Heavy snow and gusty winds greeted the state as the first of a series of systems bombarded the state.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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 LKN wrote it up.
Heavy snow and gusty winds greeted the state as the first of a series of systems bombarded the state.
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 Jan 9, 2:50 AM PST, 8 hours 51 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 250 AM PST Tue Jan 9 2024 .SYNOPSIS...A very active pattern leads to strong, gusty winds today with some snow showers pushing in from the North. Tomorrow is shaping up to be the worst day with widespread and continued atypically strong winds and more snowfall, leading to concerns about occasional power outages and very difficult and hazardous travel conditions. Beyond Wednesday, colder air settles in along with breezy winds and some snow showers continuing. && .SHORT TERM...Today through early Thursday morning Observations this morning show cloud cover increasing as the next round of active weather approaches the forecast weather. Westerly to northwesterly winds become much stronger during the day with current forecasts reflecting widespread sustained winds of up to 25 mph and gusts approaching 40 to 45 mph at times. These winds will be strong enough to blow around any loose objects outdoors, such as any holiday decorations outside, as well as making driving high profile vehicles on north-south oriented roads, such as US 93, difficult. On top of the wind are snow showers that move in from the North this morning, spreading southward through the day. Wet and slick roads combined with blowing snow reducing visibility at times is a recipe for hazardous driving conditions. Anyone on the road today should use caution when traveling. Lingering, light snow showers continue overnight, and winds trend lighter. However, overnight lows in the low teens and single digits combined with the wind will lead to wind chills that feel bitterly cold. Wednesday is the most impactful day of the short term period. A strong cold front dropping in from the north, once again pushing southward over the course of the day, brings strong winds again and more efficient snowfall. Widespread snowfall totals in valleys range from 2 to 5 inches, and higher elevations anywhere from 6 to almost 10 inches. Highest peaks in the Ruby Mountains are looking at just over a foot of snow on Wednesday alone. Travel across much of the forecast area will be hazardous and downright dangerous at times. Showers mostly taper off overnight, except for some lingering showers in northeastern Nevada. .LONG TERM...Thursday through Tuesday Thursday and Friday: High probability (70%-80%) of scattered convective snow showers will continue Thursday and Friday, even as the cold front pushes south of our area. Daytime heating will combine with instability aloft that will follow the front in the NW flow aloft. Banding of these showers will be possible to likely given the continuity of flow in the atmosphere, with the best chances occurring across Humboldt and Elko counties leading localized accumulations of up to 2” possible with the stronger bands which will weaken after sunset Friday evening. Attention turns to the next trough that will affect the Silver state for the weekend, which the leading moisture from, will start moving into Humboldt county Saturday morning. Models have come into better agreement with respect to timing, as current trends are slowing down this system, but differences still remain as to strength and timing of the trough. Both the ECMWF and GFS show a strong trough with a closed low moving onshore Saturday evening. The ECMWF shows the low over Oregon moving SE across western Nevada as it weakens into a open trough. The GFS has shifted to the north, moving the low over Washington into Montana while similarly to the EC, opening up the low into a trough which will then be absorbed into a stronger low digging southeast over the Northern Plains. Another key difference that remains is strength, the GFS is much quicker weakening the trough, and with the new northern track, the GFS is favoring slightly less intense precipitation over a shorter time frame. The GFS solutions if they come to fruition, would end precipitation late Sunday morning for N NV while C NV could see lingering showers end about noon Sunday. The EC keeps the trough stronger, deeper, and independent longer than the GFS, and with the track taking the trough over the Great Basin, sensible impacts last until Sunday evening for northern NV and Monday morning for central NV. Forecast snow accumulations will be similar to the last system with with the valleys seeing another 1” to 4”, and the mountains seeing an additional 4” to 10” possible. After Sunday it looks like the pattern may change back to being quieter as a high amplitude upper level ridge will build in over the west coast, for Monday and Tuesday of next week. Models show the ridge axis remaining off shore over the Pacific which would keep NV under northwesterly flow aloft which will keep temperatures on the cool side. Temperatures and Winds: Temperatures will start below average, but will vary from slightly above to below normal given