A third but warmer Pacific spring storm brought lower elevation rain showers, mountain snow, and strong winds to the region the evening of April 15 through April 16. Higher snow levels starting around 7000 feet that lowered to near 6000 feet later on April 16 and brought travel impacts over Sierra passes.
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 REV wrote it up.
A third but warmer Pacific spring storm brought lower elevation rain showers, mountain snow, and strong winds to the region the evening of April 15 through April 16. Higher snow levels starting around 7000 feet that lowered to near 6000 feet later on April 16 and brought travel impacts over Sierra passes. April 16 saw fairly strong winds return to region with the potential for gusts exceeding 50 mph and areas of patchy blowing dust over parts of the northern Washoe County as well as the Basin and Range north of US-50.
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 16, 1:23 AM PST, 9 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
223 AM PDT Sat Apr 16 2022
.SYNOPSIS...
Another round of gusty winds today with snow impacting travel
across the Sierra. More tranquil conditions are on tap for Easter
Sunday. The weather pattern remains active with additional rounds
of wind, rain, and snow next week.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
Current overnight radar trends and webcams show precipitation
impacting the Sierra. At this point, very little is spilling over
the crest with rain at Truckee and Lake Tahoe level. However, just
a little higher in elevation (near Donner Summit), we have
heavy/wet snow with deteriorating road conditions. This will be
the story for locations between 5500-6500 feet which may
experience alternating periods of rain and snow... Either way, it
may be a good idea to make alternate travel plans as conditions
will only get worse through the morning hours, particularly for
passes. Blended CAM guidance suggests the heaviest snowfall rates
on I-80 and Highway 89 in the Tahoe Basin will occur between 7am-
10am, shifting southward to Alpine/Mono counties between 9am-12pm.
While snow rates are then expected to diminish, residual snow
showers may prolong travel headaches into the afternoon. Best to
check CalTrans and CHP updates before venturing into the Sierra or
higher elevation of NE California today...
Current advisories look good to go. Little to no change on the
current snowfall projections with 6-12 inches west of Highway 89
in the Tahoe Basin, including pass level on I-80 (closer to the
high end amount on Donner of course), and 2-4 inches around Lake
Level. The boom/bust will be in the vicinity of the 6,000 foot
elevation range. Fortunately rain OR snow is good for drought
conditions, so we'll take it! Now for the Eastern Sierra Crest,
above 9,000 feet, may see up to 14 inches... However, if isolated
high snowfall rates occur as some hi-res models suggest, the
totals may end up over-performing.
As advertised, winds will also be a concern with today's system.
The strongest wind speeds will be west of Fernley/Yerington with
sustained winds 25-35 mph and gusts up to 55 mph. Wind prone areas
along I-580/395 may see gusts up to 65 mph. Farther south, into
Mono county, there remains a 40-50% chance of maximum wind gusts
to exceed 74 mph in wind prone areas of US-395 such as Topaz Lake
and near Lee Vining. High profile vehicle restrictions on North-
South roadways are very likely. Farther east, sustained wind
speeds of 20-30 mph will allow for areas of blowing dust which may
reduce visibility on roads such as US-95, 50, and I-80 towards
Lovelock. It goes without saying that ridge top winds will crank
(up to 100 mph), and this could affect high terrain recreation.
Winds will taper down by late afternoon, along with their
associated impacts.
This storm will quickly depart later today, although a few
residual rain/snow showers will be possible in the Sierra and
northern Washoe County, perhaps as late as midnight. For
Easter Sunday, if you are wondering about the weather for that
egg hunt or outdoor BBQ, it looks to be a good forecast! After a
chilly morning, high temperatures will be right around normal for
this time of year with generally light winds expected. Mostly
clear skies with just some cirrus overhead (but no precipitation,
yay!) We will return to normal low temperatures by Monday morning.
-Dustin
.LONG TERM...Monday and beyond...
