The second of a series of quick hitting systems provided valley and mountain snows along with wind that aided in dropping visibility at times.
Every event with a place to put it; 18 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.
The second of a series of quick hitting systems provided valley and mountain snows along with wind that aided in dropping visibility at times.
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 Dec 24, 2:51 AM PST, 11 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 251 AM PST Fri Dec 24 2021 .SYNOPSIS...Active pattern continues through next week with several systems passing through. Each one bring rounds of precipitation. This may cause icy road conditions and impact travel during the holiday season. && .SHORT TERM...This morning through Friday Night This morning...SW to NE oriented and diffuse jet stream continue to pull moisture over east-central Nevada, although the core of the jet is pushing into Utah. Some weak development along the frontal boundary is occurring as evident by METSAT (weak baroclinic leaf features) and frontogenesis numbers over eastern Nye County and White Pine County. This means the heaviest snowfall falls over these areas through morning, with significant accumulation in the Schell Creek and Snake Range mtns. Elsewhere, patchy fog is possible with icy road conditions a good bet as road moisture refreezes where temperatures have fallen before freezing; therefore, no changes in the current advisories. Finally, another weak frontal boundary/surface trof just to the north in southern ID, stretching westward over northern CA is digging southeast in northern Humboldt and NW Elko counties, creating a wide band of light snow with some shower development ahead of it. This should impact State Routes 140 and 225, and US Hwy 95 near the ID/OR borders. Rest of today...The weak frontal boundary and associated band of mainly light snow mentioned above digs southeast through the area, weakening as the airmass modifies behind it. However, the polar jet rotates around the base of the trof into central NV by afternoon, creating enough dynamics aloft to keep some showers or narrow bands of light snow or rain going through the evening hours in eastern Nevada despite the loss of the front at the surface. Meanwhile, snowfall across mainly White Pine county ends early this morning as that system departs. Finally, another front quickly develops in northern CA due to a 500mb shortwave interacting with the polar jet stream. This brings snow back into Humboldt County this evening. As for high temperatures, most areas climb well into the 30s with several locations hitting the 40 degree mark. These temperatures help to minimize travel impacts associated with the snowfall. Friday Night...Light snow associated with that weak front mentioned above spreads eastward, centered just north of I-80 corridor for most of the night. Still, some uncertainty of placement of this band. If it decides to setup further south, some travel impacts are likely along I-80. Eventually this band expands northward towards Saturday morning due to wave development along the frontal boundary as the main 500mb trof pushes onshore. Overall, snow amounts should be on the light side...less than an inch in the valleys with 2 to 4 inches in the mountains...along and north of the I-80 corridor. Once again, refreezing of moisture on roadways could be an issue as temperatures fall below freezing. Less cloud overall allows temperatures to drop into the teens and single digits in eastern and east-central Nevada, with 20s elsewhere. Saturday through Saturday Night... That wave development mentioned above lifts the now warm frontal boundary northward into OR/ID with the associated cold front slowly sagging southeast into far western Humboldt County midday Saturday. This enhances the snowfall in Humboldt County Saturday morning, especially in the mountains, where 4 to 6 inches are likely above 6500 feet. By Saturday afternoon, the cold front strengthens as a sharp 500mb trof axis digs towards the entire US West Coast. This slows the eastward progression of the frontal boundary. Eventually, the boundary hits the Elko/Humboldt county line and western Lander County by Saturday evening. This means the main snow band should spread as far east as Elko, Eureka, and Round Mtn by Saturday evening. Overall snow amounts Saturday afternoon through Saturday night should be under 2 inches in the lower valleys due to above freezing max surface temperatures, with up to 6 inches or so in the mountains, particular the ones in northern Nevada. Some travels impacts are likely, especially as surface