A shortwave moved through Friday evening and into Saturday producing windy conditions Saturday afternoon along with rain and snow showers.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
A shortwave moved through Friday evening and into Saturday producing windy conditions Saturday afternoon along with rain and snow showers.
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 Feb 20, 3:15 AM PST, 7 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 315 AM PST Sat Feb 20 2021 .SYNOPSIS...Snow showers are possible across northern and central Nevada through the afternoon as a cold front sags south. Breezy to windy conditions will also prevail during the day with winds out of the northwest. High pressure will build in for the latter portions of the week and into early parts of next week with gradually warming temperatures. && .SHORT TERM...Today through Monday. Radar is showing returns in northern Humboldt and Elko counties. These showers are expected to shift east and south as a cold front progresses southward. Light amounts of an inch or less are expected in the valley locations. Winds out of the northwest are expected through the early morning and afternoon hours today. Winds will be stronger in those locations that are prone to northwest winds like Tonopah, and a wind advisory has been issued for northwestern Nye county. Took a closer look at northeastern Nye and believe magnitudes will be just shy of criteria. Some of the downslope locales could see near advisory gusts, but believe these will be isolated in nature. Otherwise, expecting the shower activity to dive to the south and be over the US 50 corridor late this morning and afternoon with limited accumulations. Highs will be in the upper 30s to mid 40s over the area. For tonight, any lingering showers will end and skies will clear out as upper level ridging builds in from the west. Overnight lows will be in the teens to maybe in the 20s. Winds will be light, though some gusts in the late evening is possible. Sunday and Monday. Upper ridging will bring quiet weather to northern and central Nevada with gradually warming temperatures. Highs will be in the 40s on Sunday, rising in the mid 40s to low 50s on Monday. Overnight lows will be in the teens and 20s. Winds will be light. .LONG TERM...Monday night through Friday. Next week should see a pattern of on-and-off activity as multiple disturbances work their way through our region. The first disturbance clips the northeastern quarter of Nevada on Tuesday as a cold front descends into our region, and brings light snow showers for Tuesday and Wednesday. While multiple forms of guidance have been unsteady with QPF and snowfall totals, it looks like the best chance for snow showers exists in the mountains of Elko and White Pine counties. Snowfall may only be around, or less than, an inch in the higher elevations and mountains. Right behind that is another chunk of energy bringing snow showers to northern and central Nevada on Thursday. This one may have a little more moisture associated with it, with a few tenths of an inch for most of us. The exception is higher elevations in the Owyhee/Jarbidge/Wildhorse area in northern Elko county, where 1 to 4 inches looks possible at this time. The showers stick around through Friday, with some indication of carrying on into the weekend. There is lower confidence as to how much snow falls versus how much snow actually sticks. Afternoon highs in the long term sit mostly in the 30s, with some 40s possible closer to the end of the week. Cold temps overnight may help keep snow on the ground, but highs during the day may inhibit accumulation. && .AVIATION...A cold front will drop SE through the region early this morning, bringing a period of snow showers to all TAF locations except for KTPH. CIGs and/or VIS may lower to IFR within any more moderate shower. Behind the front, northwesterly winds will be gusty in some areas. Strongest winds are expected at KTPH where NW winds of 30G45KT are expected on Saturday starting mid to late morning and continuing through the afternoon. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 8 AM this morning to 7 PM PST this evening for Northwestern Nye County. && 86/84/86
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Three snowmobilers were caught in an avalanche which occurred near the Castle Lake area of Lamoille Canyon. One snowmobiler perished while another sustained injuries during the avalanche.
ASOS station (KTPH) Tonopah Airport, Elevation 5402 feet.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, Ruby Mountains/E Humboldt Range | 2021-02-20 | 19 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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: 938139, 938141.