An active weather pattern settled into the region through this period as the first of two cold fronts sweeps across the region bringing strong gusty west-southwest winds, as well as periods of heavy snowfall across the Sierra snow, and valley rain. A second weaker forced low pressure system swept through the region and brought another round of gusty winds and moderate snowfall to the Sierra…
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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 REV wrote it up.
An active weather pattern settled into the region through this period as the first of two cold fronts sweeps across the region bringing strong gusty west-southwest winds, as well as periods of heavy snowfall across the Sierra snow, and valley rain. A second weaker forced low pressure system swept through the region and brought another round of gusty winds and moderate snowfall to the Sierra above 5000 . The combined effects from both storms brought daytime and evening travel and recreation impacts to the region through this period.
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 Dec 6, 3:01 AM PST, 5 hours 59 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
301 AM PST Wed Dec 6 2023
.SYNOPSIS...
An active weather pattern settles into the region through Thursday.
Plan on strong west-southwest winds today, as well as Sierra snow
and valley rain, with travel and recreation impacts likely. High
pressure builds back into the region on Saturday, with warmer and
drier conditions through the weekend.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
MAIN POINTS & CHANGES: A series of upper-level waves are slated to
bring unsettled weather to the region today through Thursday. The
first wave arrives today as a negatively tilted trough that is
quite dynamic in nature, with recent guidance indicating a
frontogenetic signature that has subsequently bumped up snowfall
totals considerably for the central and northern Sierra crest
Wednesday afternoon and evening. We will see a lull in
precipitation on Thursday morning, but the snowfall doesn't end
there. A second wave arrives Thursday afternoon, with inside
slider characteristics that will yield much lower snow levels. As
such, a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for areas above
6000 ft from US-50 northward into Lassen County. Trans-Sierra
travel will be difficult during this period. See the avalanche
section below for more detailed information on snowfall and snow
characteristics.
WINDS: The first impact to our region from these systems will be
strong west-southwest winds through this afternoon. Observations
from mountain ridgelines across the region show winds were on an
upward trend last night and early this morning, with Slide Mountain
already seeing gusts exceeding 50 mph at the time of writing. Winds
will continue trending upward into this afternoon as a strong upper-
level jet moves overhead. Ridgetop level winds will peak this
afternoon, with gusts exceeding 100 mph. Pressure gradients along
the Sierra front are expected to tighten and subsequently mix these
strong winds down to valley levels by 10-11 AM. Downsloping
signatures, including a stable layer and wind shear indicative of
trapped lee waves, are apparent on high-res model soundings between
the 10 AM-5 PM timeframe. As such, wind gusts will peak in the 35-50
mph range between those hours for the immediate Sierra front. Wind
prone areas along US-395/I-580 may see gusts between 50-60 mph.
Lighter winds will be observed into the Basin & Range, generally 25-
35 mph. Winds gradually taper off through the evening for valley
locations, but will remain elevated for higher elevations into
Thursday. Expect impacts to high profile vehicle travel, backcountry
recreation, ski operations, aviation, and boating conditions.
RAIN/SNOW: Snow totals have trended up considerably for the central
and northern Sierra since the previous forecast. The first system
moving through this afternoon is showing a notable frontogenetic
signature, which will result in a brief heavy band of
precipitation accompanying the frontal passage. In addition,
colder air looks to infiltrate the region much quicker than
previous guidance for this first system, with snow levels during
heaviest snowfall between 6500-7000 ft. Shadowing will be quite
strong with this first band, especially given the downsloping that
is expected along the eastern slopes of the Sierra. As such,
heaviest snowfall will mainly remain confined to areas in the
central and northern Sierra above 6500 ft. The second wave brings
another, less dynamic band of precipitation to the region on
Thursday. Snow levels will be much lower this round, between
5000-5500 ft. As such, steady snowfall will initiate in the Sierra
and portions of NE CA late Thursday morning, continuing into the
afternoon. Whitlam
.LONG TERM...
Much cooler and drier conditions will reside in the wake of these
systems on Friday, as brisk northerly flow prevails. Sierra
communities will see highs in the low to mid 30s, with western
Nevada valleys struggling to break into the 40s. High pressure
quickly fills back into the western US by Saturday, with
temperatures shooting back above average on Sunday. A weak system
appears to flatten the ridge early next week, but our region won't
see much outside of an uptick in breezes and slightly cooler
temperatures.
