A strong Pacific low pressure system and associated cold front brought strong to high winds over the southern Great Basin and portions of the Mojave Desert.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 VEF wrote it up.
A strong Pacific low pressure system and associated cold front brought strong to high winds over the southern Great Basin and portions of the Mojave Desert.
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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 4, 8:43 AM PST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 943 AM PDT Sat May 4 2024 .SYNOPSIS...A potent storm system dropping down from the Pacific Northwest will move across the region today and Sunday bringing widespread strong winds and much cooler temperatures. High elevation snow in the southern Sierra Saturday will spread across parts of southern Nevada Saturday night and Sunday leading to a dusting of snow in the mountains. Improving conditions are expected Monday though temperatures will stay a little below normal much of the week. && .UPDATE...The 12Z upper air analysis and high res models continue to support strong to high winds developing this afternoon and evening across most of our region. The cold upper low barrelling into northern California this morning will continue tracking southeast and move across Nevada tonight and Sunday. The 700mb thermal gradient between Las Vegas and the core of the low was 19-20 degrees C which will result in strong cold air advection as the system progresses inland. This is a classic synoptic setup for significant wind events across our region. The forecast grids will be populated with the latest ensemble-based high res models, but there is no appreciable change to the overall expectations detailed in the previous discussion. && .PREV DISCUSSION... 217 AM PDT Sat May 4 2024 .SHORT TERM...Through Monday night. Anomalously deep and cold low for early May situated off the Pac NW coast early this morning. Shield of extensive cloudiness is moving into northern California and northwest Nevada, while precipitation is confined to western Oregon/Washington. Leeside surface pressure falls across northern and central Nevada today ahead of the deep low will induce a tightening pressure gradient leading to strong southerly winds across the southern Great Basin and Mojave Desert. Downward momentum transfer of 35 knot to 55 knot winds at H7 will help in the development of 50 to 60 mph gusts in parts of Inyo, Esmeralda, Nye and western Clark County this afternoon. Elsewhere, gusts will mostly range between 40 and 50 mph. The period of strongest winds across parts of southern Inyo, southern Nye, Clark and northwest San Bernardino Counties will occur tonight into Sunday morning. Specifically in and within the lee of the Spring Mountains/Red Rock Canyon that timeframe looks to be midnight through 9 am Sunday. HiResW-NMM cross section through Red Rock Canyon and the LV Valley indicates potential 55 knot to 75 knot winds surfacing within Red Rock Canyon late this evening with the downslope component weakening after 7 am Sunday. Here in Las Vegas, surface winds will finally start to diminish Sunday afternoon while it will remain windy across Mohave and San Bernardino Counties through late Sunday afternoon. Am making no changes to our existing products. But with that said, the Owens Valley and LV Valley bears watching due to potential downslope winds which creates a higher probability of wind gusts exceeding 58 mph or reaching warning levels. Temperatures will stay warm today with dramatic cooldown Sunday dropping as much as 20 degrees for some spots. Regarding precipitation. Most of the showers will get hung up in the southern Sierra through this evening. As the deep low makes it further into the Great Basin light showers will break out primarily across south central Nevada tonight and Sunday. There is a chance for a light dusting of snow as far south as the Spring Mountains. Forecast of 2" of new snow at Aspendell in the southern Sierra consistent with forecast 24 hours ago. Less than 1" expected in some of the higher valley floors of central Nye and northern Lincoln Counties. Sunday night and Monday. As the trough moves east precipitation will come to an end early Sunday evening. Some breezes will exist into Monday while temperatures start to recover. .LONG TERM...Tuesday through Friday. The area will be under a mostly zonal flow with a touch of a NW component through much, if not all, of the work week as persistent troughing remains just to our north. At the surface, this results in breezy afternoons with highs roughly 3-8 degrees below normal across the area. We'll remain dry as the troughing to our north has very little moisture to work with. PoPs stay below 10% through Friday. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Light southerly-to-southwesterly winds will begin picking up around mid-morning and will continue to increase throughout the day with 30 to 40 knot wind guts expected this afternoon and evening. Vicinity blowing dust from the dry lake beds southwest of the Las Vegas Valley will have the potential to cause reductions in slant-wise visibility, but there is currently low confidence/probability whether or not it will cause visibility reductions at the surface. When looking at the potential for an AWW, the latest HREF has a 10% to 20% chance wind gusts in excess of 48 knots from 03 UTC to 06 UTC Saturday. Should this come to fruition, these gusts would likely be from a more west-southwesterly direction due to downsloping off of the Spring Mountains. Winds will gradually decrease and eventually turn northwest on Sunday afternoon as the front moves through the area. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...The Colorado River Valley and the Las Vegas Valley TAF sites will see south-southwesterly winds pick up around mid-morning with 30 to 40 knot wind gusts continuing into the evening hours. KDAG will favor a more westerly direction with wind gusts jumping into the 30 to 40 knot range later this morning/early this afternoon and continuing through the overnight hours. Light and variable winds will pick up and swing to the south-southeast around mid-morning with 30 to 40 knot wind gusts continuing into the evening hours. Showers are expected to develop in the crest of the Sierra this afternoon and will likely blow over into the Owens Valley into the vicinity of the KBIH terminal area. There is a 20% to 40% chance that the precipitation may actually make it to the terminal; should this happen, precipitation will be of light intensity. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && UPDATE...Adair SHORT TERM...Pierce LONG TERM...Salmen AVIATION...Stessman For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
These gusts occurred 40 miles E of Beatty.
These gusts occurred 3 miles NE of Mount Charleston.
This gust occurred at Rachel.
These gusts occurred at Mercury-Desert Rock (KDRA).
These gusts occurred at Mountain Springs.
This gust occurred at North Las Vegas (KVGT).
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, May 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: 1176980, 1176986, 1176988, 1176996, 1176997, 1176998.