Attention then turned to a significant winter storm that brought widespread snow impacts across the Sierra and western Nevada Sunday into early next week.
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.
Attention then turned to a significant winter storm that brought widespread snow impacts across the Sierra and western Nevada Sunday into early next week.
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 7, 6:21 AM PST, 39 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Reno NV
621 AM PST Wed Feb 7 2024
.UPDATE...
Quick update to raise a winter weather advisory for the eastern
Sierra and western NV counties of Mono-Mineral-southern Lyon for
tonight. An initial look at new model data this morning continues
to support a light to moderate band of snowfall in these areas
beginning this evening and continuing into the overnight hours.
There is still some uncertainty in the exact location of heaviest
snowfall, but confidence is increasing that there will be a band
capable of creating slick and hazardous driving conditions that
would persist into the Thursday AM commute. A few of the overnight
scenarios have been as far north as Highway 50 to include the
Carson Valley, so additional adjustments are possible.
Hohmann
&&
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /issued 237 AM PST Wed Feb 7 2024/
SYNOPSIS...
The pattern will remain active this week as low pressure remains
across the region. Storms will be on the weaker side, but even
light snow may bring some travel issues at times, especially at
night. A warmer and drier pattern will return for the weekend into
next week.
DISCUSSION...
We're finally giving the radar a little break, with dry conditions
prevailing areawide early this morning as showers exited the region
overnight. Light winds and recent snowfall has allowed areas of
patchy freezing fog to develop across a few valley locations,
including the Carson and Martis Valleys. Expect fog to dissipate
by mid-morning as winds increase ahead of our next system.
Conditions through the remainder of the work week will be dictated
by a few shortwaves dropping down the western edge of a large scale
trough that is currently sliding eastward across the western US.
Given their origin from the Gulf of Alaska, these systems will
transport a much colder airmass to the region, with well-below
average temperatures expected to continue through the end of the
week.
The first shortwave is expected to drop down the west coast early
this morning, before pinching off into a closed low off the coast of
northern California. This will bring steady showers to the Sierra
late morning into the afternoon, with some spillover into NE CA, the
Tahoe Basin, and far western NV at times. Snow levels during the day
today will be around 4000-4500 ft. The precipitation forecast
overnight into Thursday morning is a bit trickier, as a
deformation band will likely develop overnight as this low moves
inland, but the placement of this band still varies between
models. Looking at high-res guidance this morning, the 3km NAM
wants to place this band over the Eastern Sierra, extending into
southern Lyon and Mineral counties. On the flip side, the HRRR
wants to place this band farther east, roughly extending from
Reno-Sparks to northern Nye county in central NV. Regardless of
where this band sets up, the timing being overnight would lead to
slick conditions on roadways extending into the Thursday morning
commute hours. Best guess at snowfall totals through Thursday
morning is between 4-10 inches along the Sierra crest, with trace
to 2 inches generally west of US-395. The exception includes Mono,
southern Lyon, and Mineral counties where upslope showers on the
eastern side of the low may produce upwards of 3-6 inches.
Another, weaker shortwave trough drops down the California coast
Thursday. High-resolution guidance suggests this system won't
produce much outside of some light snow showers in the Sierra and
portions of the Sierra Front, with accumulations generally less than
an inch.
A final shortwave will drop into the Great Basin on Friday,
but recent guidance has trended the storm track farther east with
better snowfall chances into northeast Nevada. Instead, we just get
the wind, with brisk north winds expected to develop Friday
afternoon and evening.
Dry conditions with a gradual warming trend takes hold over the
region by the weekend as upper-level ridging develops over the
western US. Light winds and snow still on the ground will lead to
strengthening valley inversions, potentially creating haze in our
urban valleys and perhaps some foggy mornings for Sierra valleys.
Whitlam
AVIATION...
* A break in systems has yielded dry conditions with light winds
areawide early this morning. Some patchy FZFG has developed at
KTRK-KMEV overnight, and may bring periods of decreased CIGS/VIS
through mid-morning.
* Southwesterly surface winds increase late this morning through mid-
afternoon ahead of our next weather system, with gusts to 15-20
kts areawide. Light snow showers are expected to impact Sierra
terminals after 18z, yielding periods of lowered CIGS/VIS for KTRK-
KTVL through the evening. Snow may spill over into western NV and
eastern Sierra terminals after 00z, with lowered CIGS/VIS and
terrain obscuration possible.
Whitlam
AVALANCHE...
* A weak system passing through today will produce 4-10 inches of
snow along the Sierra crest, with light spillover east of the
crest. Snow character will be light, with SLRs between 12:1 and
14:1, as high as 16:1 above 10000 feet. SWE will remain
generally less than 0.5". This system will also bring breezy
southwesterly ridge-level winds, with a brief period of
sustained winds over 30 mph this afternoon and evening.
* Conditions will remain cold with periods of light snow showers in
the Sierra through the end of the work week. As such, this will be
the last avalanche discussion until conditions warrant.
Whitlam
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Winter Weather Advisory from 7 PM this evening to 9 AM PST
Thursday NVZ001.
CA...Winter Weather Advisory from 7 PM this evening to 9 AM PST
Thursday CAZ073.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A CO-OP observer (HTHN2) located 0.6 mi S of Hawthorne, NV reported a storm total snowfall of 6.0 inches.
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: 1166557.