A fourth round of lighter mountain rain/snow showers and gusty west-southwest winds accompanied this Pacific borne spring storm as it continued the unsettled pattern into the second half of April. Strong west-southwest winds over the region brought the greatest impacts to the region as gusts exceeded 60 mph over some areas of western Nevada and affected highway driving conditions, area…
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 fourth round of lighter mountain rain/snow showers and gusty west-southwest winds accompanied this Pacific borne spring storm as it continued the unsettled pattern into the second half of April. Strong west-southwest winds over the region brought the greatest impacts to the region as gusts exceeded 60 mph over some areas of western Nevada and affected highway driving conditions, area recreation, and local aviation.
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 Apr 17, 2:18 AM PST, 4 hours 42 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Reno NV 318 AM PDT Sun Apr 17 2022 .SYNOPSIS... Much more tranquil conditions are on tap for this Easter Sunday with mild temperatures, lots of sun, and more typical late day breezes. The weather pattern remains active with two more rounds of wind, rain, and snow this week, one Monday into Tuesday and the other late Wednesday through Friday. && .SHORT TERM... Mild temperatures and more typical late day winds are in store today as a flat shortwave ridge passes. Some high clouds will move across northeast CA and northern NV through midday, otherwise sunny skies today and clear overnight tonight. Winds will begin to increase over the ridges tonight and across all elevations Monday as the next trough results in increasing winds aloft followed by tightening surface gradients. For Monday afternoon/early evening, southwest winds will gust to 30-45 mph with ridge wind gusts approaching 100 mph as 700MB flow increases to 40-50 kts and combines with good low level mixing. As the front and precipitation approach Monday night, winds will increase further along the Hwy 395/I-580 corridor as well as the Tahoe Basin where widespread wind gusts 40+ mph can be expected. Latest probabilities suggest a greater than 70% probability of winds reaching or exceeding 60 mph for the more windprone areas. This will bring another period of rough lakes, turbulence and strong cross winds for transportation interests. As far as precipitation, rain/snow will begin to move into the northern Sierra late Monday evening before spreading south toward the Tahoe Basin overnight into Tuesday morning. Projected QPF with this fast moving system has not changed much from the previous forecast with 0.50-1.00" along the Sierra crest from Ebbetts Pass northward to western Lassen County, 0.25-0.50 in the Tahoe Basin and generally less than 0.10" elsewhere including the Mono County crest. Much of western NV will remain shadowed with some light amounts along the front as it passes Tuesday morning. Snowfall will be limited to light accumulations at lake level with 6-12" possible along the northern Sierra crest mainly above 6500 feet. This would impact travel over the Tahoe area passes Tuesday morning. Breezy west to northwest winds and cooler for Tuesday as the system exits. Hohmann .LONG-TERM...Wednesday thru Sunday... The long-term period starts off with a very brief break in the precipitation as we reload between storms... A trough currently (Sunday) is moving through the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and will dig southward over the next few days. There is great agreement in the synoptic pattern and mass fields of this feature through mid day Wednesday - so let's start there. After a touch on the chilly side, temperatures on Wednesday will warm up to near or a little below seasonable norms with highs in the low to mid 60s over western NV and upper 40s to low 50s in the Sierra. Out ahead of this next system, winds will be breezy/gusty as 700mb flow increases back to 40-45kt resulting in ridgetop winds gusting to 90-100 mph. On the leeward side of the Sierra, blended model guidance also suggests breezy/gusty winds, but overall it looks less windy than the Mon/Tue system, and below advisory criteria at this point. Some upslope induced snow showers will be possible in the Sierra before noon Wed., but limited QPF is expected by that point in time. Moving along to the real kicker of this system will be a pair of surface lows that begin to pivot around each other (known as the Fujiwhara Effect in case you're bored and need some light reading material) off the coast of Washington / B.C. Think of this as one large low pressure system slinging several small-scale low pressure minimums, along with its associated energy, into the Pacific Coast. The timing and placement of these, or essentially when the large low "releases" the smaller lows, will play a large role in our sensible weather across NE CA and W NV. Factoring this variability into the equation which can't really be well resolved until 24hrs before or so, blended model guidance indicates 3 day precipitation totals ending Saturday morning of 0.75 to 2.25 inches (drier to wetter scenarios, respectively) along the Sierra Crest with much more variability of a couple hundredths to 0.30 inches in Reno/Carson Valley due to spillover odds. During the same time period, 3 day snowfall amounts will range from 1.5 feet to 2.5 feet along the crest (drier vs wetter), 6-10in to 1.5ft in Tahoe Basin, and a few tenths of an inch up