temperatures once again fall before freezing Saturday night. .LONG TERM...Sunday through next Friday. Active weather and colder temperatures will look to be the common thread for next week thanks in part to a strong closed upper- level low expected to settle over southwestern Canada over the next couple of days. As the low settles, latest model agreement expects multiple short-wave troughs to be ejected out of the low allowing for multiple low pressure systems to push through the Great Basin Region. Look for the effects of one of these systems to be exiting us sometime Sunday with another bout of snowfall felt through Northern and Central Nevada. Amounts for this time period have continue to trend on the lighter side with most locations looking at an inch or two at best. Winds, on the other hand, are much different story. Current guidance expects winds to pick quite a bit Sunday afternoon with wind gust greater than 30 mph possible for the day. By Monday into Tuesday, latest model runs expected the system to be upon us with snowfall intensity expected to increase over the course of the day and what could be a couple extra inches in the valleys. By Wednesday, model runs begin to see a potential pattern change with the upper-level low shifting to the east and allowing strong northerly flow to break through the low pressure system cycle. While snow showers could still linger throughout the region, latest guidance currently expects these shower to drop off for Wednesday and Thursday with high elevation being the only place to seen any accumulation. As for temperatures for the period, latest models continues to push a very cold end to the year. Starting Sunday temperatures will look take their first plunge with afternoon temperature for both Sunday and Monday sitting in the mid to low 20s. Another drop will look to occur that following Tuesday as the strong northerly flow begins to bear down on the Silver State with afternoon temperatures falling into the teens and low 20s for the day. Overnights will not be spared from this either with temperature easily in the single digits by Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Wednesday is currently expected to hold the title of coldest day of the week with morning lows below zero and afternoon highs barely reaching into the 20s. A slight warm up might be in store for the last day of the year, but still expected a chilly New Years Eve that night. && .AVIATION...Pockets of rain and snow showers continue across the region. Across the north, conditions deteriorate to MVFR/IFR as light snow develops during the mid-morning hours. For central Nevada sites, cigs slowly improve to MVFR by midday with VFR conditions by this evening. Winds increase later this afternoon with breezy to windy conditions seen at a majority of sites. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM PST this morning for Northern Elko County-Northern Lander County and Northern Eureka County-Northwestern Nye County-Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range-Southern Lander County and Southern Eureka County- Southwest Elko County-White Pine County. && 85/94/86
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 heavy snow, 9 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Fifteen inches fell at (GRPN2) Granite Peak Snotel, Elevation 8501 feet.
Fifteen inches fell at (MTLN2) Summit Lake Snotel, Elevation 7613 feet.
Eight inches fell at (DSPN2) Disaster Peak Snotel, Elevation 6259 feet.
Eight inches fell at (BKLN2) Buckskin Lower Snotel, Elevation 6229 feet.
Ten inches fell at (TACN2) Taylor Canyon Snotel, Elevation 6200 feet.
Eight inches fell at (GLCN2) Golconda Snotel, Elevation 6615 feet.
Ten inches fell at (TJMN2) Toe Jam Snotel, Elevation 7700 feet.
Eight inches fell at (BERN2) Bear Creek Snotel, Elevation 8040 feet.
Eleven inches fell at (LMLN2) Lamoille #3 Snotel, Elevation 7700 feet.
Station (TMBN2) Timber Mountain, Elevation 9000 feet.
Station (CMP26) Warm Springs Summit, Elevation 7549 feet.
Station (DNEP8) 4.3 E Baker, Elevation 5185 feet.
Station (EMPNV) 2.0 NE Emigrant Pass, Elevation 6068 feet.
Station (EMRNV) 2.0 NE Emigrant Pass, Elevation 6068 feet.
Asos Station (KEKO) Elko Airport, Elevation 5048 feet.
Station (UP989) 8.0 SW Montello, Elevation 5395 feet.
Station (UP990) 10.4 E Wells, Elevation 6121 feet.
Station (POCN2) Pole Creek Raws, Elevation 8501 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, December 2021
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: 990347, 990348, 990345, 990344, 990351, 990346, 990352, 990350, 990353, 990359, 990356, 990363, 990360, 990361, 990357, 990362, 990354, 990355.