No major storms appear likely through the remainder of next week,
but long-term guidance has been hinting over the past few days at a
shift in the storm track further south for next week. Much can
change in this period, but some additional storms may be possible in
the long term if this guidance holds steady. Whitlam
&&
.AVIATION...
Two quick-moving storms will sweep through the region starting today
with a warm, windy storm and a second, colder storm on Thursday.
WINDS | Ridge winds are already increasing early this morning with
southwest wind gusts 45 to 55 mph (at 9z). West to southwest winds
will continue to climb upwards as the first of two systems passes
through the region. Ridges will gust 100+kts while surface wind
gusts will be in the 25-40 kts range. Mountain wave turbulence and
LLWS will be the primary impacts due to the strong winds today
through Thursday 6-9z.
RAIN & SNOW | Precipitation begins around 21z in the Sierra, and
while we may see a handful of showers into western NV, there will be
limited spillover through midday Thursday. Snow levels start at 6000-
6500 feet and then rapidly drop to near 5000 feet between 6-9z
Thursday. Valley rain showers may switch to a rain/snow mix this
evening. For the Sierra terminals, we will start out with a
rain/snow mix this afternoon with heavy/wet snow character, then
quickly switch to all snow (higher snow ratios, drier character) by
6z Thursday. KTRK-KTVL have a 35-45% chance of at least 4 inches of
snow through 0z Friday. KMMH and all western NV terminals may see a
handful of rain/snow showers but accumulations are unlikely through
early Thursday.
-Edan
&&
.AVALANCHE...
Our first notable winter storm will impact the central and northern
Sierra today through Thursday. This storm brings strong west-
southwest winds today ahead of a frontal passage this afternoon.
There will be two distinct bands of precipitation with this storm.
The first arrives early this afternoon and continues through early
Thursday morning, with snow levels between 6500-7000 ft. Snow totals
along the crest from this band will range between 6-14 inches. A
second band of precipitation arrives late morning on Thursday, with
snow levels between 5000-5500 ft. Additional snow totals along the
crest will range from 6-10 inches, with storm totals between 1-2
feet along the Sierra crest. Snow will be heavily shadowed due to
downsloping, so storm snow totals significantly drop off in the
Carson Range, with 4-10 inches possible.
* Snow Water Equivalent (SWE): 70% chance for SWE to exceed 1" in 24
hrs on the Sierra crest from US-50 northward.
* Snowfall Rates: 60-70% chance to exceed 1" per hour along the
crest north of US-50 between 4 PM-7 PM today. 40-50% chance to
exceed 1" per hour along the crest north of US-50 between 1 PM-5
PM Thursday.
* Snow-to-Liquid Ratios: This storm will be right-side up. Heavy
snow characteristics for the first band of snow this afternoon,
between 8-10 to 1. Lighter snow characteristics for Thursday's
band, between 14-16 to 1.
* Winds: Strong southwest to west ridgetop winds with gusts
exceeding 100 mph this afternoon, with 50-60 mph winds below
ridgelines. Winds remain elevated Thursday, but gusts will peak
around 60 mph at ridge level.
Whitlam
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Lake Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 1 AM PST
Thursday NVZ002.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this evening
NVZ003.
Lake Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this
evening NVZ004.
CA...Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Thursday CAZ071.
Lake Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 1 AM PST Thursday
CAZ072.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this evening
CAZ073.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind, 1 heavy snow, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The public located at the Mount Rose Ski Base reported 24 hour storm snowfall totals of 13.0 inches.
The public located 1.0 mi NNW of Incline Village, and the public located at the Diamond Peak Ski resort reported 24 hour storm snowfall totals 8.0 inches, and 4.0 inches respectively.
Mesonet station (NV025-Carson City) located 1.0 mi WNW of Stewart, NV, reported a peak wind gust of 57 mph. Mesonet station (NV021-SW Gardnerville), and mesonet station (NV061-Wild Oat Mountain) located 1.0 mi SSE of Holbrook Junction, NV, both reported a peak wind gust of 66 mph.
Mesonet station (SLIDE-DRI) located 0.9 mi E of Mount Rose Summit reported a peak wind gust of 90 mph.
Mesonet station (TORNV-NV DOT) located 9.8 mi NE of Trinity Junction, NV reported a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
Mesonet station (WLKNV-NV DOT) located 6.1 mi NW of Hawthorne, NV reported a peak wind gust of 69 mph.
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: 1152433, 1193363, 1152430, 1152312, 1152431, 1152432.