On January 13th, a weaker winter storm system produced periods of moderate snow across the Sierra above 7000 feet with snowfall totals of 10-20 inches near the Sierra crest, and 4-10 inches below 7000 feet for the Carson Range and the Tahoe Basin respectively.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
On January 13th, a weaker winter storm system produced periods of moderate snow across the Sierra above 7000 feet with snowfall totals of 10-20 inches near the Sierra crest, and 4-10 inches below 7000 feet for the Carson Range and the Tahoe Basin respectively.
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 Jan 12, 1:05 PM PST, 19 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
105 PM PST Thu Jan 12 2023
.SYNOPSIS...
Enjoy the break in the weather today, another period of active
weather returns this weekend and into early next week. Expect
additional disruptions to travel and mountain recreation through
the weekend as periods of heavy snow return to the Sierra. The
active pattern is forecast to continue through much of next week
with a period of drier conditions likely for the end of next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
All together now, breathe in, breathe out. This break in the action
is short-lived so we should all take some time to appreciate the
relative quiet and be present in this moment. Well, enough of that,
we are gearing up for yet another active period...starting
tomorrow. Taking a look at satellite imagery over the Pacific
Ocean, we see yet another system lurking over the open waters and
closing in on the West Coast.
Today's general flow pattern will bring southeasterly winds through,
allowing for some warmer air to filter in. Our temperatures will
hover just above average ahead of the next round, bringing snow
levels ranging 7000-8500' for the afternoon. Highs will top out for
today for most of us in the mid-to-upper 40s, then overnight lows
will dip as the storm moves in overhead. Sierra locations will
see 20s, while the western Nevada valleys will hover near
freezing. Well, that portion of the discussion was brief and
pleasant, now onto the weekend series of systems.
Wind gusts pick up tonight with ridges gusting to 65+ mph, a
precursor of things to come. For Friday morning wind gusts get even
more excited, ridges gusting around 85 mph just ahead of the
precipitation moving in. We get right into the action starting early
Friday, when the first in our series of storms brings snow showers
back to the Sierra, and begins to disrupt travel over the range. For
western Nevada valleys, little to no accumulation is expected as the
spillover potential is underwhelming. Anything that falls in the
valleys will be rain or a light mix. The Tahoe Basin could see 2-5"
of new snowfall with higher amounts on the western shores. Sierra
passes could see 8-12" out of this first round. Snow totals for Mono
County will be lighter, with areas west of Hwy 395 getting 3-8".
This will be minor in comparison to what is to come Saturday, but
will be enough to create some travel headaches, especially for
mountain passes. If you plan to travel through the weekend, be sure
to check current road conditions via CalTrans or NDOT.
If the western Nevada valleys were thinking we were leaving them out
of the excitement, they get their turn starting Saturday. Snow
levels begin to fall between 5000-5500' for Saturday, bringing snow
into the foothills. Snow will become heavy for the Sierra during the
day, when we will again be measuring in feet for The Tahoe Basin up
to the passes. Elevations below the snow line will see rain/snow mix
during the day, changing over to snow after dark. This will bring
light totals to the valley floors overnight, with 0.5-1" possible.
Although Sunday will be a relative break in the action, with lighter
snowfall overall, there will still be snow accumulating in the
Sierra. An additional 3-5" is possible for the Tahoe Basin, Sierra
passes could see another 6-8".
I wish I could say we were expecting a break after the weekend, but
that would be a lie. Monday into Tuesday is shaping up to be yet
another potent round of snowfall for the Sierra. A bit of
uncertainty remains with timing and snow totals, but a preliminary
glance suggests at least another foot or so for the Tahoe Basin,
Sierra passes could see another 1-2'.
Looking beyond Tuesday, we see this album just keeps skipping, with
the same old story of more active weather into Wednesday. The first
break appears to be Friday, when ridging starts to take control of
our weather pattern and offer some light at the end of this snowy,
wet tunnel. HRICH
&&
.AVIATION...
Light winds generally out of the south today, with FL100 winds
gusting up to 70 kts tonight. There is a chance for another round of
freezing fog at KTRK tonight, though confidence remains low as winds
start to pick up early Friday morning. A quick hitting winter storm
is set to move in Friday afternoon, bringing Sierra snow and
intermittent valley rain. Sierra terminals could see about 1-3" of
snow, MMH up to an inch, and RNO/CXP/MEV will see very light rain
showers with little to no spillover. Sustained FL100 winds will peak
Friday afternoon around 50-55 kts and gusting to 90 kts, while
Sierra valleys will gust up to 35 kts. There will be moderate
turbulence with this system, as well as LLWS for Sierra terminals
Friday afternoon spreading down to lower valley terminals by Friday
evening. -Justin
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Winter Storm Watch from late Friday night through Tuesday
afternoon NVZ002.
CA...Winter Storm Watch from late Friday night through Tuesday
afternoon CAZ071.
Winter Storm Watch from late Friday night through Tuesday
afternoon CAZ072.
Winter Storm Watch from late Friday night through Tuesday
afternoon CAZ073.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The public located 1.0 mi NNW of Incline Village, NV, the Mount Rose Ski summit, and at the Diamond Peak Ski base reported 24 hour snowfall amounts of 7.5, 7.0, and 6.0 inches respectively.
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, January 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: 1080721.