Heavy Snow and High Wind in Nevada, December 1 to 2, 2022

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Elko NV
144 AM PST Thu Dec 1 2022

.SYNOPSIS...A cold front will bring a band of snow from west to
east through Nevada today and into tonight. Some pockets of
moderate to heavy snow will make for some difficult driving
conditions, with icy and snow covered roads late this afternoon
and into the evening. Winds will also create areas of blowing
snow, further reducing visibility. The next system arrives
Saturday night through Sunday night.

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.SHORT TERM...Today through Friday night

Trof still on track to move through the state today and tonight.
This system's cold front passage will receive some added moisture
from a mild atmospheric river, and therefore a few hours of
high snow rates will allow for some hazardous roads. Latest CAMS
are now indicating that the front will slow a little along a line
from Elko County southwestward through Eureka and Lander Counties.
This area will therefore see elevated snow accumulations in the 3
to 6 inch range which will make for some very difficult driving
conditions and travel should be avoided if possible in this area
from around 4pm through at least 10pm. Winter Weather Advisories
continue and were also added for northern Nye County. While very
southern portions of this zone will see minimal snowfall, northern
sections will be experiencing higher amounts. The Winter Weather
Advisory for the Ruby Mountains has now also been upgraded to a
Winter Storm Warning, with the slower than originally expected
frontal passage providing 8"-15" of snow there. Gusty winds will
create blowing snow, especially in the mountains, further limiting
visibility. A wind advisory remains in effect for White Pine
County for today, where winds will be strongest, gusting to around
40-50 mph. Highs will be in the mid 30's to the upper 40's.

By around 4am on Friday morning, the system is expected to be
completely east of the area and during the day northwest flow
will quickly turn to zonal flow ahead of the weekend system. Cool
highs in the 20's and 30's will accompany clearing skies after a
morning low in the single digits through the mid teens.

.LONG TERM...Saturday through next Wednesday.

Long wave pattern favors cold Pacific trough along the West
Coast, although there is some uncertainty on location and strength
of incoming short waves across Nevada. Confidence reasonably high
that impactful winter weather will occur this weekend, especially
Sunday. What’s questionable is whether the Pacific wave tracks
across northern Nevada or takes a southern route toward Arizona.
Regardless, the current probability of winter impacts is in the
20%-40% range.

Tuesday and Wednesday, after the wave moves downstream, the
combination of fresh snow cover and a reinforced cold air mass
mean unseasonably cold temperatures continue with highs in the 20s
north/30s central. Pockets of subzero temperatures in the
northern valleys is a likely scenario.

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.AVIATION...An approaching low pressure system and cold front
will bring increasing mid and upper-level cloud cover early this
morning with snow expected this morning around 16-18Z at KWMC.
The cold front with attendant snow band will progress
southeastward reaching KBAM around 19-21Z and around 23-01Z at
KEKO. Embedded areas of brief heavy snow bringing VIS down rapidly
is possible resulting in short-duration IFR or even LIFR
conditions. Lighter snow following the initial band will likely
result in more MVFR conditions. South winds will be quite strong
as well across the US-50 corridor including KELY with wind gusts
approaching 35-40 knots Thursday afternoon. Conditions will
improve Friday as the storm system exits the region.

&&

.LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Winter Weather Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 7 AM PST
Friday for Humboldt County.

Winter Weather Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 7 AM PST
Friday for Northern Elko County-Northern Lander County and
Northern Eureka County-Northwestern Nye County-South Central
Elko County-Southern Lander County and Southern Eureka County-
Southwest Elko County.

Winter Storm Warning from 1 PM this afternoon to 7 AM PST Friday
for Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range.

Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 4 AM PST Friday for
White Pine County.

Winter Weather Advisory from 7 PM this evening to 10 AM PST
Friday for Northeastern Nye County-White Pine County.

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