Nevada, 2024

Heavy Snow in Nevada, March 5 to 7, 2024

March 5 to 7, 2024 · NWS LKN · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Elevated mid and upper-level moisture present during an upper level low passage to the north allowed for areas of heavy snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
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  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS LKN wrote it up.

Elevated mid and upper-level moisture present during an upper level low passage to the north allowed for areas of heavy snow.

What forecasters said that day

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 Mar 5, 1:05 PM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 1:05 PM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Elko NV
105 PM PST Tue Mar 5 2024

.SYNOPSIS...Look for light snow showers to redevelop again during
the overnight hours across mainly northern Humboldt and Elko
counties with minor accumulations. Light, isolated to locally
scattered snow showers are again possible Wednesday and Thursday,
followed by quieter weather by late Thursday night into Friday.

&&

.SHORT TERM...Tonight through Wednesday night. Mid and high-level
clouds are moving across the area with some sunshine poking
through from time to time. The snow showers have dissipated in
areal coverage across northern and portions of central Nevada.
HOwever, the break will be short lived as energy will dive from
the north across northern Humboldt and Elko counties, north of the
I-80 corridor, through tonight. This will allow for snow showers
to redevelop in this area tonight with an accumulation of one to
three inches. Winds will still be breezy along the border with
Idaho as gusts to 25 mph will be prevalent. Overnight lows will be
in the 20s.

For Wednesday and Wednesday night, a closed low across
southwestern California along with an upper trough to the north
will move across the west. This will mean a continuation of light
snow showers over northern Nevada, mainly north of I-80, along
with light, isolated snow showers across portions of central
Nevada. A general one to three inches is again possible in the
north, especially over northern Elko county along State Route 225.
Meanwhile, flurries to isolated snow showers will bring little to
no accumulation to central Nevada. Winds will be breezy Wednesday
morning, but speeds will diminish by the afternoon and evening
hours. Afternoon high temperatures will be in the 40s to low 50s
while overnight lows will be in the teens and 20s.

.LONG TERM...Thursday through next Tuesday

Thursday, the trough axis from the offshore Baja-Low will progress
through the state; with it a cold front. Snow showers will occur
across this cold front as it's expected to push southeast through
the day. Winds will become breezy, likely across ridgetops, of
central and eastern Nevada, with ridgetop winds of 20-25 mph and
gusts to 30-35 mph. In general, some valleys across the I-80
corridor could see a tenth or two of snowfall, where areas further
south and east in White Pine county can see up to half an inch in
the valleys, and 1-5 inches in the higher mountainous terrain in
eastern White Pine.

A ridge looks to build over the state, lasting through Saturday.
an upper-level trough to north and west looks to provide active
weather across the Pacific Northwest. This trough will begin to
flatten the ridge over Nevada, during the day Saturday. A spotty
snow shower or two may be possible across the northern Nevada
state-line, but no accumulation is expected. As this trough
begins to extend south, an associated cold front may provide snow
a mix or rain and snow showers to the Monday and Tuesday. With
high snow levels currently being indicated at the beginning of
next week, most valleys will see rain, with mountains seeing snow
showers.

&&

.AVIATION...Northern TAF sites such as KWMC, KBAM, and KEKO will
continue to see mid-level clouds as low-level moisture remains
present. At time of writing (20Z) -SHSN remain across the
Idaho/Nevada boarder. It is expected with time these snow showers
will drop south, overnight. High resolutions models are indicating
a localized meso-low or vort-max (small area of energy) that may
promote snow showers between 04-08Z this evening at KWMC. A brief
break may exist before more snow showers develop between 17-00Z
tomorrow. Other sites such as KBAM and KEKO may have VCSH through
the overnight and early morning, with a 15-20% chance. VFR
conditions are expected to be prevailing.

&&

.LKN Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
None.
&&

86/91/91

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Humboldt

When
March 5, 4:00 PM PST to March 7, 4:00 PM PST
Where
Humboldt forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.407, -118.112 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Seven inches fell at site (BKLN2) Buckskin Lower Snotel, Elevation 6929 feet. This fell between 4 PM on 3/5 and 7 PM on 3/6.

Six inches fell at site (GRPN2) Granite Peak Snotel, Elevation 8501 feet. This fell between 3 PM on 3/5 and 8 PM on 3/6.

Six inches fell at site (LMCN2) Lamance Creek Lower Snotel, Elevation 6394 feet. This fell between 12 AM on 3/6 and 8 AM on 3/7.

Heavy Snow, N Elko Cnty

When
March 6, 4:00 PM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where
N Elko Cnty forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.146, -115.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Seven inches fell at site (FWCN2) Fawn Creek Snotel, Elevation 7029 feet. This fell between 4 PM on 3/6 and 9 PM on 3/6.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nevada in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, March 2024

Sources

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: 1168969, 1168970.