A series of modest Pacific storms pushed through the Sierra and western Nevada during the busy holiday weekend.
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.
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 modest Pacific storms pushed through the Sierra and western Nevada during the busy holiday weekend.
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 11, 4:34 PM PST, 8 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Reno NV 434 PM PST Thu Feb 11 2021 .UPDATE... Quick update this evening to increase the precip chances across the eastern side of the Lake Tahoe Basin and into western Nevada. Many areas along the Carson Range are seeing rain and snow already so increased the pops to near 100% to better reflect that it's precipitating. Also, HREF ensembles continue to show decent spillover into western Nevada. The best amounts will be near and east of Highway 95 where it is already raining. While the Sierra Front won't see much this evening, as the cold front moves through overnight, a convective band along the front is expected to move through. Rain amounts for western Nevada look to be around a tenth of an inch for the Sierra Front to around a quarter inch near Lovelock/Fallon. Sierra rain/snowfall amounts still look on track. X && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /Issued 231 PM PST Thu Feb 11 2021/ SYNOPSIS... After a mild week, a series of modest storms will push through the Sierra and western Nevada today through the holiday weekend. Plan for periods of gusty winds, mountain snow and valley rain showers. While the storms aren't overly impressive, travel impacts are likely during the long holiday weekend. SHORT TERM... No significant adjustments were made to the forecast for the incoming storm. Plan for periods of mountain snow, light valley rain, and gusty winds overnight into Friday morning. Friday AM commute could be slick, so keep an eye on the road conditions. Forecast snow totals haven't changed much, with 6-12 inches possible in the Tahoe Basin above 7000 feet, and 6-18" for the upper elevations in Mono/Alpine counties through Friday morning. At Lake Tahoe level, there remains a bit of uncertainty with the snow totals, as snow levels may not drop low enough until after midnight tonight. Generally, 0 to 5 inches of wet snow are forecast at Lake Tahoe level through Friday morning and with the rain/snow line hovering right at 7000 feet, some locations in that elevation- vicinity could get a bit more, while others none at all. This won't be the only shot for snow over the next several days, so don't fret if you miss out on this first round. Western Nevada will be shadowed through most of the event with a period of showers along the front tonight. Strong winds gusting to 70-100 mph are expected along the Sierra crest with periods of breezy winds 25-35 mph in the lower elevations. By Friday morning, most of the snow showers will be across Mono and Mineral counties. Friday will be a good travel window across the Sierra passes, outside of a few light showers. Check the road conditions before you head out, as traffic volume will be higher than usual due to the holiday weekend. The next storm arrives late Friday night bringing another round of winds, mountain snow, and valley rain showers. Plan for additional snow accumulations along the Sierra crest of about 5-10" and some light snow showers across western Nevada as well. Little accumulation is forecast for western Nevada areas. The bigger concern for the valleys will be the strong winds along and behind the cold front. Widespread wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph are looking more likely as model simulations trend stronger with the cold front. Areas of blowing dust will be possible ahead of the cold front for the Basin and Range locations much of Saturday afternoon and in the evening. Precipitation along the front may help to settle some of that, but there isn't a ton of moisture with this system. Plan for impacts to recreation, travel, and aviation on Saturday. Walker Lake, Hawthorne, and Mina could be especially wind much of the day Saturday. -Edan LONG TERM...Sunday through next week... An active weather pattern looks to continue into next week, with a storm moving into the Sierra President's Day, a break Tuesday- Wednesday, and another system moving through the region late next week. A lull between storms will occur Sunday, as a short-wave ridge moves overhead. After this break, another low-moderate level storm looks to move into the Sierra late Sunday night into early Monday morning. Snow amounts have trended a little higher compared to the previous forecast, albeit not too much higher. Snow levels will fluctuate between 6500-7000 feet during the day Monday, which will keep much of the accumulating snow around pass level. Storm totals for Monday look to be around 1-3" at lake level in the Tahoe Basin, with 4-8" inches above 7000 feet along most of the north-central Sierra and some isolated areas up to a foot on higher peaks. With an anticipated high volume of traffic expected after the holiday weekend, be prepared for periods of chain controls, long travel times, and slick roadways in the Sierra. Allow for extra time to reach your destinations Monday. Much of western Nevada will be shadowed on Monday, with only slight chances for light rain. Winds look to be the biggest impact for the lower valleys, with gusty west winds as high as 30-40 mph expected. Wind prone areas could see gusts as high as 45-50 mph. A break in the weather occurs Tuesday-Wednesday, with partly cloudy skies and typical post-frontal breezy north-northwesterly winds expected. Another low-end type storm looks to move into the region Thursday-Friday, which could bring more travel impacts to the Sierra. -Johnston AVIATION... The first in a series of weak storms will move through the area starting today. Two more storms will impact the region Saturday and Monday as well, with impacts to aviation due to turbulence, LLWS, mountain obscuration, and low visibility due to rain/snow showers. For tonight as the storm pushes into the region, there will be west- southwest winds gusting up to 30kts, periods of mountain wave turbulence and low level wind shear, as well as increasing clouds, mountain obscuration, and MVFR/IFR CIG/VIS for the Sierra terminals. KTRK-KTVL-KMMH terminals are most likely to be dealing with snow late tonight through Friday morning, where 1-2 inches is possible. For lower elevation terminals, KSVE-KRNO-KCXP-KMEV-KLOL, snow levels should remain high enough so that mostly light rain is forecast. It is possible for a rain/snow mix, especially by early Friday morning. On Saturday - Saturday evening, the next fast-moving storm jets through the region with gusty winds, mountain snow and a mix of rain/snow for valley locations. Wind gusts with FROPA will be quite strong with gusts up to 40kts possible along the cold front. Northerly winds will remain quite brisk for Saturday night through Sunday. Another storm will push in by Monday morning with an additional round of snow for the Sierra, as well as gusty winds, mountain wave turbulence, and low level wind shear. -Edan && .REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NV...Winter Weather Advisory until 4 AM PST Friday NVZ002. CA...Winter Weather Advisory until 4 AM PST Friday CAZ072-073. && For more information from the National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/reno
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Diamond Peak Ski reported 9 inches with Mt Rose 7 inches. Additional light snow fell into the 13th with 6 inches additional at each location.
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, February 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: 946718.