory from noon today to 9 PM PDT this evening
CAZ072.
&&
For more information from the National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/renoThe Reno radar (KRGX), 216 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:40 UTC.
3 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Remote Automated Weather System SSYC1 4 miles east-southeast of Lake City reported 0.85 inches of rainfall in a 16 hour period from 8 April 1039PST to 9 April 0239PST. RAWS elevation 4591 feet MSL.
Snow Telemetry Station CDRC1 at Cedar Pass reported 0.90 inches of rainfall in a 14 hour period from 8 April 1200PST to 9 April 0200PST. SNOTEL elevation 7030 feet MSL.
Mesonet station CEDC 2 miles north of Cedarville reported 1.06 inches of rainfall in approximately a 14 hour time period from 8 April 1200PST to 9 April 0215PST. Mesonet elevation 4600 feet MSL.
Modoc County District 1 Supervisor reported flash flooding in Lake City from the night of 8 April to the morning of 9 April due to heavy rain and snowmelt. At least one residential community was temporarily isolated due to a washed-out road section. The timing of the flood is approximate and no information was available regarding damage to property in the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2019
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: 831506, 831510, 831512, 831578.