A potent late season system moved through the region from the 11th to 12th. This produced widespread strong, damaging winds throughout western Nevada and the eastern Sierra.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
A potent late season system moved through the region from the 11th to 12th. This produced widespread strong, damaging winds throughout western Nevada and the eastern Sierra. This included extensive damage to trees, powerlines, several semi-trailers blowing over, and disruptions to air travel due to wind shear and mountain waves. This storm additionally produced a period of accumulating snowfall along Interstate 80 over Donner Pass, leading to a temporary closure during the afternoon of the 12th.
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 May 10, 11:57 PM PST, 11 hours 3 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
1257 AM PDT Sun May 11 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
* A late season storm system moving into the region will bring
strong winds areawide today and Monday, with likely impacts to
travel and recreation.
* Light mountain snow and isolated light valley rain showers
arrive Monday and continue into Tuesday.
* Temperatures will be well below average through mid-week, with a
slow warming and drying trend by the end of the week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
* After a warm, breezy Saturday a change in the pattern will
commence today as a late season system moves into the area. A
trough currently off the Pacific NW coast will make its way into
northern CA by this evening. With tightening pressure gradients,
south to southwest winds will ramp up as the day progresses.
Gusts upwards of 45-55 mph will be commonplace for all locations
across northeast CA, western NV, and for the eastern Sierra
communities. Wind gusts upwards of 55-65 mph are likely for wind
prone areas along US-395/I-580 in CA and NV, and gusts to 80-100
mph are likely along the Sierra ridges. We'll see a temporary
break in the winds overnight Sunday into Monday morning, before
ramping up once again Monday afternoon, especially for areas in
Mono County and western NV along and south of I-80. For
additional details concerning the Wind Advisories posted for the
region, please visit www.weather.gov/rev.
* By Monday into Tuesday, the aforementioned trough will continue
to drop into the central Great Basin. Precipitation will first
start for western Lassen County, northern Washoe County, and the
Surprise Valley overnight Sunday into early Monday, then into
the Tahoe Basin by late Monday morning. The best chances for
accumulating precipitation on Monday remain in those
aforementioned areas, with lower precipitation chances (20-40%)
in Alpine/Mono counties and NV north of I-80 (dry elsewhere).
Snow levels on Monday remain around 5,500' in Lassen, 6,500' in
the Tahoe Basin, to around 8,000' in Mono. A slushy 1-2" is
conceivable along the mountain crests on Monday, but given the
warm antecedent conditions accumulations will be minor on the
roadways. Better chances for wetting rains for western Nevada
valleys arrives for Tuesday, when leeside valleys see a 20-40%
chance for showers with 40-50% chance in the inner basin. Sierra
passes will see lowering snow levels early Tuesday morning,
down to around 5,000'. Any additional snow accumulations on
Tuesday will be minor, around 1-2" along the crests. Monday and
Tuesday high temperatures will be much cooler, with readings
upwards of 10-15 degrees below average.
* We will slowly trend warmer and drier by mid-week, with near
average temperatures returning by Thursday into next weekend.
Winds will return to a more typical breezy afternoon westerlies.
For next weekend, low 15-30% chances for showers return to the
area as some ensembles hint at another trough moving through
the region. -McKellar
&&
.AVIATION...
* Winds will begin to increase by the late morning throughout the
region. Strong S/SW winds sustained 25-30 kts with gusts of
35-45 kts become likely for all Sierra and western NV terminals.
Ridge-top wind gusts are likely upwards of 65-75 kts. Expect
mountain wave turbulence and LLWS for all Sierra and western NV
terminals today.
* On Monday, precipitation will make its way into western Lassen
County by early morning, then eventually into the Tahoe Basin by
late morning. Areas of IFR/MVFR in precipitation and mountain
obscurations likely into KSVE/KTRK/KTVL, lower chances in Mono
County. Snow may mix in at times on Monday, but accumulations
remain unlikely due to warm antecedent conditions.
* Showers will move toward the southeast by Tuesday, increasing
shower chances for KRNO/KCXP/KMEV/KMMH. -McKellar
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Wind Advisory from 11 AM to 11 PM PDT Sunday NVZ001-004-005.
Wind Advisory from 11 AM Sunday to 5 AM PDT Monday NVZ002-003.
CA...Wind Advisory from 11 AM to 11 PM PDT Sunday CAZ070-071.
Wind Advisory from 11 AM Sunday to 5 AM PDT Monday CAZ072.
Wind Advisory from 11 AM Sunday to 5 PM PDT Monday CAZ073.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station MTH02 1.5 SE Mammoth Mountain, Mill Canyon RAWS, KMMH (Mammoth Yosemite Airport), and June Mountain Ski based reported peak gusts of 78 kts, 67 kts, 51 kts, and 68 kts, respectively.
Rice Canyon RAWS and Doyle RAWS reported peak wind gusts of 67 and 51 kts, respectively.
Heavenly mid-station gondola weather station, KTVL (South Lake Tahoe Airport), KTRK (Truckee-Tahoe Airport), and LIB25 Muller 1296-Emigrant Trail, reported peak wind gusts of 71 kts, 64 kts, 53 kts, and 64 kts, respectively.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2025
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: 1253020, 1253031, 1253036.