to a 3 inches in the valleys of far western Nevada. This system will be colder, with snow levels below pass levels the entire time; more variability will be in place for those around the 5,000ft levels... Long story short, plan on periods of moderate to major travel delays in the mountains (and perhaps lower elevations) between late Wednesday through Friday. Stay tuned over the coming days as we can better fine tune the small but important differences in the features that was just discussed. It sure does look promising for re-building some of our depleted snow pack though! Oh, and the weekend looks great by the way, so outdoor plans should be good to go Saturday/Sunday. -Dustin && .AVIATION... Winds were gradually backing off over the ridges and should continue to show a little more decrease through the morning. VFR conditions will prevail today with a more typical late day breeze for area terminals, gusts around 20-25 kts. The next system will approach late tonight and Monday and move through the Sierra and western NV Monday night/Tuesday morning. Winds will increase over the ridges beginning tonight with a period of LLWS developing overnight due to lighter surface flow. As mixing and gradients increase Monday, winds will increase across lower elevations with widespread wind gusts 30-40 kts. Winds increase further Monday night as the front approaches with a period of wind gusts 40-55 kts from the Tahoe Basin and Reno area southward through the eastern Sierra of Mono County. Moderate to occasionally severe turbulence, rotors and LLWS will bring impacts to aviation interests. A band of rain/snow will result in a short period of terrain obscurement and a reduction in ceilings/vsbys around the Tahoe Basin Tuesday morning. The end of the week still looks quite windy as the storm track remains overhead. A rather potent and colder late season storm Wed-Fri will bring the potential for more widespread winter weather disruptions to area terminals. Hohmann && .REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NV...None. CA...None. && For more information from the National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/reno
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service RENO NV 427 AM PDT Sun Apr 17 2022 CAZ070>073-NVZ001>005-180000- Surprise Valley California-Lassen-Eastern Plumas- Eastern Sierra Counties-Greater Lake Tahoe Area-Mono County- Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties-Greater Reno-Carson City- Minden Area-Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake- Northern Washoe County- Including the cities of Cedarville, Eagleville, Fort Bidwell, Portola, Susanville, Westwood, Sierraville, Loyalton, South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City, Truckee, Markleeville, Bridgeport, Coleville, Lee Vining, Mammoth Lakes, Hawthorne, Yerington, Smith Valley, Mina, Schurz, Stateline, Glenbrook, Incline Village, Sparks, Verdi, Gardnerville, Virginia City, Fernley, Fallon, Lovelock, Silver Springs, Nixon, Imlay, Empire, and Gerlach 427 AM PDT Sun Apr 17 2022 ...Quiet Easter Sunday Before Another Active Work Week... MONDAY AND TUESDAY... *WIND: After a pleasant day today, more active weather is on the way beginning Monday when southwest winds will gust to 30-45 mph with Sierra ridges approaching 100 mph at times. Along the Highway 395 corridor and Tahoe Basin, we will see widespread gusts of 40+ mph. There will be a chance for wind prone areas to exceed 60 mph. Patchy blowing dust will also be possible downwind of sinks and dry lake beds Monday afternoon/evening. *SNOW: A light snowfall accumulation is possible above 6,000-6,500 feet Monday night through Tuesday. Amounts will generally be less than 2 inches at lake level in the Tahoe Basin while closer to the crest, 6 to 12 inches is possible. Western Nevada will mostly be shadowed for this event, although a dusting of snow is possible above 6,000 feet. Travel across Tahoe area passes will likely be slick and hazardous Tuesday morning. WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... *A prolonged period of disturbed weather is likely during the second half of the week. While it does not look as windy as the first system, it will be colder and wetter. Three day liquid precipitation totals may exceed 2 inches across the Sierra. Snow levels should remain below pass levels through the duration of the event. Snowfall totals may exceed 2 feet in higher elevations, with 8 to 14 inches at Lake Tahoe level. Several inches will be possible in the foothills of western Nevada, but more uncertainty exists in these areas. Expect moderate to major travel disruptions across the Sierra. http://weather.gov/reno
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind, 2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The public located at the Kirkwood and Palisades Ski resorts reported a storm total snowfall of 7 inches.
Mesonet station (TADC1) Tahoe Donner located 4.0 mi WNW of Truckee, CA reported a peak wind gust of 74 mph.
Mesonet station (HVRTM) Blue Streak weather station located 1.0 mi NNW of Heavenly Ski Summit reported a peak wind gust of 84 mph.
Mesonet station (DDSUM) located at Conway Summit reported a peak wind gust of 88 mph.
Law enforcement reported a camper shell was partially blown off a Toyota Tundra truck due to high winds on US-395 near Bridgeport, CA.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2022
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: 1020526, 1020236, 1020242, 1020247, 1020203.