Strong low pressure moving from the Gulf of Alaska to the Desert Southwest brought a period of severe downslope winds to the Owens Valley.
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.
Strong low pressure moving from the Gulf of Alaska to the Desert Southwest brought a period of severe downslope winds to the Owens Valley.
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 12, 9:04 AM PST, 37 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 1004 AM PDT Mon May 12 2025 .SYNOPSIS...Widespread wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, locally stronger, are expected today along with pockets of blowing dust. Temperatures will cool five to ten degrees today and another 10 to 15 degrees Tuesday, followed by a slow rebound for the remainder of the week. && .UPDATE...Gusty southwest winds have picked up across the forecast area right on time, with the Sierra Nevada, Owens Valley, southern Nye, and western Clark County High Wind Warning and the widespread Wind Advisory in effect from 8am this morning through 11pm tonight. Highest observations so far this morning range from 50 to 57 mph across the Nevada Test Site and eastern slopes of the Sierra, with the remainder of the forecast area generally between 30 and 40 mph. Gusts will continue to increase in speed as we move through the afternoon, with speeds gradually decreasing after sunset. Expect elevated winds to continue through much of the overnight period into Tuesday morning before further gradually decreasing through the day on Tuesday. In addition to strong winds, this potent weather system will drop temperatures by 5-10 degrees today (compared to Sunday afternoon) and will drop an additional 10-15 degrees on Tuesday. No changes made to the forecast this morning. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...415 AM PDT Mon May 12 2025/ .SHORT TERM...Today through Tuesday night. Midnight satellite loop showed mountain-enhanced clouds coming off the Sierra Nevada, White Mountains and nearby ranges, while skies were clear farther southeast. Surface obs showed winds gusting 35 to 55 mph in the northwest zones and the higher terrain farther southeast. These winds were keeping the low levels well mixed, so temperatures were warm and dewpoints were low. The main concern for today and tonight is still wind. One change was made to the headlines - the Wind Advisory was upgraded to a High Wind Warning in the Spring Mountains and the western Clark/southern Nye County zone. In this pattern, we often see mountain waves come off the northwest corner of the Spring Mountains and impact Highway 95 near Mercury, where the mountains and highway are almost parallel, resulting in severe crosswinds. All other Advisories and Warnings look good and were left as is. Winds should begin to settle down tonight and diminish further Tuesday morning. High temperatures today will be about five to ten degrees cooler than Sunday, followed by another 10 to 15 degrees of cooling on Tuesday as the trough axis arrives. The wind and sharp cooling will be the main stories for the vast majority of our CWA, as chances for (light) precip on Tuesday will be limited to the Sierra crest and northern Lincoln County. .LONG TERM...Wednesday through Saturday. The trough responsible for Monday and Tuesday's windy conditions and Tuesday's sharply cooler temperatures will translate east of the region on Wednesday. In the wake of this trough, temperatures begin a gradual rebound, warming to near or above normal by the end of the week. However, the warming will be tempered somewhat by persistent northwesterly to quasi-zonal flow aloft as the western CONUS remains entrenched in a longwave trough pattern through the upcoming weekend and beyond. This pattern allows for additional disturbances to slide through the region, the next of which looks to be Sunday into Monday. Cluster analyses and ensembles remain in agreement regarding the presence of the upcoming shortwave, however discrepancies remain regarding the depth, timing, and trajectory of this system. Overall, another round of breezy to windy conditions as well as cooler temperatures could be expected, but just how windy and how cool remains in question. Stay tuned. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...For the 18Z Forecast Package...South- southwest winds continue through the TAF period, strongest during the daytime hours with relative lulls at night. Peak gusts this afternoon around 35-40 knots, with chances for 48+ knot winds (Airport Weather Warning criteria) less than 10%. Gusts in the overnight periods generally between 15-25 knots. VFR conditions persist with SCT-BKN clouds above 15kft. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...For the 18Z Forecast Package...Gusty south-southwest winds continue across most of the region through the TAF period. The exception to this is BIH, which is forecast to turn northerly this evening. As winds peak in the late morning and afternoon, gusts will generally be in the 25-35 knot range, with DAG and sites in the Las Vegas Valley approaching 40 knots at times. Expect severe turbulence near and downstream of higher terrain. During the overnight hours, winds will weaken but remain elevated. VFR conditions persist with SCT-BKN clouds above 15kft. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && UPDATE...Soulat SHORT TERM...Morgan LONG TERM...Phillipson AVIATION...Woods For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
One tree, one set of power lines, and several road signs were blown down.
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: 1264995.