More strong gusty winds develop over the Sierra and western NV as another very cold low pressure system drops into the region. Accompanying snow showers pushed south into the region with light accumulations and travel issues affecting higher passes in the Sierra.
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.
More strong gusty winds develop over the Sierra and western NV as another very cold low pressure system drops into the region. Accompanying snow showers pushed south into the region with light accumulations and travel issues affecting higher passes in the Sierra.
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 May 7, 1:58 PM PST, 10 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
258 PM PDT Sat May 7 2022
...GUSTY WINDS, SNOW SHOWERS, AND COLDER TEMPERATURES FOR MOTHER'S
DAY...
.SYNOPSIS...
Strong and gusty winds will continue through the weekend as a very
cold low pressure system drops into the area. Strongest winds will
be south of Interstate 80 Sunday afternoon/evening. Snow showers
will push south into the region on Sunday with additional chances
into early next week. Snow accumulations and travel issues are
possible in the Sierra. Temperatures will be unseasonable cold with
freezes most areas Monday through Wednesday mornings.
&&
.SHORT-TERM (Through Sunday Night)...
* TODAY: An interesting start to May that we've had, and we're not
done! Winds across Mono county, and especially area lakes, are
likely to remain gusty today. Frequent gusts of 40-55 mph along
the US-395 corridor (higher gust in the mountains) will keep
travel headaches in place for high profile vehicles, along with
hazardous boating conditions. Lake Tahoe and Pyramid will also
continue a Lake Wind Advisory today as marine conditions will
remain poor. With the exception of the winds, temperatures are
great out there with highs in the mid 60s, and 50s for the higher
elevations...
* SUNDAY: Unfortunately, the weather is looking less than pleasant
for Mother's Day. The wind threat, primarily along and south of
the I-80 corridor, has increased considerably over the last 24
hours. Downslope signature along the Sierra Front, coupled with a
strong post-frontal gradient in addition to the favorable
orientation of a strong upper-level jet, are contributors to this
particular wind event. Consequently, the High Wind Watch for Mono
county has been upgraded to a Warning, and we have added the
remainder of Nevada (excluding northern Washoe County) into a Wind
Advisory. Wind gusts could reasonably reach 80+ mph in some wind
prone areas along US-395 in Mono County. Elsewhere in the
advisories, 40-50 mph wind gusts with isolated gusts to 60 mph in
wind prone areas will be likely. Additionally, with the strong
west gradient winds over western Nevada, blowing dust should be
easily lofted downwind of dry lake beds and sinks.
* What about winds in the Tahoe Basin? We'll have that, but there
is also a winter weather component with this system. Snow
showers will move into the Central Sierra mountains starting
tomorrow afternoon. The anonymously cold airmass for May will
keep high temperatures in the 20s in the mountains (upper 30s to
low 40s for Sierra valleys). While forecast road temperatures
will initially be above freezing, limiting accumulation, the
convective nature of the snow showers may burst snowfall rates
of 1-2 inches per hour at times, likely offsetting any melting.
After sunset, roadway surfaces are forecast to fall below
freezing (a bit earlier for the passes including Donner
Summit)so accumulations won't be difficult to come by. Given the
increase in holiday traffic, along with the wind threat and
slick roadways, a Winter Weather Advisory has been hoisted for
the Tahoe Basin. Total snowfall amounts through Sunday night
looks to be 5-10 inches along the crest, 2-5 inches on the
California side of Tahoe, and 1 to 3 inches on the Nevada side
of the Lake. Wind gusts of 40-50 mph (100+ mph on the ridgetops)
will result in lowered visibility at times and poor boating
conditions.
* Could some snow showers creep into the Reno/Carson/Minden areas
tomorrow afternoon? Yep! Chance of precipitation is about a
40-50% for these areas, and snow levels will be to valley
floors.. But, it likely will not stick to any surfaces outside
of the Sierra... Finally, it'll be cold by Monday morning. Teens
in the mountains and mid to upper 20s elsewhere. Be sure to re-
winterize irrigation pipes and take care of cold sensitive
plants prior to the cold snap.
-Dustin
.LONG TERM...Monday through Friday...
