The National Weather Service in Reno issued a tornado warning Reno at 1:37 p.m. Thursday for parts of Storey County, Southern Washoe County and North-central Lyon County as severe storms moved through western Nevada. The warning ran until 2:15 p.m., with Wadsworth and Fernley among the locations in the path.
Radar showed rotation in a severe thunderstorm near Derby Dam, about 16 miles northeast of Virginia City, as the storm moved east at 15 mph. The weather service said the storm could bring tornadoes and quarter-size hail, with hail up to 1 inch in diameter.
Derby Dam storm track
At 1:32 p.m., the National Weather Service said a separate severe thunderstorm was near Derby Dam and moving northeast at 5 mph. By 1:37 p.m., the rotation signal had changed the warning level for the storm. The storm was expected to remain near Derby Dam around 1:40 p.m. and reach Fernley around 1:55 p.m.
The warning also listed dangerous flying debris and damage to mobile homes, roofs, windows, vehicles and trees. That combination made the storm a broader hazard than a single tornado threat, with hail and wind dangers moving across the same area at nearly the same time.
Reno flood alerts
Separate alerts covered the same weather system. A severe thunderstorm warning stayed in effect until 2 p.m. for Storey County, South central Washoe County and Northern Lyon County. A flood advisory for Storey and southern Washoe counties, including the greater Reno area, was set to run until 3:45 p.m.
The flash flood warning lasted until 4:15 p.m. for Storey County and South-central Washoe County, and it included Reno, Sparks, Lockwood, Hidden Valley, Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Mustang and Patrick. The weather service said 0.8 to 1.5 inches of rain had already fallen in the warned area, and the flood advisory was issued because of excessive rainfall.
Storey County warning
For residents in Reno and the surrounding counties, the practical shift Thursday was not a single alert but several overlapping ones: tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood and flood advisory. The storm was already close enough for the weather service to project where it would be within minutes, which is why Fernley, Wadsworth and Reno stayed under separate warnings at the same time.
The open question after the warnings is whether the storm produced a tornado, hail damage or flash flooding in any of the warned areas. Until that is known, the strongest available reading is the one the weather service gave Thursday afternoon: a fast-moving storm with rotation, hail and heavy rain threats crossing western Nevada at once.
