S. brought high southwesterly winds to southern Nevada.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 VEF wrote it up.
A strong, cold low pressure system diving from Canada into the western U.S. brought high southwesterly winds to southern Nevada.
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 Feb 21, 12:58 PM PST, 6 hours 32 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 1258 PM PST Tue Feb 21 2023 .SYNOPSIS...Winds will increase this afternoon and peak tonight as a powerful cold front rushes through the region. In addition to the high winds, snow will impact mainly Lincoln and Mohave counties plus the Clark County mountains tonight and Wednesday morning. Winds will subside Wednesday night, but quickly return to southerly on Thursday as the next storm approaches. This storm will bring heavy snow to many major travel corridors Friday through Sunday, including Interstate 15 over Mountain Pass and Highway 395 through the Owens Valley. && .SHORT TERM...through Wednesday night. Midday satellite loop showed the long-advertised storm system diving south into northwest Nevada. Surface winds were responding, with spotty gusts over 40 mph occurring from the eastern Sierra slopes down to Joshua Tree. The strong winds will continue to fill in and increase as the afternoon wears on, and the worst winds are still expected tonight. Gusts over 60 mph will be widespread from Barstow and Yucca Valley through Las Vegas, with gusts over 80 mph possible where mountain waves come into play, such as on the west side of the Las Vegas Valley. No changes to the ongoing High Wind Warnings or social media messaging. As the cold front blasts through, snow levels will crash overnight. The best chances for significant snow will be in the higher terrain of Lincoln and Mohave counties, as well as in the Spring Mountains. Snow will likely also be seen at lower elevations, including Las Vegas, with no accumulations expected. The ongoing winter headlines look good, and partners in the Spring Mountains have been notified. This wave of precip chances will be over by about midday Wednesday, and winds will also be settling down by then, except perhaps in western San Bernardino County. High temperatures Wednesday will be 15 to 25 degrees colder areawide than today. KLAS did reach 70 degrees today for the first time in 2023, but will struggle to get above 50 tomorrow. .LONG TERM...Thursday through Tuesday. The active weather pattern will continue through the longer term period as a broad and anomalous trough carved out across the West begins to consolidate while it closes off somewhere over central California. How far west this closed system develops and its overwater residency time will ultimately dictate precipitation chances associated with it, but overall the outlook continues to favor a more moisture rich storm system moving through the area during the Friday-Saturday timeframe. Meanwhile, the cold airmass that will overspread the region midweek will only slowly moderate ahead of the return flow of moisture, which could allow for some low elevation snow accumulations depending on timing and some finer scale mesoscale details. Best chances for this would be above 4000 feet which could impact some mountain passes and travel corridors, while light snow accumulations down to 3000 feet could be a possibility as well. For now, details remain in flux but keep an eye on the forecasts as details become more clear. Thereafter, an active storm track will remain aimed at the West Coast with additional periods of unsettled weather likely. This jives well with the 8-14 day official CPC outlook which calls for elevated probabilities of colder and wetter than normal conditions. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Strong winds will be the primary concern for the next 24 hours or so as a potent system moves through. Southwest winds will ramp up through the afternoon, peaking in the evening and overnight hours as downsloping maximizes in the Las Vegas Valley. Wind gusts of 45-55 knots are expected, with values possibly up to 60+ knots. Some of the hi-res guidance depicts a well-defined rotor this evening, positioned NW-SE of the valley. The placement/existence of this feature will influence which parts of the valley see the strongest winds. Should the rotor set up over or west of the airfield, lighter surface winds but strong vertical wind shear can be expected. A rotor axis just to the east would likely bring the strongest southwest winds to the airport. Strong winds around the region are expected to kick up dust, which will lead to reduced visibility in the valley. Wind speeds should begin to decrease after midnight, but remain gusty at around 30-40 knots from a west-northwest direction. Around this time, the cold front moves through, bringing CIGs around 8kft and some low precipitation chances. This should last until sunrise when skies begin to clear out. Gusty west winds continue tomorrow. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...Strong southwest winds across the region today, generally peaking during the evening and overnight hours. The exception to this timing will be our Colorado River Valley sites, with should peak Wednesday morning. Overall, expecting widespread gusts of 40-50 knots, blowing dust, and turbulent conditions. The most turbulent conditions are likely in the Owens and Las Vegas Valleys, where mountain rotor development will be possible. KBIH, KEED, and KIFP may be sheltered somewhat from the strongest southwest winds given their placement in N-S orientated valleys, but winds will be gusty at a minimum. It remains to be seen if KBIH will experience any downslope winds, with latest hi-res guidance given mixed signals. If downslope winds do not reach KBIH, weaker but still gusty north-northwest winds are expected. TAF sites should remain dry tonight, though the cold front will produce some showers in the vicinity of KBIH and the Las Vegas Valley. Any precipitation that does reach these TAF sites will be light. CIGs will drop to 6- 8kft during this time. Wind speeds begin to decrease tomorrow morning (late morning for the Colorado River Valley), but will remain gusty through the afternoon. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters should expect high winds this afternoon through tonight/Wednesday morning. Please report any wind damage or low visibility in blowing dust or sand. The greatest areas of concern will be Inyo, Esmeralda, Nye, Clark, San Bernardino, and Mohave counties. && SHORT TERM...Morgan LONG TERM...Outler AVIATION...Woods For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
604 PM PST TUE FEB 21 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0536 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 24 SSE HAIWEE 35.81N 117.87W
02/21/2023 INYO CA LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEMI TRUCK ROLLED OVER ON US 395 NORTHBOUND
SOUTH OF PEARSONVILLE DUE TO HIGH WINDS IN
THE AREA.
&&
VARIANThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The peak gust occurred 3 miles NE of Mount Charleston.
A billboard, a large tree, and nine power poles were blown down.
These gusts occurred 2 miles N of Amargosa Valley.
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, February 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: 1084138, 1084139, 1084140.