In the first half of this upcoming week there will be a couple
rounds of precipitation, followed by a couple days of pleasant
weather the second half. A positively tilted trough axis pivoting
over Oregon/Idaho will cause widespread ascent across the area,
bringing some snow showers to start the work week. As the tough
lifts and slides east, it will make for a calm end to the week
Thursday and Friday.
* PRECIPITATION: Snow showers Monday morning will linger until
Tuesday morning over NE CA, northern Washoe, and between I-80 and
US-50. Accumulations are expected to be less than 2 inches.
Another chance of snow will be Tuesday afternoon with
accumulations less than 2 inches for the Sierra ridges extending
from I-80 through Mono county. Showers will stay around in Mono
county until Wednesday morning as the system works its way east.
Also worth mentioning, there is currently a 20% chance of thunder
Monday and Tuesday, mainly west of the Sierra crest and NE CA. On
Wednesday a 10% chance of thunder exists from Lassen county
through Mono county. After the light showers Wednesday, the skies
will clear and temperatures will slowly increase throughout the
week.
* TEMPERATURES: At an overview, Monday will be the coldest day of
the week and then peak over next weekend. Monday's high's will
be near 50F for western NV valleys and 30-35F for Sierra passes.
Monday night the low could get down to 25-30F for NV valleys and
15-25F along the Sierra passes. Be mindful of cold-sensitive
vegetation by preparing them for freezing temperatures Monday
and Tuesday nights. By Friday, the temperatures in the NV
valley floors will have gone up to the mid 70's and 55-60F along
the Sierra ridges.
* WIND: This week will feature breezy afternoon winds, but nothing
like the past few systems. Thursday looks to be the windiest day,
having westerly 15-20 mph winds gusting to 25-30 mph for NV
valleys. Gusts along the Sierra ridges on Thursday will range from
35-40 mph. Otherwise, the rest of the week will have a blanket 10-
15 mph winds with gusts up to 25 mph.
-Justin
&&
.AVIATION...
Poor aviation conditions are anticipated to continue through the
weekend with LLWS and moderate/severe turbulence a high probability
across all terminals. Sunday afternoon through the evening hours
will feature the strongest winds, with gusts in excess of 60 knots
possible at MMH.
Snow showers will sneak into the Tahoe Basin by tomorrow afternoon
as well, with runway accumulations up to several inches likely at
TRK/TVL by 06Z Monday. Elsewhere, snow showers will be possible
around RNO/CXP/MEV but will likely result in icing and mountain
obscurations rather than any accumulating snowfall.
-Dustin
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Wind Advisory from 11 AM to 8 PM PDT Sunday NVZ001-004.
Lake Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Pyramid Lake
in NVZ004.
Lake Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Lake Tahoe
in NVZ002.
Winter Weather Advisory from 11 AM to 11 PM PDT Sunday NVZ002.
Wind Advisory from 11 AM to 8 PM PDT Sunday NVZ003.
CA...High Wind Warning from 7 AM to 11 PM PDT Sunday CAZ073.
Wind Advisory until 7 PM PDT this evening CAZ073.
Lake Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Lake Tahoe
in CAZ072.
Winter Weather Advisory from 11 AM to 11 PM PDT Sunday CAZ072.
&&
For more information from the National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/renoThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station (SLIDE) located 0.9 mi ESE of Mount Rose Summit (DRI) in Washoe County reported a 24 hour peak wind gust of 74 mph.
Mesonet station (AHON2) located on Anaho Island in Pyramid Lake in Pershing County reported a 24 hour peak wind gust of 57 mph.
Mesonet station (TORNV) located along I-80 at Toulon, NV in Pershing County reported a 24 hour peak wind gust of 60 mph.
A trained spotter located 1.0 mi NNW of Incline Village, NV at an elevation of 7600 feet reported a 24 hour storm total snow of 4.0 inches.
A trained spotter located 1.0 mi NNW of Incline Village, NV at an elevation of 7600 feet reported a 24 hour storm total snow of 4.0 inches.
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, May 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: 1025991, 1025992, 1025994, 1025996, 1025997.