A series of upper level lows produced a multi-day snow event leading to impressive snow totals, mainly in mountainous terrain of northern Nevada. Most of the snowfall started in November and has been added to the previous months data.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 LKN wrote it up.
A series of upper level lows produced a multi-day snow event leading to impressive snow totals, mainly in mountainous terrain of northern Nevada. Most of the snowfall started in November and has been added to the previous months data. However those with start times of 12/1 or later are included here.
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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 1:33 PM PST, 10 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 133 PM PST Thu Nov 30 2023 .SYNOPSIS...A series of upper level systems start their transit across northern Nevada, this series of shortwaves will last through Monday. Upper level ridge looks to follow the upper system and build in across the SW for mid week giving the Great Basin region a break in the active weather. && .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Saturday morning The first in a series of shortwaves is making its way across northern Nevada, with a second stronger shortwave on its heels that will move through Friday into Saturday. However the bulk of the precipitation with these systems will remain north of the US-50 corridor meaning most of central NV may see only light accumulations. The first shortwave will be entering Humboldt county this evening spreading over N Lander, N Eureka, and Elko counties Friday morning. Ahead of the is first short wave a few light snow showers have developed across portions of Elko, Lander and Eureka counties, while the bulk of this activity won’t reach the ground, a few flurries have been reported in Elko and Spring Creek. Amounts with this first shortwave will be light with most locations seeing up to an inch of new snow, the exception will be the northern mountains of northern Elko and far eastern Humboldt counties where about 2” to 5” will fall. After a brief break Friday afternoon, the second shortwave will make its way across the area with additional snow showers through Saturday afternoon. This system will be stronger than the first, and will have more humid environment to work with since the first system will have spent most of its moisture budget eroding the drier air at the surface. Amounts with this system will be about 1” to 3” in the valleys, passes and summits across northern NV will see 3” to 6” of snowfall, and mountains like the Rubies and Independence/Jarbidge ranges will see over 12” by Saturday evening. Overall, headlines are in good shape with Winter Weather advisories and Winter Warnings in effect, will continue to watch trends to see if any alteration may be needed. Temperatures: Highs will range in the upper 20s to upper 30s across the I-80 corridor through Saturday, meanwhile central NV will see highs in the upper 30s to upper 40s. Winds will be breezy at times Friday and Saturday out of the W to NW as the cold fronts progresses across the state with speeds of 5 to 15 MPH with a few gusts across central NV up to 25 MPH. .LONG TERM...Saturday afternoon through next Thursday Overall, the long term starts off active, but turns dry beginning Monday night/Tuesday morning. Unsettled conditions continue over the weekend with precipitation continuing in northern portions of the state, mainly north of I 80. Snow levels on Saturday stay low enough to keep precipitation type mostly snow, but lower valleys in Humboldt County see a mix of rain and snow. Most of the snow showers bring in up to an inch in lower elevations, 1 to 3 inches in Elko County valleys, and 4 to 9 inches in the higher elevations around Jarbidge and the Ruby Mountains. Isolated points in the highest elevations of Elko County are forecast for 10 to 12 inches of snow, but this will be well-above populations. Sunday morning is cold enough for a few tenths of an inch of snow in northern and eastern Nevada, but snow levels rise into the 6000' to 7000' range as temps approach the 40s below that elevation. Rain will help to melt any accumulated snowfall still on the ground. Monday sees the bulk of the activity taper off as ensemble guidance has fairly decent agreement with regards to ridging moving in to the region, and lasting until the midweek. However, confidence is lowered when it comes to the amplitude of the ridge. This lowers confidence with respect to the details of the forecast, but this pattern results in temperatures trending warmer and weather conditions remaining dry. Troughing off of the PNW coast, if model trends bring it to the coastline fast, could encourage showers to return closer to the end of the week. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions with light to breezy winds are expected through Thursday evening across all TAF sites. Cloud cover will continue to increase along with lowering CIGs from west to east as a weather disturbance moves into the region. VC snow showers with a potential for VIS reductions are possible after for KWMC, KBAM and KEKO. Ceilings will continue to fall along the I-80 corridor with expanding -SHSN, from west to east, Thursday night into Friday morning with conditions dropping to MVFR and even IFR levels during the overnight for northern Nevada terminals. Central Nevada terminals will see ceilings lower to about 8000ft for KTPH and KELY but precipitation will be limited to VCSH. && .LKN Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Winter Weather Advisory until 4 PM PST Saturday ABOVE 6000 FEET in Humboldt County. Winter Storm Warning from 10 PM this evening to 10 AM PST Sunday Northern Elko County...Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range. Winter Weather Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 4 PM PST Saturday ABOVE 6500 FEET in Southern Lander County and Southern Eureka County...White Pine County. Winter Weather Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 4 PM PST Saturday ABOVE 6000 FEET in Northern Lander County and Northern Eureka County. Winter Weather Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 4 PM PST Saturday South Central Elko County...Southwest Elko County. && 98/84/98
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Fifteen inches fell at site (HIMN2) Hole-In-Mountain Snotel, Elevation 8161 feet.
Six inches fell at site (BIGN2) Big Bend Snotel, Elevation 6897 feet.
Station (HDSNV) US-93 hd-summit, Elevation 6276 feet.
Station (SPGN2) Spring Gulch Raws, Elevation 5470 feet.
Station (UP990) Moor, Elevation 6121 feet.
Station (TR421) H-T Portable #3 Raws, Elevation 6750 feet.
Station (RBYNV) SR-229 Ruby Valley nv-dot, Elevation 6214 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, December 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: 1144886, 1144884, 1148567, 1148569, 1148570, 1148575, 1148577.