A vigorous, but dry, cold front swept south across western Nevada on the 8th. Most locations did not receive any precipitation with this front.
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 REV wrote it up.
A vigorous, but dry, cold front swept south across western Nevada on the 8th. Most locations did not receive any precipitation with this front. The more impressive weather associated with the front was very strong east winds at the ridge tops in the wake of the frontal passage.
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 Feb 8, 2:51 AM PST, 46 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
251 AM PST Sat Feb 8 2020
.SYNOPSIS...
The warm and dry conditions will quickly disappear as a strong cold
front sweeps through the region this afternoon and evening. Plan for
gusty winds, light snow and plummeting temperatures by Sunday.
Breezy north to easterly winds are likely Saturday night into
Monday with much stronger gusts for the Sierra.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
Changes: Updated wind directions for the wind and lake wind advisories.
Increased wind speeds along the Sierra ridges for Monday night through
Tuesday morning.
Bottom line: Multiple impacts due to winds late tonight through
early Monday. There will be rough conditions for air travel and
recreation for area lakes. Areas of blowing dust will be possible in
the lower valleys. For the Sierra, including the Tahoe Basin and
Mammoth areas, unusually strong east winds may result in downed
trees and power lines.
Complete your outdoor plans or recreation this morning to avoid the
breezy conditions by midday. Most folks don't like to run/bike or do
yardwork in the wind, myself included. Winds will gradually pick up
across northern Lassen and Washoe counties before 10am this morning
and then migrate southward as the cold front approaches. West to
southwest winds will allow temperatures to climb into the low 60s
for many western Nevada valleys this afternoon and into the 50s for
much of the Sierra. Lake conditions will begin to deteriorate
rapidly late this morning into the overnight hours, with choppy
conditions expected through late Sunday night for Tahoe and
Pyramid.
The cold front will pass this afternoon through this evening
shifting winds from the west to the north rapidly. There is
potential for areas of blowing dust through this evening,
especially for areas near Fallon and Hawthorne. As the front drops
southward tonight, some light snow accumulations will be possible
in the Sierra, primarily from Tahoe southward into Mono county.
Light snow may continue Sunday night into Monday as cold, upslope
flow persists.
Winds will significantly increase Sunday into Monday as a strong
east wind sets up across the Sierra and western Nevada. While east
winds aren't rare, the magnitude of the winds is notable. The strong
northeast winds across the Sierra (gusts up to 100-120 mph)
increases the possibility for hazards like, downed trees, damage to
power lines, and power outages. While wind speeds will be lower for
areas below the ridges (gusts ~40-60mph), there may be some
localized stronger wind gusts that mix down. Another impact includes
the possibility of some minor lake shore flooding for the western
shores of Tahoe, due to the high lake level and high surf.
As the upper level low drops over southern California on Monday, the
winds will begin to decrease across the Sierra and western Nevada.
Although, Sierra ridge winds will likely still be pretty gusty
Monday night into Tuesday with wind gusts 70 to 80 mph, instead of
100+mph. -Edan
.LONG TERM...Tuesday through Friday...
The initial part of the extended forecast saw no real substantive
changes this morning...but there were some subtle changes made in
the day 7 period and beyond.
A short-lived west-east oriented ridge of high pressure develops
Tuesday...but some model solutions show this quickly breaking down
as a weak shortwave trough drops south through the forecast area
Wednesday. This wave does not have much affect on the weather
other than to briefly increase winds and provide a slight cooling
for early Thursday.
The ridge briefly builds back overhead late Thursday ahead of a
more impressive shortwave trough. This trough has been trying to
evolve in the model solutions over the past few days...but it has
shown variances in the details between the solutions. That is
still an issue today...but more solutions are indicating a better
chance for this trough to actually produce some precipitation. Its
trajectory is more northwest to southeast as opposed to north to
south. That gives the trough a better chance of picking up Pacific
moisture. There remain differences in the details. The ECMWF and
a majority of ensemble members are hinting at a split solution
that could mean a slower progression through the forecast area.
With this in mind we started to increase both POPs and QPF for the
Friday time frame and beyond. While we remain on the low side of
the forecast envelope... and confidence in any single solution is
low...we do show increasing chances for precipitation heading into
the Presidents Day weekend.
&&
.AVIATION...
VFR conditions will prevail through this morning. Winds have
already begun to increase ahead of an approaching cold front.
Gusty west winds will continue to ramp up ahead of the front
along with mountain wave turbulence and local LLWS possible as
surface gusts reach to 35 kts. Ridge gusts will exceed 100 kts
this afternoon and evening.
Behind the front, isolated MVFR with -SHSN mainly Sunday focused on
the Sierra terminals with only trace amounts of snowfall expected
with up to 0.5" of accumulation on the high end. Gusty NE winds
between 30-35 kts gusts will be possible for valleys and
terminals across western Nevada and around 40 knots for KTRK,
KTVL, KMMH. Plan for LLWS in the Sierra, along with significant
mountain wave turbulence especially along and west of the Sierra.
Fuentes/Edan
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Lake Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST Sunday
for Pyramid Lake in NVZ004.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM Sunday to 4 AM PST Monday NVZ002.
Lake Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 AM PST Sunday
for Lake Tahoe in NVZ002.
CA...Wind Advisory from 10 AM Sunday to 4 AM PST Monday CAZ072-073.
Lake Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 AM PST Sunday
for Lake Tahoe in CAZ072.
&&
For more information from the National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/renoThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
RAWS BRPN2 on the Black Rock Playa (elevation 3911 feet MSL) recorded a wind gust of 61 mph. Several wind gusts in the 2 hours after the maximum wind gust were over 50 mph.
Mesonet station PVPN2 atop Peavine Peak (elevation 8270 feet MSL) recorded a wind gust of 72 mph. Several wind gusts in the hour before and after the maximum wind gust were over 60 mph.
Mesonet atop Slide Mountain (elevation 9650 feet MSL) recorded a wind gust of 91 mph. Several wind gusts in the 2 hours before and after the maximum wind gust were over 60 mph.
Mesonet station D7469 near Geiger Grade measured a 59 mph wind gust (elevation 6180 feet MSL).
Mesonet atop Slide Mountain (elevation 9650 feet MSL) recorded a wind gust of 76 mph. Several wind gusts in the hour before and after the maximum wind gust were over 60 mph.
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, February 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: 907910, 907907, 907908, 907909, 907911.