A trough pushed across the region on the 4th, bringing gusty to strong winds across the eastern Sierra. Isolated showers with little or no measurable precipitation occurred with this front during the afternoon and evening.
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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 trough pushed across the region on the 4th, bringing gusty to strong winds across the eastern Sierra. Isolated showers with little or no measurable precipitation occurred with this front during the afternoon and evening.
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 Mar 4, 2:39 AM PST, 7 hours 21 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Reno NV
239 AM PST Wed Mar 4 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
* A mild cold front will pass through the region today, bringing
light rain and mountain snow chances areawide along with gusty
winds, strongest across the Western Nevada Basin and Range and
eastern Sierra.
* A brief cooldown and breezy winds are expected on Thursday.
* Dry conditions and above average temperatures are forecast
this weekend through the first half of next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
For today, forecast guidance shows a PacNW trough crossing through
the Western CONUS. With this pattern aloft, a cold front will move
through the region causing valley rain, mountain snow, and gusty
winds today. The latest run of the HREF shows the light precipitation
chances moving into the NE CA portion of the CWA by 7 AM and
spreading into NW NV a few hours later. The areas with the best
chances (>75%) expect to be those closer to the OR border (Modoc,
Lassen, N. Washoe, and Pershing Counties) as this front moves
through in a NW to SE fashion. Around 12 PM, shower chances
(20-40%) look to reach down into the Tahoe Basin followed by the
region generally seeing a 15-25% chance going into the evening.
Going through the night, remaining chances (15-25%) for isolated
light showers look to stay mostly confined to the southern
portion of the CWA (Alpine, Mono, Douglas, Lyon, and Mineral
Counties). Snow levels this morning look to be 6-7 kft and
steadily drop to below valley floor level as the front moves
southeast across the region. The latest QPF values look to range
between a trace and around 0.25 inches (higher end amounts closer
to the OR border with the better PoPs). As for accumulating snow
with these showers today, little to no accumulation is expected
for most of the region that see snow. The Sierra Passes in the
Tahoe Region as well as portions of N. Washoe County currently
have a 10-20% NBM probability for 1+ inches of snow by Thursday
morning. The NE CA mountain peaks in the region also may see up
to a few inches of snow.
Gusty winds expect to be the main hazard with the cold front
passage today. Wind Advisories are in effect today for the W NV
Basin & Range along with Mono, S. Lyon, and Mineral Counties. A
Lake Wind Advisory is also in effect for Lake Tahoe. Widespread
gusts up to around 40 mph are expected in the region with gusts
up to around 55-65 mph in wind-prone areas along US-95 and US-395
this afternoon and evening. Sierra ridgetop winds may gust up to
around 70-80 mph. Please be prepared for these winds today
especially if you are traveling on N/S oriented roads where the
crosswinds may cause hazardous driving conditions. It is also
worth mentioning that there may be blowing dust downwind of desert
sinks and playas within the region today.
The upper trough will move eastward on Thursday, taking the wintry
precipitation chances with it and leaving behind generally dry
conditions in the region for a good portion of the day. Following
today's cold front passage, daytime high temperatures on Thursday
will cool to between the upper 40s to lower 50s in NE CA and W NV
valleys while Sierra communities will be between the upper 30s
and lower 40s. Breezy winds generally out of the north are
expected during the afternoon as well with gusts up to 25-35 mph.
On Friday, temperatures begin a warming trend that will continue
into next week with a ridge starting to building over the Western
CONUS. Models are still showing quicker winds aloft moving through
the jet over the region courtesy of an upper low well south of
the CWA. This may allow for some increased Sierra ridgetop winds
out of the E/NE on Friday with a 40-50% probability of 60+ mph
gusts. For this weekend into next week, dry conditions look to be
on tap with portions of W NV currently seeing a 60-90% chance of
70+ degree high temperatures on Monday. -078
&&
.AVIATION...
A cold front moves through the region NW to SE today allowing for
gusty winds with light rain and mountain snow chances. Area TAF
sites will experience west-southwest winds gusting up to around
30-35 kts today beginning around 04/17-19Z. KTVL will be the lone
exception to this statement with southerly winds. KTRK and KTVL
will see some rain showers between 04/20-24Z which will bring
about MVFR conditions. FL100 winds in the Sierra increase to
around 45-50 kts this afternoon which will cause some some LLWS
for Sierra terminals. -078
&&
.AVALANCHE...
A cold front bringing gusty winds with light rain and snow shower
chances (20-40%) is expected across the Sierra Wednesday between
noon and 10PM. Tahoe will get the precipitation chances first,
then as the front moves south, Mono County will finally see some
light showers later on in the evening.
* Snow levels and amounts: Snow levels look to be 6-7 kft this
morning then drop to <6 kft in the afternoon from north to
south. Minimal snowfall accumulation is expected (10-20% chance
of 1+ inches in the Tahoe Basin above 7 kft, 10-15% chance 0.5+
inches in Mono County above 8 kft).
* SLR and SWE: SLRs 7-10:1 at the start of the snow, then increasing
to 12-14:1 as the front pushes south of Tahoe. SWE expected to be
less than 0.20 inches along the highest peaks.
* Wind gusts: Southwest-west ridgetop wind gusts up to 70-80 mph in
the afternoon.
* Lightning: Thunderstorm chances generally <10%, some areas around
Tahoe could reach 10-15% in more convective showers between 1-6
PM.
-Justin/078
&&
.REV Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NV...Lake Wind Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this
evening NVZ002.
Wind Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 10 PM PST this evening
NVZ001-004.
CA...Lake Wind Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this
evening CAZ072.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PST this evening
CAZ073.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station MTH01 Chair 1 Top measured a wind gust of 113 mph. Also, MTH02 1.5 SE Mammoth Mountain measured a gust of 77 mph. Finally, AWOS station KMMH Mammoth June Lake Airport measured a gust of 55 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2026
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: 1316269.