A Pacific trough swinging through the region brought high winds to portions of the southern Great Basin and northern Mojave Desert.
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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 VEF wrote it up.
A Pacific trough swinging through the region brought high winds to portions of the southern Great Basin and northern Mojave Desert.
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 Dec 14, 7:45 AM PST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 745 AM PST Sat Dec 14 2024 .SYNOPSIS...A fast moving storm system will bring another round of heavy snow to the high Sierra with gusty winds spreading across the Owens Valley and higher terrain of southern Nevada today. A strong ridge will then build into the western states with dry conditions and a slight warming trend through next week. && .UPDATE...Satellite imagery this morning depicts a compact low moving ashore near the Bay Area in northern California with upslope precipitation ongoing along the Sierra Crest. SNOTEL data along the crest suggests snowfall totals of 2-4 inches thus far around the 9500 foot level, with minimal spillover into the Owens Valley. As the low moves inland this morning, heavier precipitation will spread down the Sierra with better chances for heavier mountain snow near Aspendell and rain showers into the Owens Valley. The Winter Weather Advisory still looks in good shape for the Eastern Sierra Slopes. The other concern today will be wind, which thus far has been limited to the higher peaks. However, core of 50-70 knot southwesterly winds at 700mb will drop south today and intercept the Sierra and Spring Mountains later this morning through the evening hours. Downslope winds remain a concern, especially along and west of US-395 in the Owens Valley and near lower Lee/Kyle Canyons and Red Rock Canyon in the Spring Mountains. The wind advisories also look to be in good shape with no updates necessary. -Outler- && .SHORT TERM...through Sunday. A vigorous circulation could be seen on satellite loops off the central California Coast with a substantial moisture plume spreading across California and Nevada. Although it may appear somewhat promising, precipitation in our forecast area will largely be intercepted by the Southern Sierra again and only 20-40 percent chances of barely measurable snow are indicated by the NBM across the mountains of the Southern Great Basin and Southern Nevada this afternoon. Snowfall totals for the east slopes of the Southern Sierra still favor generally 4-6 inches between 7000 and 9000 feet and up to 12 inches near the crest. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 10 PM PST this evening. The more extensive impact from this system will be strong southwest or west winds over terrain above 6000 feet across Inyo County and much of Southern Nevada. High resolution models continue to indicate the potential for strong downslope winds along east or northeast facing slopes of the Sierra and Spring Mountains where gusts of 40 to 55 mph will be possible. Gusts over 60 mph can be expected over the ridgetops. Wind Advisories remain in effect for these zones from 9 AM PST until 9 PM PST this evening. Winds will gradually diminish late this evening and overnight as the axis of the upper level trough quickly pulls away toward the Rockies and allows a ridge to quickly build over our region bringing light winds to most areas and a clear sky by Sunday. The exception will be north breezes 15-25 mph in the lower Colorado River Valley from Laughlin-Bullhead City southward. Temperatures will increase a few degrees today as winds stir up the boundary layer with highs in the 60s across the deserts zones followed by little variation Sunday. .LONG TERM...Monday through next Saturday. Low amplitude ridge will build in early in the week while incoming Pacific energy is deflected into the PacNW. An inside slider will drop around the ridge on Tuesday, but the models continue to flip- flop on the overall depth of this trough. Both the 12z GFS and EC showed this trough weakening and remaining more progressive, but the latest 00z GFS has reverted back to a deeper trough which eventually cuts off over southwest Arizona. The main impacts would be in the form of wind, but if the latest runs hold, then we could see some gusty north winds Tuesday and Wednesday, especially down the Colorado River Valley. We will need to wait for the latest EC to see if models remain in agreement, but confidence at this point is low. Beyond Wednesday, it does look like a strong ridge will build over the western US keeping us dry. While temperatures will be above normal, light winds and long nights will promote the development of valley inversions keeping temperatures in check despite the very anomalous heights forecast over the region. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Light winds follow typical daily patterns through mid-afternoon. Chance of seeing 10+ knots during this time is less than 10%. By late afternoon (22z-00z), breezy southwest winds are expected to develop, with gusts around 20-25 knots. Probabilities of gusts over 25 knots are ~30%. Southwest breezes remain elevated through the evening before weakening between 06z-09z. In terms of sky conditions, clouds will be on the increase throughout the morning hours. CIGs are likely to remain at or above 10 kft, but there is a 30% chance of them falling below 10 kft between 15z-18z. Sky conditions quickly improve in the late morning, with 70+ percent chances of CIGs remaining above 20 kft through the rest of the day. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...For sites along and south of the I-15 corridor, light and diurnal winds continue through the early afternoon before breezy southwest winds kick in by mid or late afternoon. Strongest winds in these areas will be at KDAG and the Las Vegas Valley where gusts of 20-25 knots are possible. Clouds will be on the increase this morning, but sky conditions quickly improve in the early afternoon. CIGs largely remain above 10 kft, but there are 10-30% chances of them falling below 10 kft in the mid/late morning. For our northwestern areas, namely the Owens Valley, gusty south winds develop this morning with downslope westerlies trying to develop in the afternoon. Confidence in westerly winds reaching KBIH is not high (maybe 30-40% chances), but if they don't, expect northerly or possibly even easterly breezes if a strong rotor develops. By 03z, there is high confidence (80%) that winds will be northerly at KBIH. Beyond the winds, there will also be light precipitation and lower CIGs to content with. Precipitation chances will come in 2 waves, with the first being between 10z-15z this morning (30% odds) and a second chance between 18z-22z (50-60% odds). Rain will be light and likely won't reduce visibility, but it will bring CIGs down. Their lowest values will come during the afternoon where there is a 50% chance of CIGs below 6500 ft and a 25% chance of CIGs below 3000 ft. Sky conditions should improve quickly around 00z. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && SHORT TERM...Adair LONG TERM...Gorelow AVIATION...Woods 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.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
These winds occurred 3 miles NE of Mount Charleston.
These gusts occurred 40 miles E of Beatty.
These gusts occurred at Mercury-Desert Rock (KDRA).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, December 2024
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: 1222391, 1222392, 1222393.