Nevada, 2020

Dense Fog in Nevada, February 23, 2020

February 23, 2020 · NWS VEF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Widespread rain on the 22nd, followed by clearing skies overnight, led to isolated dense fog on the morning of the 23rd.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS VEF wrote it up.

Widespread rain on the 22nd, followed by clearing skies overnight, led to isolated dense fog on the morning of the 23rd.

What forecasters said that day

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 23, 3:23 AM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 23, 3:23 AM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Las Vegas NV
323 AM PST Sun Feb 23 2020

.SYNOPSIS...
Lingering rain and higher elevation snow over the northern half
of Mohave County will exit to the east by late this morning. Dry,
breezy conditions and above normal temperatures will prevail today
and tomorrow. Temperatures drop back down to seasonal normals on
Tuesday but will quickly rebound during the second half of the
work week.

&&

.SHORT TERM...Today and Tomorrow.

A low pressure system, which is currently centered just west of
the Four Corners, continues to facilitate the development of a
band of light to moderate rain/higher elevation snow as moisture
wraps around on the back side of this system. This band of
precipitation, which is pushing south of I-15 in southern Nevada,
will continue to progress southeastward into Mohave County early
this morning. Expect anywhere from a trace up to a couple tenths
of an inch of liquid precip out of this band. Additional high
elevation snowfall will set up over the Spring Mtns, Sheep Range,
and higher elevations of the AZ Strip. Accumulations look to
remain between 1 to 3 inches above 6500 feet. With the precip
wrapping up across Lincoln County, have decided to cancel the
Winter Weather Advisory a couple hours early. As the closed low
exits to the east, it will pull the low ceilings and remaining
rain/snow chances along with it. Any lingering activity in Mohave
County should end by mid- morning.

Dry, weather and clear skies can be expected for the remainder of
Sunday and into Monday. Breezy, north to northwest flow will be
present today and tomorrow with speeds generally between 10 to 15
mph gusting 20 to 25 mph. Above normal temps expected.

.LONG TERM...Tuesday through Saturday.

A secondary trough will dig across the central U.S. going into
Tuesday as a ridge over the eastern Pacific weakens due to a
series of shortwave troughs moving into the Pacific Northwest.
The ridge remains situated along the West Coast through Friday as
the aforementioned shortwave troughs transition southeastward
across the Great Basin along the western extent of a persistent
trough over the eastern two-thirds of the CONUS. Ultimately, this
will lead to fairly quiet weather for much of the week. High
clouds will spill over the ridge periodically and northerly winds
will prevail. Gradient remains tight on Tuesday with the initial
digging trough still in the vicinity and gusts of 20-25 mph are
expected. The Colorado River Valley will see enhancement of the
northerly winds and therefore slightly higher wind speeds with
gusts of up to 30 to 35 mph possible near Lake Mohave and Lake
Havasu. Winds remain breezy in this area Wednesday and Thursday
with slightly lower wind speeds. Northerly flow will usher in a
slightly cooler airmass bringing temps back down closer to near
normal on Tuesday. Temps warm up for the remainder of the work
week back to above normal values. Models are beginning to pick up
on the next system moving in next weekend but model and run-to-run
consistency is poor this far out.

&&

.AVIATION...For McCarran...Rain chances should end by 12Z this
morning, followed a few hours later by decreasing clouds, leading to
VFR conditions from about 15Z onward. Expect light easterly winds
during the day, switching back to light south southwest overnight.
Northerly winds Monday could be just strong enough to cause runway
configuration issues.

For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast
California...Skies had already cleared in Esmeralda and northern
Inyo counties as of 10Z, and the clearing line will progress
southeast through Mohave County by 20Z today. Light rain early this
morning will be limited to Clark and Mohave counties, with
associated low ceilings and terrain obscuration. Expect VFR
conditions areawide Monday, with northerly winds gusting 20 to 30
knots in exposed and terrain favored areas such as the Colorado
River Valley.
&&

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report
any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating
procedures.
&&

SHORT TERM/LONG TERM...Guillet
AVIATION...Morgan

For more forecast information...see us on our webpage:
https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Western Clark/Southern Nye

When
February 23, 7:05 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
Where
Western Clark/Southern Nye forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.129, -115.743 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog reduced visibility to 1/8 mile 4 miles WNW of Pahrump.

What these are

Dense Fog
Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nevada in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, February 2020

Sources

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: 877283.