A strong downslope wind event developed on the rearward side of a winter storm that move through the area in March.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 strong downslope wind event developed on the rearward side of a winter storm that move through the area in March.
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 Mar 12, 2:15 AM PST, 7 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 315 AM PDT Tue Mar 12 2019 .SYNOPSIS...Snow showers move into northwestern Humboldt County early this afternoon and spread southeast across northern and central NV through the afternoon and evening hours. Expect areas of gusty northwesterly winds this evening through Wednesday afternoon. A few lingering light snow showers on Wednesday then dry conditions for the remainder of the week. && .SHORT TERM...Today through Thursday. Trough energy dropping in from the Pacific Northwest will begin to spread snow showers over far northwestern Humboldt County by early this afternoon. The cold front will progress to the southeast this afternoon on through this evening. Not expecting too much snow with this frontal passage, with most valley locations seeing between a half inch and two inches of new snow by midnight tonight. In addition to a little snow, gusty winds will be a concern during and after the frontal passage as a strong NW to SE gradient persists over most of central and eastern NV through Wednesday afternoon. Most prone areas for the gusty winds will be higher elevation areas including summits, along with slopes on the southeastern sides of mountains. While winds aloft are not too strong, the surface gradient is significant. Gusty downslope winds over and near southeastern slopes of mountains such as Ruby Valley and Clover Valley just east of the Ruby Mountains, along with areas prone to gusty northwesterly winds such as West Wendover and Tonopah can expect some of the stronger winds. Snow showers and gusty winds die down Wednesday evening with dry and mild conditions through Thursday afternoon. .LONG TERM...Thursday night through Monday. The computer simulations for the long term period continue to point to a break in the weather pattern. What this means for northern and central Nevada is fairly benign weather for the period with gradually warming temperatures. Friday through Sunday. High pressure will remain basically over the West Coast at varying strength. There is the possibility of a weak wave on Friday, which may bring in some clouds and possibly some sprinkles in west-central Nevada. The main story will be gradually warming temperatures with some degrees of sun and high clouds with highs in the 30s and 40s Friday, warming into the 50s and maybe even some low 60s in central Nevada on Sunday. Overnight lows will be in the teens and 20s. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions are expected to hold through Tuesday morning before a fast moving cold front sweeps southeastward across northern and central Nevada during the afternoon and evening. A band of snow showers will accompany the frontal passage while producing MVFR to brief IFR/LIFR CIGS and VIS. Strong northwest winds will set up behind the front Tuesday night into Wednesday morning with gusts to 45 kts at KTPH and near 40 kts at KELY and 25 to 30 kts at KWMC, KBAM, and KEKO. NOTE: KELY is AMD NOT SKED due to problems with visibility and weather sensors. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 7 PM this evening to 5 PM PDT Wednesday for Northeastern Nye County-Northern Elko County-Northwestern Nye County-Ruby Mountains/East Humboldt Range-South Central Elko County-Southeastern Elko County-White Pine County. && 96/92/95
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Ruby Valley RAWS, elevation 6900 feet.
Ruby Valley NDOT station, elevation 6214 feet.
Warm Springs NDOT station, elevation 5795 feet.
Ruby Lake RAWS, elevation 5970 feet.
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, March 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: 811327, 811330, 811332, 811329.