The remnants of the atmospheric river which impacted the Sierra brought heavy snow to the Spring Mountains.
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The episode as NWS VEF wrote it up.
The remnants of the atmospheric river which impacted the Sierra brought heavy snow to the Spring Mountains.
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 Jan 9, 2:25 PM PST, 2 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 225 PM PST Mon Jan 9 2023 .SYNOPSIS...A Pacific System will impact our region through Tuesday with widespread rain along with heavy snow in the mountains, strong winds and possibly even a few thunderstorms before it pulls away Tuesday night. After a midweek break, chances for precipitation return once again Saturday and Sunday. && .SHORT TERM...Through Tuesday night. The Pacific System will continue impacting our region through Tuesday evening with a one-two punch. The atmospheric river preceding a large dynamic low pressure system near 35N/135W was impacting central California and the Sierra this morning through this afternoon and will continue spreading toward the southeast this evening and overnight with precipitation tapering off over southern Nevada after midnight. More than 2 inches of rain had fallen at Bishop, CA as of this writing and rain should persist in the northern Owens Valley until 5-6 pm PST before the northern edge of the moisture plume slides across and allows rain to diminish. This will likely be one of the top 10 highest rainfall days ever recorded for Bishop. Rainfall rates have generally been 0.25-0.33 inches per hour with some localized reports around 0.50 inches per hour. This will lead to flooding concerns for the Owens Valley and Death Valley through late this evening before precipitation largely ends and a Flood Watch remains in effect for those zones until 11 pm PST. Most of the rest of the region will only see light precipitation this evening and overnight except the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada which will see heavy snow generally above 8000 feet through late this evening. A brief break will occur late tonight through early Tuesday morning before the low pressure circulation swings across our region. This circulation will be dynamic and somewhat unstable which will lead to the potential for isolated thunderstorms while a fairly narrow but extensive band of showers develops along its leading edge and traverses our forecast area from late morning through the afternoon hours. This will result in most sites experiencing a 3-4 hour window of precipitation. Snow levels will quickly lower to around 5 kft MSL with the band of showers. Strong south-southwest winds will occur ahead of and with the band of showers before it pulls away across northwest Arizona Tuesday evening with conditions calming quickly by late evening. No changes needed to the going Winter Storm Warnings and Wind Advisories. .LONG TERM...Wednesday through next Monday Once the incoming winter system passes, a few days of quiet weather are in store for Wednesday through Friday as upper level ridging slides into the western United States and surface high pressure builds over the region. At the same time, the ridge will amplify as a trough in the eastern Pacific with a low centered over the Gulf of Alaska deepens and extends south. The presence of this ridge and off coast trough will also divert the flow of the atmospheric river away from the southern and central California coast. Instead it will track to the north towards the Pacific Northwest, leaving the forecast area dry. Winds should stay light as the pressure gradient relaxes and upper level dynamics become weak. Lastly, temperatures will gradually warm by a few degrees through Friday as the ridge amplifies but remain near average for this time of year. A change in the weather pattern arrives over the weekend, bringing cooler temperatures and another opportunity for precipitation. The previously mentioned eastern Pacific trough will begin to move inland as the ridge shifts east. On Saturday, a disturbance moving around the main troughing pattern (still offshore) will move northeast through the region giving a glancing blow to the CWA. A lack of moisture and an unfavorable vapor transport pattern for what moisture is available should confine snowfall to the Sierra. However, the atmospheric river takes a more southerly track as the main trough moves east and deeper low pressure heads towards northern California, improving dynamics and sending moisture into southern California as well as Nevada and Arizona. A general wet pattern may persist into Monday as the trough and southwesterly flow stay in place over the Southwestern US. Will need to continue to monitor the southerly track of the moisture plume. If it tracks too far south, precipitation totals may decrease particularly in the northern half of the CWA. Besides precipitation, temperatures will remain 5 to 10 degrees normal through this time. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Light winds favoring a north to east direction will continue this afternoon until gusty south to southwest winds kick in after about 01Z. Gusts to 20kt will occur at times. CIGS of 7-9kft will lower to ~5kft with rain moving into the area overnight. There will be a lull in the winds and weather with CIGS rising to about 15kft during the early morning hours Tuesday with another round of shower activity with gusty southerly winds and lowering CIGS in the afternoon. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...Mountain obscuration and turbulence from strong winds blowing over the Sierra will continue for the entire Owens Valley through this afternoon with low CIGS as rain continues across the area. At KBIH, low visibility of 2-4SM and CIGS of 3.5-4kft will continue through early evening then taper off a bit through the night. Another round of showers with reduced visibility and CIGS is on tap for the morning hours Tuesday. Elsewhere, some gusty wind can be expected with so lowered CIGS as rain goes through during the afternoon and evening hours. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && SHORT TERM...Adair LONG TERM...Meltzer AVIATION...Berc 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.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The Bristlecone Trail SNOTEL estimated nine inches of new snow.
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: 1078873.