A very cold low pressure system brought unusually heavy snow to low elevations in the Mojave Desert.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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 very cold low pressure system brought unusually heavy snow to low elevations in the Mojave Desert.
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 Feb 18, 8:02 AM PST, 4 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 802 AM PST Mon Feb 18 2019 .SYNOPSIS...An abnormally cold weather pattern will persist over our region through the coming week. This will allow cold low pressure systems to drop out of Western Canada and bring chances for snow down to the desert floors. The next system, which could be colder and wetter than the one which just ended, could impact the region Thursday and Friday. && .UPDATE...A quick update for the today period based on current radar, satellite imagery and model forecast trends. Biggest change was to increase precip chances in Mohave County for today but still expecting decreasing chances as the day wears on. Minor adjustments to other weather elements based on the latest NBM. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...216 AM PST... .SHORT TERM...through Tuesday night. Water vapor loop and area radars showed a very tight circulation centered between Echo Bay and Temple Bar at 1 AM PST, with precip near the center and also in an arc stretching from the southern Las Vegas Valley south and east across Nelson Peak to near Cottonwood Cove. Most of this had been falling as snow or a rain/snow mix. The main circulation was moving slowly east, and the aforementioned arc of precip was rotating south and east around the main circulation, so snow was ending in Las Vegas but persisting on I-15 south toward Jean. As the precip rotates around the southern and eastern side of the main circulation, it will bring additional snow to parts of Mohave County, so extended the Winter Weather Advisory there until noon MST. Plan to let the Advisory for parts of Clark and San Bernardino counties expire on schedule at 4 AM PST. Lingering precip chances over eastern Mohave should end this afternoon, with dry weather expected areawide this evening through Tuesday night. .LONG TERM...Wednesday through Monday. Attention in the long term remains focused on the next system diving down into the western US on Wednesday. The track of this next system appears to have shifted eastward over the days, as the upper-level low center is forecast to dig from the Canada/US border Wed AM to a low center directly over the region by Thursday evening. This next system in fact looks a lot like the one currently impacting the area. It is still on track to bring plenty of moisture and plenty of cold air, allowing for widespread precipitation with snow levels down to valley floors. Once again, most things appear to come together the best in Mohave county, with the heaviest snow occuring there, and more showery activity elsewhere. Have not been too happy with the model QPF with the next system. Blends seem to be coming in on the lower end, with a recent trend of the operational GFS coming in on the lower end of its own ensemble. Will hold off on major manual edits for now, and hope increasing high-resolution models will assist with this as the event gets closer and in range. This upper-level low is progged to get kicked out during the weekend by yet another low sagging into the PacNW which itself will get kicked by another Pacific low before it has chance to dig very far south. That is a very specific line of events that has to happen to get a closed low that will be happy to stick around otherwise to leave. This would bear watching, and would probably favor a cooler and more unsettled regime. && .AVIATION...For McCarran...Winds will prevail out of the northwest through the day around 8 to 10 knots with gusts to 20 knots building in late morning and dying off after sunset. Ceilings as low as 6 kft expected to continue through the early morning hours and increase through the afternoon to 10 kft. Dry conditions expected through the forecast period. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...North-northwest winds expected for the rest of the region through the forecast period. 20-30 kt gusts will pick up late morning for KBIH and KDAG and die off after sunset with sustained winds hovering around 10-12 kts. Colorado River Valley sites, KEED and KIFP, will remain sustained 10-12 kts through the day. Ceilings will continue to increase through the early morning hours to 7-12 kft by mid-afternoon. Lingering showers in Mohave County otherwise, mainly dry conditions expected. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts, especially snow related, according to standard operating procedures. && UPDATE...Salmen SHORT TERM...Morgan LONG TERM...Steele AVIATION...Varian For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: http://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
859 AM PST MON FEB 18 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0800 AM SNOW 7 NE HUALAPAI PEAK 35.15N 113.81W
02/18/2019 M4.0 INCH MOHAVE AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
STORM SPOTTER AZ127 REPORTS 4 INCHES OF SNOW
FALLING OVERNIGHT BETWEEN 8PM AND 8AM WITH
SNOW TAPERING OFF NOW. ELEVATION 3490.
&&
COPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
901 AM PST MON FEB 18 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0800 AM SNOW MT. CHARLESTON 36.26N 115.65W
02/18/2019 M3.9 INCH CLARK NV FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
MT CHARLESTON FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTS 3.9
INCHES OF NEW SNOW FALLING SINCE 8AM SUNDAY
VIA RR3.
&&
COPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
904 AM PST MON FEB 18 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0800 AM SNOW PIPE SPRING NATIONAL MO 36.86N 112.74W
02/18/2019 M5.0 INCH MOHAVE AZ PARK/FOREST SRVC
PIPE SPRINGS NATIONAL MONUMENT REPORTS 5
INCHES OF SNOW SINCE 8AM SUNDAY...MOSTLY
FALLING OVERNIGHT. REPORT OBTAINED VIA RR3.
&&
COPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
910 AM PST MON FEB 18 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0830 AM SNOW 2 WNW SUMMERLIN 36.17N 115.36W
02/18/2019 M1.5 INCH CLARK NV NWS EMPLOYEE
1.5 INCHES OF SNOW MEASURED NEAR ALTA AND
FOX HILL DRIVE IN WEST SUMMERLIN. ALL THE
SNOW OCCURED SINCE 8PM SUNDAY AND ENDED BY
8AM MONDAY.
&&
COPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
1032 AM PST MON FEB 18 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1000 AM SNOW 3 S NEW KINGMAN-BUTLER 35.22N 114.01W
02/18/2019 E3.0 INCH MOHAVE AZ PUBLIC
APPROXIMATELY 3 INCHES OF SNOW MEASURED IN
KINGMAN VIA FACEBOOK POST. SNOW BEGAN AROUND
8PM AND WAS TAPERING OFF AT 10 AM MONDAY.
&&
COPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
1035 AM PST MON FEB 18 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1000 AM SNOW 6 ESE KINGMAN 35.16N 113.95W
02/18/2019 E7.0 INCH MOHAVE AZ PUBLIC
STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL SINCE 5PM SUNDAY
THROUGH 10AM MONDAY. ABOUT 7 INCHES OF SNOW
HAD FALLEN AT AN ELEVATION OF 4900 FEET IN
THE HUALAPAI MOUNTAINS. REPORT VIA SOCIAL
MEDIA.
&&
COThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow, 1 winter weather, 1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Nipton Road was closed in both directions at Searchlight due to snowy conditions.
Twenty four inches of snow fell on Mount Charleston.
Nine inches of snow fell in Red Rock Canyon.
Measurable snow fell over almost the entire Las Vegas Valley, with a maximum of 8.5 inches in Summerlin. A tree fell on a car near Warm Springs and Durango due to the heavy, wet snow.
One man died in Las Vegas of cold related causes.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Las Vegas Valley | 2019-02-21 | 53 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, February 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: 805459, 805455, 805456, 805458, 805460.