A series of short-wave troughs brought periods of snow to the Carson Range and gusty winds to western Nevada from the 25th through the 26th. Gusty winds and showers began early the 25th ahead of the cold front, followed by post-frontal snowfall the evening of the 25th through the morning of the 26th.
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 REV wrote it up.
A series of short-wave troughs brought periods of snow to the Carson Range and gusty winds to western Nevada from the 25th through the 26th. Gusty winds and showers began early the 25th ahead of the cold front, followed by post-frontal snowfall the evening of the 25th through the morning of the 26th. Although snowfall amounts were not very heavy, cold temperatures with light accumulations produced difficult driving conditions in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
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 Dec 25, 2:28 AM PST, 6 hours 32 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
228 AM PST Fri Dec 25 2020
.SYNOPSIS...
The weather will transition to a more active pattern with periods
of mountain snow, valley rain, and gusty winds later today through
Saturday morning. A second colder system will be on its heels for
early Monday and will provide chances for another round of snow.
Additional fast moving storms are possible going into 2021.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
Our first in a series of storms will approach today and then move
across the northern Sierra and northern NV tonight and early
Saturday. 00Z model data has trended a bit flatter with this
shortwave feature with heavy shadowing from I-80 south along the
eastern Sierra. As a result, QPF amounts were lowered for these
areas. Best chance for accumulating snow continues to be the
northern Sierra from Tioga Pass northward to the Tahoe Basin and
northeast CA west of Highway 395. The advisories are generally on
track for up to a foot of snow along the immediate crest to
several inches down in the Tahoe Basin and along Highway 395 north
of Susanville. An inch or two may occur in the Surprise Valley as
well as along Highway 395 through the eastern Sierra. Very little
if any snow is anticipated across much of west central NV as
precipitation will be winding down just as snow levels fall to
near the valley floors Saturday morning. Strong gusty southwest
winds will develop over the ridges today with some of this
momentum working down to valley floors of the Tahoe Basin as well
as the Highway 395 corridor eastward to about Highway 95. Most
gusts for valley floors will be 30-35 mph, but wind prone areas
could see a brief period of gusts to 50 mph. Strongest winds
should surface tonight as the cold front moves through the area.
Mixing will be a bit better today and Saturday with temperatures
moderating some. Increasing clouds and inversions will keep
temperatures cooler Sunday ahead of the next storm that will be
approaching the West Coast. Hohmann
.LONG TERM...Monday onward...
The last week of 2020 *would* bring us snow potential for the
Monday morning commute following a holiday weekend. A cold area of
low pressure diving south along the California coast will spread
snow into the Sierra from approximately Tahoe south to Mammoth
Lakes starting Sunday night into Monday morning. Deformation bands
wrapping around the low look to bring the best chances for
precipitation into western Nevada, but the question is exactly
where this banding will take place, which is dependent on the
track of the low. Ensembles favor the highest probabilities near
and south of US- 50, however, there is a 40% chance that light
snow could reach as far north as a Susanville-Winnemucca line.
Accumulation potential looks decent for the Sierra crest, perhaps
another 12 inches, with western Nevada totals generally less than
2 inches. If we see a stronger deformation axis form, local totals
could reach 2-4 inches, however a blended ensemble approach only
shows a 15% chance of this occurring.
A colder airmass on Monday will likely keep highs from reaching 40
degrees even in the warmest valleys. Winds don't look particularly
strong with this system, however, there will be some northerly
breezes with favored locations seeing gusts of 15-20 mph.
The next system of note arrives Wednesday-Thursday as another
Pacific moisture tap takes aim at the PacNW. This is a warm
overrunning situation, and with cold air trapped at the surface,
initial precipitation type should be snow at all elevations.
Forecast soundings show the potential for a rain/snow mix as
inversions gradually mix out.
The pattern remains active through the start of 2021, but there
aren't any signs of blockbuster storms with the main moisture tap
staying north of the region. This is very similar to what we have
been experiencing so far this season. Still, anticipate several
periods of travel difficulties, especially in the Sierra and
northeast California. -Dawn
&&
.AVIATION...
Our next storm system is still on track to push into the region this
afternoon and tonight with increased winds, terrain obscuration and
lowering vis/cigs. The system will heavily shadow western Nevada,
with little if any precipitation for terminals. If anything, a few
hundredths of an inch of rain is possible for KRNO, KCXP, and KMEV,
though a dusting of slush could occur.
For the Sierra, snow impacts are still very likely for Tahoe
terminals (60-80% chance), though amounts have trended downward,
with 2-4" of accumulation anticipated. IFR conditions are expected
approximately 02z-16z Saturday. Farther south, for KMMH, snow
chances are dwindling, with a 80% chance for amounts to be under 1"
and a 25% chance there won't be anything at all at the airport.
The other concern will be winds with chances of mountain wave
turbulence and periods of LLWS through the day and into Saturday
morning. S-SSE winds at KRNO have been shown to have an increased
risk of LLWS in local studies, so this will be something to watch
out for today and tonight. Wind will not decouple overnight with
gusts of 20-30 kts possible for terminal sites, peaking 00z-15z
Saturday.
Flying conditions will improve late Saturday into Sunday. -Dawn
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV... Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 10 AM PST
Saturday NVZ002.
CA...Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 10 AM PST
Saturday above 5000 feet in CAZ071.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 10 AM PST
Saturday CAZ072.
&&
For more information from the National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/renoThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
For the higher elevations of western Nevada, snowfall around the Carson Range and the Lake Tahoe Basin was generally around 4 to 10 inches above 7000 feet MSL. Near Incline Village, 2 inches of snow fell.
Some strong winds with gusts 40 to 50 mph were seen along the passes of the Carson Range leading into the Lake Tahoe Basin. Along Slide Mountain northeast of Lake Tahoe, gusts as high as 81 mph were seen.
Several areas saw southwest wind gusts as high as 40 to 50 mph. Wind-prone areas along US Highway 395 in the north valleys of Reno saw southwest gusts 50 to 58 mph. For the wind-prone areas along US Highway 395 in Washoe Valley and near Galena, wind gusts as high as 60 to 65 mph were seen.
|A few wind-prone areas within the Sierra Valley and along US Highway 395 saw wind gusts 40 to 46 mph with an outlier gust to 63 mph seen at the Rice Canyon RAWS.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, December 2020
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: 942829, 942826, 942827.