A series of upper level troughs pushed through the region over the Christmas Holiday through the weekend as back-to-back storms produced winter weather precipitation as well as strong winds.
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The episode as NWS LKN wrote it up.
A series of upper level troughs pushed through the region over the Christmas Holiday through the weekend as back-to-back storms produced winter weather precipitation as well as strong winds.
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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 24, 2:07 PM PST, 10 hours 56 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 207 PM PST Tue Dec 24 2024 .SYNOPSIS...Active pattern continues with a series of upper troughs that will bring chances of accumulating rain and snow across the area for the Christmas holiday and through the remainder of the week into the weekend. && .SHORT TERM...Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Upper level trough will be pushing through the region this evening and into Christmas morning. Unfortunately, Santa and his Reindeer will need their foul weather gear as they make their deliveries tonight. In coordination call with NPWS, the North Pole Weather Service, we relayed that this system will be bringing a mix of higher elevation snow and valley rain beginning this afternoon across Humboldt county that will be spreading east as the evening progresses. However by the time Santa is making his passage over the Silver state, colder air will be filtering in behind a cold front, that will drop snow levels from about 6500 feet to 5000 feet, which will induce a change over for the valleys to snow. This transition will begin around 9 PM tonight across western NV, and work its way east through 3 AM Christmas morning. This means that this will be a time where conditions will be favorable for heavy icing at sleigh flight level, especially across the northern third of Nevada. Models are still uncertain on the exact timing of the transition from rain to snow for elevations below 6500 feet, as there is a group of ensemble members from each of the model suites that favor a colder and thus earlier change over to snow. We also relayed that there is a Winter Weather Advisory in effect beginning at 4 PM PST through 10 AM PST Christmas morning for White Pine, N Elko, S Lander, S Eureka, and the Ruby mountains, for up to 4” of snowfall with higher amounts possible in the mountains. Models do agree that precipitation with this system will be mostly done by sunrise Christmas morning with a few residue snow showers in the mountains after day break. Storm total will be decent with this system, as Valleys (below 5500 feet) look to receive about 0.10” to 0.25” of rain, and maybe up to 0.5” of snow. Passes and roadway summits (above 5500 feet) could get around 0.15” to 0.40” of water, which includes 1” to 4” of snow. Mountain ranges could see around 4” to 12”+ of snowfall with this system. For those looking for a White Christmas this year which is by definition one inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas day. It looks like that Elko, Battle Mountain, Winnemucca, Jackpot, West Wendover, and Tonopah may miss out, but there are better chances for Ely, Eureka, Austin, Wells, and Mountain City. Clouds will decrease after mid morning Wednesday with fair conditions lasting into Boxing day Thursday. Temperatures will start warm in the lower 40s to low 50s this afternoon, with the onset of precipitation this evening temperatures fall into the low 20s to low 30s. Highs Christmas day will be in the low 30s to low 40s, temperatures will be cooler Thursday morning dropping into the upper teens to upper 20s. Winds over the holiday will be breezy out of the W to SW at 10 MPH to 25 MPH with gusts up to 35 MPH possible. Winds shift overnight with the cold front out of NW a 5 MPH to 15 MPH with gusts up to 25 MPH possible. .LONG TERM...Thursday through next Tuesday. Models keep the activity coming Thursday with another storm system shift east. The wet weather is expected to begin Thursday morning and afternoon with the highest amounts expected in mainly the northern sections of Nevada. High temperatures will range in the low 40s to upper 40s depending on location. Winds will be breezy during the afternoon with speeds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts of 25 to 30 mph, especially over northern Humboldt and Elko counties. Higher elevation sites, especially across northern Elko county, could see one to three inches of snow accumulation by Friday. Here are some probabilities of 24-hour snowfall accumulations of one inch or greater by Friday morning: Elko - 4% Eureka - 35% Jackpot - 40% Jarbidge - 90% Owyhee - 45% Spring Creek - 10% Wells - 50% Wildhorse Res - 75% Overnight lows will be in the 20s to around 30 degrees. Look for yet another area of low pressure to move across the northern Rockies on Friday. Associated with this wave is a fairly strong jet of about 150+ knots. Moisture and clouds are expected to increase Friday morning with light snow showers in west-central Nevada. However, temperatures are expected to warm slightly and a mix of rain and snow showers will develop by later morning and afternoon. Winds will again be breezy with gusts of 25 mph or so. Rain and snow showers will continue into the evening hours on Friday. At this time, snow amounts are expected mainly along the high terrain and across portions of northern Elko county, where a trace to two inches are possible. Overnight lows for Saturday morning will be in the 20s and 30s. Saturday through Tuesday, two waves will be pushing across the northern Rockies with precipitation chances remaining highest north of the US Highway 50 corridor. However, snow levels are expected to be high (at or above 7000 feet) during this time as heights rise Saturday and Sunday. Highs during this period will be in the 40s and 50s with lows in the 20s and 30s. By Sunday night, the second wave pushes east with a cold front pushing across the forecast area. Overnight lows will be in the 20s Sunday night with any precipitation changing over to snow showers. By Monday morning, look for the last system to push east with isolated showers remaining. It will be rather chilly with highs in the 30s to 40s both days though Tuesday will be the coldest. Lows Monday night will be in the teens and 20s. && .AVIATION...An incoming storm system will bring lowering clouds and will spread light precipitation west to east during the afternoon and evening hours. CIGS/VSBY will degrade to MVFR/IFR conditions by late afternoon and the evening hours with precipitation. Snow levels will range from 6000 to 6500 feet this evening, lowering to the valley floors by 12Z Wednesday. Winds will continue to gust to 20-30 knots this evening over the KTPH terminal, with winds diminishing around 25/10Z. -SHSN is expected to taper off after 25/12-15Z at all locations with improving VFR conditions afterward. && .LKN Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM PST Wednesday Northern Elko...Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range in Elko...Southern Lander and Southern Eureka...White Pine. && 98/89/89
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Station (RBVN2) Ruby Valley, Elevation 6891 ft.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
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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: 1222479.