A moist cold front slowly moved across the state and provided some upslope snow potential to the mountains of Elko, White Pine, and S. Lander and S.
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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 moist cold front slowly moved across the state and provided some upslope snow potential to the mountains of Elko, White Pine, and S. Lander and S. Eureka counties.
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 Mar 19, 6:43 PM PST, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 743 PM PDT Fri Mar 19 2021 .SYNOPSIS...A moist cold front moves across Nevada tonight and Saturday. Rain showers will give way to light snow late tonight and Saturday morning. The next weather system brings a chance of snow to northern Nevada by Monday afternoon. && .UPDATE...Precipitation is currently reaching the ground only in northern Elko county even with radar reflectivities are seen over central and northern portions of the CWA. Forecast grids have been changed to reflect this. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 247 PM / SYNOPSIS...A moist cold front moves across Nevada tonight and Saturday. Rain showers will give way to light snow late tonight and Saturday morning. The next weather system brings a chance of snow to northern Nevada by Monday afternoon. SHORT TERM...Tonight through Monday evening. Ribbon of Pacific moisture streaming into north central Nevada this afternoon. Clouds are slowly expanding across this region with some virga shafts noted on KLRX radar. Expanding cloud cover could inhibit any convective potential, SPC removed thunderstorms from the Day 1 outlook earlier today. A lightning strike or thunderstorm is possible, but low probability for any given spot. Great Basin Convergence Zone could be a player with the incoming Pacific trough. If the “zone” does set up late tonight from northeast NV corner and trailing back to the vicinity of Austin and Eureka, a ribbon of enhanced snowfall is expected. The aforementioned “zone” is frontogenetical forcing as the surface front may momentarily stall out or slow down before upstream trough pushes the surface front eastward. Colder air punches into northeast NV and the middle part of state before daybreak, but Ely may stay in the warm sector through the night. For late winter (or early spring), winter impacts occur at night or early in the day. Given this reasoning, will issue winter weather advisory for northern Elko County, central NV (southern Lander/Eureka counties), and the Ruby mountains. Scattered snow showers continue through Saturday as the trough axis moves over Nevada, except the surface front will have moved into Utah aside for a trailing portion over southern White Pine County. These showers will be ending Saturday evening. Nevada will be in between weather systems on Sunday, but on the cool side of climatology. The next upstream system dives into Nevada from the Pacific Northwest. Dynamical forcing compensates for the lack of moisture with the focus across northern Nevada. Precipitation type mostly snow, but valley accumulations not likely until after sunset. LONG TERM...Monday through next Friday Say goodbye to the quiet weather that greeted the region Sunday, as the next weather system makes its way into Nevada on Monday. Another positively tilted trough will slowly sag south and east across the state during the day and become a 4-corners Low by Tuesday evening. With northwest winds there is growing confidence most of the precip will fall as snow showers with a greater likelihood in northern Elko county. Valleys may see some light snow showers, with the mountains of eastern Nevada picking up the bulk of any accumulating snow. Lingering snow showers may continue through Tuesday, primarily in White Pine county. Tuesday winds may be breezy or gusty behind the exiting front. An area to watch is northwestern Nye county as northerly winds behind the front may aid in downsloping enhanced winds. Wednesday looks to be a dry weather day with the next weather system looking to impact Nevada on Thursday afternoon before departing that same evening. Behind the frontal passage breezy condtions on Friday may develop. A general warming trend is expected throughout the long term, with highs in the mid to upper 40s Monday and Tuesday, although Tuesday may be slightly cooler. Beyond Tuesday highs are expected to be in the lower to mid 50s. Low temps generally in the teens and 20s with the exception being Wednesday night into Thursday where low temps look to be in the 20s to lower 30s. AVIATION...An incoming storm system will bring a chance for showers today with CIGS and VSBY reaching as low as MVFR to IFR from KWMC, KBAM to KEKO. An isolated TS may be possible across the northern sections of the state. Mountain obscuration will occur with the showers and low clouds. Icing is a concern so check the icing forecast from the Aviation Weather Center. Gusty winds will occur at all terminals today. KELY, VFR through tonight until cold front arrives between 10Z- 15Z. Cigs may lower to MVFR with frontal passage and rain changing over to snow. Showers will stay in the KELY vicinity through the day. KTPH will stay VFR through the forecast period. Showers will be in the vicinity after 09Z tonight. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory from 11 PM this evening to 11 AM PDT Saturday for Northern Elko County-Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range-Southern Lander County and Southern Eureka County. && 88/91
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Twelve inches fell at SNOTEL station Ward Mountain (WDMN2), Elevation 9152 feet.
Fourteen inches fell at SNOTEL station Berry Creek (BRCN2), Elevation 9376 feet.
Twenty inches fell at SNOTEL station Big Creek (BCSN2), Elevation 8684 feet.
Twelve inches fell at SNOTEL station Lamoille #3 (LMLN2), Elevation 7700 feet.
Nine inches fell at SNOTEL station Green Mountain (GRMN2), Elevation 8184 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, March 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: 938481, 938485, 938487, 938488, 938496.