A dry and mild weather pattern gave way to a more active weather pattern starting late night on February 14, which brought periods of gusty winds, mountain snow, and valley rain showers. This latest storm system brought impacts to travel over Sierra passes to include mountain communities Wednesday night through Thursday.
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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 REV wrote it up.
A dry and mild weather pattern gave way to a more active weather pattern starting late night on February 14, which brought periods of gusty winds, mountain snow, and valley rain showers. This latest storm system brought impacts to travel over Sierra passes to include mountain communities Wednesday night through Thursday.
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 Feb 14, 1:16 AM PST, 13 hours 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
116 AM PST Wed Feb 14 2024
.SYNOPSIS...
We shift into active weather mode today as our first storm arrives
today with impacts to Sierra travel and possibly the western NV
morning commute tomorrow. Periods of gusty winds, mountain snow, and
valley rain will impact the Sierra and western Nevada through early
next week. A couple of breaks on Friday and Sunday may allow for
easier travel over the holiday weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Changes:
- Today's Storm: Wind potential for western Nevada areas trended
up this morning. Blended guidance (DESI) hits on a 20% chance
for 60 +mph wind gusts along Highway 395 and Interstate 580
(e.g. Galena and Washoe Valley). Snow totals trended up again,
especially for areas north of Alpine County.
- Sunday/Monday Storm: ECMWF EFI CAPE signals across wrn NV
hinting at anomalous unstable conditions and efficient spillover
for us.
Main message remains the same: folks in northeastern CA, the Sierra
and mountain communities need to plan on travel impacts due to
snowfall with some periods of 1-2"/hr snow rates between 8pm and
midnight for I-80 and Hwy 50 and 11p-3a for northern Mono County.
For details on snow totals, check out the Winter Weather
Advisory. With the incoming precipitation (mainly rain for lowest
valleys and mountain snow), there will be slick road conditions by
Thursday morning. Wouldn't be surprised to see up to an inch of
snow for North Valleys areas by Thursday morning and maybe up to
2" for the Virginia City area (30% chance). So far blended
guidance hangs on to low snow potential (10% chance of a trace)
for snow down in Reno, but even 'just wet' roads will be an issue
for the morning commute. Yesterday's AM commute had slow downs and
the roads were dry!
Winds will be stronger than yesterday with more noticeable breezes
for much of northeastern CA and western NV. Winds have already
picked up along the Sierra ridges ahead of the storm with gusts 40
to 50 mph this morning. Wind gusts in the Sierra will top out around
65 to 85 mph, 35 to 55 mph for the Sierra valleys and NE CA, and
gusts up to 45 mph for western NV. Wind prone areas stand a good
chance (20-30%) of wind gusts nearing 65 mph this afternoon and
evening.
Most of the precipitation potential wraps up by Thursday afternoon
and kicks off a bit of a break before the weekend weather action.
Enjoy the mild, dry day on Friday and capitalize on the travel ahead
of the holiday weekend. Check road conditions before you go, while
the weather is scheduled to cooperate the roads may still
be slick/icy.
The second storm arrives on Saturday and is staying consistent with
being the more 'low key' of the storms. There will still be another
round of travel impacts for the Sierra, but the daytime arrival and
slightly higher snow levels should provide a bit of an assist with
limiting accumulations on the roadways at least initially. Snow
amounts are are holding at around 1-4" for Sierra valleys, 4-8" near
the crest, and around a 20% chance for 12+ inches near the crest.
Gusty winds are expected over the Sierra with gusts around 30-50
mph.
We're still looking at a narrow break on Sunday where travel may be
more ideal for the Sierra passes ahead of the strongest storm in
this series. This one looks like it has some staying power,
including a strong IVT tap and trough. While there are some slight
timing differences, the trough and moisture tap remain directed at
the Sierra from Sunday night through Wednesday. This is the one to
watch, for Sierra snow amounts (40-50% chance of 18" inches, esp.
for Mono County), and for rain and some foothill snow potential
in western Nevada.
-Edan
&&
.AVIATION...
RAIN/SNOW: The first storm in a series of storms arrives today with
periods of rain and Sierra snow through Thursday afternoon. Snowfall
rates of 1-2"/hr will produce occasional MVFR/IFR conditions for
Sierra terminals, especially at KTRK/KTVL from 4z-8z tonight. Snow
accumulations will be around 2-6" for the Sierra terminals through
Thursday morning. For western Nevada terminals, isolated light rain
showers will lower CIGS/VIS to MVFR thresholds. Timing for best
spillover will be between 5z-10z Thursday with a less than 10%
chance of a trace of snow for KRNO-KCXP-KMEV.
WINDS: SW surface winds are on the increase this morning with ridge
winds approaching 55-65 kts by this afternoon. Valley terminal
surface winds will be gusty with 25-35 kts possible ahead of the
cold front. FL100 winds 45-55 kts will promote enhanced LLWS and
mountain wave turbulence concerns along and east of the Sierra crest
from around 6z-9z Thursday. The wind concerns will linger until
winds taper off a bit by 12z Thursday.
Better flight conditions will prevail by 20z Thursday into Friday
before additional storms arrive over the weekend. The next in the
storm series arrives Saturday with another stronger, wetter storm by
Sunday night.
-Edan
&&
.AVALANCHE...
A series of storms arrive starting tonight with impacts for the
Sierra through early next week.
#1 Storm | This Afternoon into Thursday morning: Snow levels down to
5500-6000 ft with SLR 8-12:1 for Tahoe and 10-14:1 for Mono. SWE 0.5-
1.5" for Tahoe Basin, and 0.25-1" for Mono. Snow accumulations of 6-
14" above 5500 ft, and 10-24" above 7000 ft for the Tahoe Basin. For
Mono Co, accumulations up to 6",with 6-12" near the crest. SW winds
across Sierra ridgelines will be sustained 45-60 mph, with gusts 65-
90 mph.
#2 Storm | Saturday to Sunday morning: Snow levels 6000 to 7000 ft
with SLR 8-14:1 Tahoe and 10-14:1 Mono. SWE accumulations will be
lower, 0.3-1" Tahoe and 0.25-0.75" Mono. Snow accumulations 6-10"
for the Tahoe Basin and 4-8" for Mono.
#3 Storm | Sunday evening through Wednesday: a strong AR paired with
a dynamic, lingering trough will perpetuate the wet pattern through
Wednesday of next week. Snow levels down to 5.5-7 kft, plus a 40-70%
probability of snow greater than 12" for the Tahoe Basin, and 50-80%
for Mono Co in a 48 hr period.
-Crespo/Lindaman
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Winter Weather Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 AM PST
Thursday NVZ002.
CA...Winter Weather Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 AM PST
Thursday CAZ071-072.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 10 AM PST
Thursday CAZ073.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station (SLIDE-DRI) located 0.9 mi E of Mount Rose Summit reported a peak wind gust of 78 mph.
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, February 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: 1166641.