Long range deterministic runs and ensembles continue to point to
an active week ahead as the storm track remains across CA/NV. Two
discreet features of concern remain on tap to bring more wind,
mountain snow and valley showers. The first storm Mon-Tue is the
warmer and fastest mover of the storms next week while the second
storm Wed-Fri continues to show signs of being colder, longer
lived, and wetter.
Winds will increase Monday ahead of the first storm with 600-700
MB flow increasing to 50 kts by afternoon and surface gradients
tightening. This will bring another period of rough lakes, strong
winds in the Sierra backcountry and turbulence/strong cross winds
to transportation interests. Wind gusts could easily reach 40-50
mph along the eastern Sierra into western NV with ridge wind gusts
approaching 100 mph. A narrow moisture tap will best coincide with
the front as it moves into northern CA Monday afternoon/evening
before getting pinched off overnight Monday into Tuesday morning
due to the progressive nature of this trough. Once again, the best
rain and high elevation snow potential will be from Tahoe
northward with heavy shadowing down into Mono County and across
much of western NV where some brief spillover may bring some light
precipitation with the frontal passage. For the Tahoe Basin into
western Lassen County, QPF near the 75 percentile was maintained
with 0.20-0.35" in the Tahoe Basin/northeast CA and 0.50-1.00"
along the crest from Ebbetts Pass northward. Only light snow
accumulations for the Basin while 6-12" will be possible above
7000' on the west side of the Tahoe Basin. Snow will likely impact
trans-Sierra passes during the Tuesday morning commute.
Otherwise, breezy northwest winds will follow the front Tuesday
afternoon.
The second storm is looking more robust as it has a lot more cold
air and a more prolonged moisture tap as it digs farther south
than the Mon-Tue storm. Cluster analysis generally raises
confidence in the overall picture but does still show some timing
differences, probably related to unresolved smaller scale
features that will become better defined as we get closer in time.
Bottom line - be prepared for several days of wind, rain and snow
with the potential for more widespread impacts. This storm has the
potential to bring a more significant round of snow to the Sierra
and Tahoe Basin compared to recent storms.
Hohmann
&&
.AVIATION...
Next storm moving in this morning with increasing rain and snow
for the Sierra into northeast CA. Snow levels will fluctuate
around 6000-6500 feet with a mix of rain and snow at KTRK/KTVL and
limited snow accumulation for the runways. Biggest impact will be
MT/TRRN obscurement in heavier showers with visibility/ceilings
averaging MVFR. Much of the eastern Sierra/western NV from Hwy 395
eastward will be heavily shadowed although brief periods of MVFR
conditions could impact KMMH as showers spill over the crest.
Winds will remain stout today with persistent sustained south-
southwest winds 20-30 kts with gusts exceeding 40 kts for area
terminals. Winds off the surface will be more southwest-westerly
with gusts across Sierra ridges 70+ kts at times. Expect periods
of rotors and LLWS with moderate turbulence a good bet.
Winds and precipitation will back off tonight into Easter Sunday
before picking back up Monday as the next fast moving storm
approaches. Next week looks quite windy as the storm track remains
overhead with rather potent late season storm possible Wed-Fri.
Hohmann
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Winter Weather Advisory until 2 PM PDT this afternoon NVZ002.
Wind Advisory from 5 AM early this morning to 5 PM PDT this
afternoon NVZ003.
Lake Wind Advisory from 5 AM early this morning to 8 PM PDT this
evening for Pyramid Lake in NVZ004.
CA...Winter Weather Advisory until 2 PM PDT this afternoon above 6000
feet in CAZ071.
High Wind Warning from 5 AM early this morning to 5 PM PDT this
afternoon CAZ073.
Winter Weather Advisory until 2 PM PDT this afternoon CAZ072.
&&
For more information from the National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/renoThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
NV DOT-mesonet station (WLKNV) located 6.1 mi NW of Hawthorne, NV reported at peak wind gust of 87.
Mesonet stations located 2.0 mi NW of Reno, 2.0 SSW of New Washoe City and 1.0 mi NNW of Lakeview in Washoe County, NV reported maximum wind gusts of 63 mph, 65 mph, and 72 mph respectively.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, 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: 1020195, 1020196.