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NOUS45 KLKN 020028
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NVZ030-031-033>041-040030-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
528 PM PDT SAT JUN 1 2013

...CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR MAY 2013 AND METEOROLOGICAL SPRING
2013 IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEVADA...

SUMMARY OF MAY 2013:

TEMPERATURES-WISE, MAY 2013 WAS NEAR TO A LITTLE ABOVE NORMAL
ACROSS THE REGION. AT THE MAJOR POPULATION CENTERS TOTALLY WITHIN
OUR COUNTY WARNING AREA...TEMPERATURES AVERAGED EXACTLY NORMAL IN
WINNEMUCCA AND ELY...AND ABOUT A DEGREE ABOVE NORMAL IN ELKO AND
TONOPAH. THE MONTH STARTED OUT WITH A COLD SNAP...WITH JUST ABOUT
THE ENTIRE REGION BELOW FREEZING ON AT LEAST ONE OF THE FIRST
THREE MORNINGS...AND SOME AREAS MORE THAN 10 DEGREES BELOW. ABOVE
NORMAL READINGS WERE THEN FAVORED DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE
FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH. THIS WAS PARTICULARLY TRUE FROM THE 11TH
TO THE 15TH WHEN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE MORE THAN 10 DEGREES
ABOVE NORMAL THANKS TO DOMINANT RIDGES OF HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT.
CONDITIONS FLIPPED DURING THE LATTER HALF OF THE MONTH AS TROUGHS
OF LOW PRESSURE BECAME MORE DOMINANT. THIS RESULTED IN
TEMPERATURES WHICH AVERAGED SEVERAL DEGREES BELOW NORMAL FROM THE
17TH STRAIGHT THROUGH THE REST OF THE MONTH WITH LITTLE
INTERRUPTION. DESPITE THE AVERAGE NEAR NORMAL...THE COLD SNAP
DURING THE LATTER PORTION OF THE MONTH WAS INTENSE ENOUGH TO SET A
NEW DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE RECORD IN WINNEMUCCA...WHEN THE
TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 27 DEGREES ON MAY 24TH.

PRECIPITATION-WISE...MAY 2013 WAS ANOTHER DRY MONTH...CONTINUING
AND EXACERBATING THE ONGOING DROUGHT ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
NEVADA. PRECIPITATION WAS 30 TO 60 PERCENT OF NORMAL ON
AVERAGE...WITH THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE DEPARTURE AT TONOPAH AIRPORT
WHERE ONLY 36% OF NORMAL RAINFALL FELL. ELSEWHERE...44% OF NORMAL
FELL IN WINNEMUCCA AND ABOUT 50% OF NORMAL FELL IN ELKO...WITH
ACTUAL TOTALS OF AROUND 1/2 INCH OR LESS. AT TONOPAH AIRPORT...ALL
THE PRECIPITATION THAT FELL WAS EARLY IN THE MONTH ON MAY 7TH
WHILE A PERSISTENT BUT WEAK UPPER LEVEL LOW BROUGHT SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NEVADA. IN
WINNEMUCCA...ABOUT HALF OF THE PRECIPITATION DURING MAY 2013 ALSO
FELL DURING THE AFOREMENTIONED UPPER LOW EARLY IN THE MONTH...WITH
TH REST OCCURRING WITH SEVERAL OF THE SYSTEMS WHICH MOVED IN
DURING THE COOLER SECOND HALF OF MAY. IN ELY...THE MAJORITY OF THE
PRECIPITATION FELL ON MAY 19TH WITH ONE OF THE STORM SYSTEMS NEAR
THE BEGINNING OF THE COLDER SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH.
MEANWHILE...IN ELKO MOST OF THE MONTH`S PRECIPITATION FELL WITH
THE LAST STORM SYSTEM WHICH MOVED IN NEAR THE END OF THE
MONTH...TOWARDS THE END OF THE COLDER PERIOD.

LITTLE TO NO SNOW FELL ACROSS THE VALLEYS OF NEVADA DURING MAY 2013.
THIS ISN`T VERY UNUSUAL IN MOST PLACES...BUT IS RATHER RARE IN ELY
WHERE ONLY 16 PREVIOUS MAYS ALSO COMPLETELY LACKED SNOWFALL.

SUMMARY OF METEOROLOGICAL SPRING 2013:

THE DROUGHT CONTINUED TO INTENSIFY ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN DURING
METEOROLOGICAL SPRING (MARCH, APRIL AND MAY) 2013. A WARM AND DRY
WEATHER PATTERN PREDOMINATED AS RIDGES OF HIGH PRESSURE GENERALLY
PROVED MORE PERSISTENT THAN TROUGHS OF LOW PRESSURE. TEMPERATURE
DEPARTURES RANGED FROM +0.1 DEGREE IN WINNEMUCCA...TO +0.9 DEGREES
IN ELKO...+1.4 DEGREES IN ELY...AND +2.8 DEGREES AT TONOPAH
AIRPORT. THE LATTER TWO DEPARTURES WERE LARGE ENOUGH TO RANK
SPRING 2013 AS THE 16TH WARMEST ON RECORD IN ELY AND THE 4TH
WARMEST ON RECORD AT TONOPAH AIRPORT.

PRECIPITATION DEPARTURES DURING SPRING 2013 WERE WELL INTO THE
NEGATIVE SIDE OF THE SCALE. ONLY ABOUT 50% OF NORMAL PRECIPITATION
FELL IN ELKO...ELY AND WINNEMUCCA...WHILE ONLY 30% OF NORMAL
PRECIPITATION FELL AT TONOPAH AIRPORT. ACTUAL DEPARTURES RANGED
FROM 1.06 INCHES AT TONOPAH AIRPORT...TO 1.32 INCHES IN ELY...1.47
INCHES IN WINNEMUCCA...AND 1.51 INCHES IN ELKO. THESE DEPARTURES
WERE ENOUGH TO RANK SPRING 2013 AS THE 20TH DRIEST ON RECORD IN
WINNEMUCCA...THE 18TH DRIEST ON RECORD IN ELKO...AND THE 12TH
DRIEST ON RECORD IN ELY AND AT TONOPAH AIRPORT.

SNOWFALL WAS BELOW NORMAL AS WELL...OWING TO THE COMBINATION OF
WARMER AND DRIER THAN NORMAL WEATHER ON AVERAGE. FOR ONLY THE
FIFTH TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY...NO MEASURABLE SNOW FELL IN
WINNEMUCCA AFTER MARCH 1ST...TYING THE RECORD FOR THE LEAST SNOWY
METEOROLOGICAL SPRING WITH 1885...1931...1959...AND 2004.
ELSEWHERE...SNOWFALL WAS MORE THAN 50% BELOW NORMAL IN ELKO WHERE
ONLY 3.9 INCHES FELL AFTER MARCH 1ST...AND ABOUT 40% BELOW NORMAL
IN ELY WHERE ONLY 9.6 INCHES FELL AFTER MARCH 1ST.

$$

RCM