the active weather for the period. Highs will start in the upper teens to low 30s Thursday, warm into the low 30s to mid 40s Saturday, dropping back into the upper 20s to low 40s Tuesday of next week. Lows will start in the low single digits to mid teens Thursday morning, then rise into the mid teens to upper 20s Saturday, before dropping back into the mid single digits to upper teens Tuesday morning. Winds will be elevated throughout the week, as periods of SW winds followed by the passage of cold front Saturday evening, by NW winds. SW winds of 15 to 25 MPH with gusts up to 35 MPH followed by NW winds of 25 to 35 MPH with gusts up to 45 MPH. Winds will be strongest behind the cold front Saturday, and may trigger blowing and drifting of snow back across area roads as well as drops in visibility to near white out conditions. Please use caution if you need to travel during the weekend. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions are expected through this afternoon. Ceilings will continue to lower with -SHSN beginning at northern terminals KWMC, KBAM, and KEKO between 21Z and 23Z. -SHSN is expected to reach KELY between 03Z to 05Z Wednesday. KTPH remains dry. Periods of MVFR and possibly IFR can be expected at KWMC, KBAM, KEKO, and KELY before showers exit late tonight. Winds will be breezy to windy at the northern TAF sites KWMC-KBAM-KEKO W-NW15-25G35KT, with winds diminishing after 03Z. && .AVIATION... && .LKN Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this evening Humboldt County...Northern Lander County and Northern Eureka County...South Central Elko County...Southeastern Elko County... Southern Lander County and Southern Eureka County...Southwest Elko County. Winter Weather Advisory from 4 AM to 4 PM PST Wednesday Humboldt County...Northern Lander County and Northern Eureka County... South Central Elko County...Southwest Elko County. Winter Weather Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 4 PM PST Wednesday Northern Elko County. Winter Storm Warning from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST Wednesday Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range. Winter Weather Advisory from 10 AM to 10 PM PST Wednesday Southern Lander County and Southern Eureka County...White Pine County. && 84/98/86
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 high wind, 5 heavy snow, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Station (POCN2) Pole Creek Raws, Elevation 8502 feet.
Station (DBLN2) Double H Raws, Elevation 6380 feet.
Station (UR002) Ruby UPR, Elevation 5686 feet.
Station (UP990) Moor UPR, Elevation 6121 feet.
Station (MORN2) Morey Creek Raws, Elevation 5500 feet.
Station (PEQNV) I-80 Pequop Summit, Elevation 6954 feet.
Station (WSPNV) US-93 Warm Springs, Elevation 5795 feet.
Fourteen inches fell at site (LCUN2) Lamoille Upper Snotel, Elevation 8993 feet. This occurred between 2200 on 1/09 and 2100 on 1/10.
Sixteen inches fell at site (HIMN2) Hole-In-Mountain Snotel, Elevation 8161 feet. This occurred between 0700 on 1/10 and 1600 on 1/10.
Fourteen inches fell at site (LMLN2) Lamoille #3 Snotel, Elevation 8050 feet. This occurred between 1100 on 1/10 and 1600 on 1/10.
Nine inches fell at site (GLCN2) Golconda Snotel, Elevation 6615 feet. This occurred between 0900 on 1/10 and 1400 on 1/10.
Seven inches fell at site (MTLN2) Summit Lake Snotel, Elevation 7613 feet. This occurred between 0600 on 1/10 and 1600 on 1/10.
Nine inches fell at site (MDSN2) Midas Snotel, Elevation 6634 feet. This occurred between 0600 on 1/10 and 1600 on 1/10.
Eight inches fell at site (BERN2) Bear Creek Snotel, Elevation 8040 feet. This occurred between 0400 on 1/10 and 1300 on 1/10.
Nine inches fell at site (PRSN2) Pole Creek RS Snotel, Elevation 8330 feet. This occurred between 2100 on 1/09 and 1600 on 1/10.
Six inches fell at site (SSCN2) SeventySix Creek Snotel, Elevation 7349 feet. This occurred between 0300 on 1/10 and 1100 on 1/10.
Thirteen inches fell at site (LWPN2) Lewis Peak Snotel, Elevation 7357 feet. This occurred between 1300 on 1/10 and 0600 on 1/11.
Nine inches fell at site (VCSN2) Vacarro Spring Snotel, Elevation 7867 feet. This occurred between 1400 on 1/10 and 2000 on 1/10.
Eight inches fell at site (BCSN2) Big Creek Summit Snotel, Elevation 8684 feet. This occurred between 1500 on 1/10 and 0400 on 1/11.
Station (AUSNV) US-50 Austin, Elevation 7529 feet.
Station (MTHN2) Mathers Raws, Elevation 9268 feet.
Vehicular accident caused 1 death, as road conditions appear icy after Winter Storm. Sky conditions appear clear at the time of accident with air temperatures near 0F (zero Fahrenheit) at closest observation site. The photo in the article shows the road looks like the surface is compromised with snow or slush. This likely lead to the driver to lose control of the vehicle and to travel across the northbound travel lane onto the northbound shoulder and overturn on an embankment. This occurred on US-95 near MM 5 in Humboldt County about 5 miles north of Winnemucca.
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, January 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: 1152472, 1152470, 1152475, 1152474, 1152471, 1152473, 1152476, 1152377, 1152379, 1152382, 1152383, 1152384, 1152482, 1152481, 1152460.