A mix of runoff from the storm two days earlier, melting snow, and reservoir releases caused flooding in the Owens Valley.
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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 VEF wrote it up.
A mix of runoff from the storm two days earlier, melting snow, and reservoir releases caused flooding in the Owens Valley.
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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 8:57 AM PST, 3 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 957 AM PDT Fri Mar 17 2023 .SYNOPSIS...Gusty north winds up to 30 mph possible in the lower Colorado River Valley today and Saturday. Region staying cool with highs about 8 to 12 degrees below normal. The next storm next week will bring chances for additional rain and heavy mountain snow Tuesday and Wednesday. && .UPDATE...Clear skies, light winds, and below-average temperatures expected across the forecast area today, with the exception of the lower Colorado River Valley, where northerly wind gusts to 30 mph are possible this afternoon. Continuing to monitor several washes and rivers in the Desert Southwest due to increased flow from snow melt and recent rains. Flood Warnings persist for the Meadow Valley Wash in Lincoln County, with hydrographs forecasting a persistent Action-to-Minor flood stage through the weekend. No changes made to the forecast this morning, as it looks to be in good shape. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...116 AM PDT Fri Mar 17 2023/ .SHORT TERM...Through Saturday night. Have seen a few light showers develop over far northern Mohave County over the past 2-3 hours. Also, satellite shows more concentrated areas of clouds across southwest Inyo and San Bernardino counties currently. All this is associated with a weak trough moving over the area. HREF output indicates those light showers over far northern Mohave County will probably continue through 10am MST before dissipating. Trough will slide east tonight and be replaced by weak ridging Saturday. Otherwise, gusty north winds up to 30 mph will mostly be confined to the lower CRV today and Saturday. Region staying cool with highs running about 8-12 degrees below normal. .LONG TERM....Sunday through Thursday. The brief reprieve from wet weather comes to an end on Sunday as the active pattern resumes. A weak shortwaves moves through Sunday night, bringing light precipitation chances to the high terrain. However, this shortwave is just the appetizer for the main trough Monday night through Wednesday. Both GFS and Euro ensembles depict a plume of anomalous moisture (3+ sigma) making landfall in northern Baja California and far southern California. While the core of the atmospheric river is forecast to pass to our south, moisture and synoptic forcing will be sufficient to bring widespread precipitation chances to our area. PoPs peak Tuesday afternoon, with the latest NBM giving the entire CWA a 50+% probability of precipitation. QPF amounts will be highest in the high terrain such as the Sierra, White, and Spring Mountains, along with the eastern halves of Lincoln and Mohave counties. Rainfall totals in the lower deserts will be less, ranging from a couple hundreths to a couple tenths. Snow levels are expected to be lower with this system, starting around 6-7kft, and dropping to 3500-4500 by Wednesday afternoon. This places light snow in some of our northern valleys, including parts of Lincoln, Nye, Esmeralda, and Inyo. These forecast snow levels also result in impactful snow amounts in the Sierra, White, and Spring Mountains, as well as the higher terrain of Lincoln County. Latest NBM guidance shows quite a bit of spread in snow accumulations at Aspendell, with the 25th percentile at 5 inches and the 75th percentile at 28 inches. The large spread is largely attributable to model QPF discrepancies, as Aspendell lies on the northern fringe of the moisture plume. Farther east at Pioche, the 25th and 75th percentiles of NBM snow accumulation are 2" and 7", respectively. Not only will this system bring widespread rain, but a reinforcing shot of below-normal temperatures and gusty southwest winds. Temperatures on Wednesday are forecast to be 10-20 degrees cooler than their seasonal norms. We may not even reach 60 here in Las Vegas, with the NBM giving a 65% chance of falling short. For reference, our normal LOW temperature for March 22nd is 52. Combined with the gusty winds, it won't feel like mid-March out there. Winds are expected to be strongest on Tuesday, with minor wind impacts possible. Guidance is already picking up on the likelihood of minor wind impacts, with ensemble mean peak gusts of 35+ mph at Barstow and Las Vegas. The one potential caveat to the forecast winds will be the coverage and intensity of precipitation, as heavier precipitation tends to limit wind speeds. This system finally exits the area Wednesday night, leaving cool and calmer conditions in its wake. && .HYDROLOGY...Minor flooding from higher than normal stream flows are forecast to continue within the Meadow Valley Wash through the weekend. Next week's storm system will likely bring an increase in those stream flows. This will only act to exacerbate the ongoing flooding in the county. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Winds will remain light, 10 knots or less, and will follow typical diurnal directional trends. FEW low clouds will clear out of the area by mid-morning, with FEW to SCT high clouds moving in during the afternoon. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...With the exception of the two Colorado River Valley TAF sites, winds at the remaining TAF sites will remain light (10 knots or less) and will follow typical diurnal directional trends with periods of light and variable winds as they transition. KEED and KIFP will favor a more northerly direction through the afternoon and into the evening. Sustained winds at KEED will increase to 10-15 knots around 18Z and will continue into the evening. 20-25 knot northerly wind gusts will pick up at KIFP around 17Z and will also persist into the evening hours. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && UPDATE...Varian SHORT TERM/HYDRO...Pierce LONG TERM...Woods AVIATION...Stessman For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Chalk Bluffs, Casa Diablo, and Pleasant Valley Campground were closed due to widespread flood damage and high flows through the gorge resulting from a mix of rain two days earlier, melting snow, and reservoir releases in anticipation of further snowmelt.
Highway 136 was closed at the Owens River due to flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2023
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: 1089499, 1089500.