High wind events by county since 1996

The table counts high wind, strong wind and thunderstorm wind events for the seven counties we work in, taken from the Weather Service's Storm Events Database for 1996 through 2025. Wind is the weather most likely to bring a limb or a whole tree down in this part of Nevada, so the numbers are a useful backdrop for any tree owner, as long as they are read the way the notes below describe.

Where the numbers come from

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information publishes the Storm Events Database from reports logged by National Weather Service offices. High wind and strong wind are logged by forecast zone, not by county, so we map each zone to the counties it touches using the Weather Service's own zone-to-county file. A zone is credited to every county it touches. Thunderstorm wind is logged by county directly.

The result is that one windstorm across the Reno, Carson City and Minden area counts once for each of Washoe, Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties. Do not add the rows together, and do not read two counties' equal counts as a coincidence: Carson City and Douglas County show the same 898 high wind events because they share the same zones.

What stands out

Five counties sit in a similar band, and two sit far below it.

• Washoe County logged 1,019 high wind events, Lyon County 1,016, Carson City and Douglas County 898 each and Storey County 756. Mineral County logged 155 and Churchill County 105.
• The last ten years, 2016 to 2025, hold 366 of Washoe's 1,019, 328 of Lyon's 1,016 and 314 of the 898 for both Carson City and Douglas County. Compare periods with care, because 2009 to 2016 were logged thinly.
• Strong wind, a lower category the Weather Service used mostly after about 2007, adds 68 events for Lyon, 57 for Washoe and 44 each for Carson City and Douglas.
• Churchill County logs 35 thunderstorm wind events, more than its 12 strong wind events and a third of its 105 high wind events; those are reported by county, not by zone.
• The highest gust on record is 132 knots for Washoe, Lyon, Douglas, Carson City and Storey counties, 97 knots for Mineral and 76 for Churchill.

What it means for a homeowner's trees

Wind is the usual cause behind a split fork, a snapped leader or a tree leaning after a gust. The pattern in the table says the Reno, Carson City and Carson Valley side of the Sierra front is reported often, which fits what residents know of the Washoe Zephyr; our Washoe Zephyr guide explains the weather and what an arborist looks at. Wind events do not say which trees are at risk. That depends on species, structure, decay and the soil around the roots, which is why warning signs of tree failure matter more than any county count.

If a tree comes down or a limb hangs, stay away. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. If a power line is involved, stay clear and call NV Energy. Then call Battle Born at 775.232.8243, a 24-hour emergency number; see emergency and storm damage service.

Limits of the data

Counts follow what the Weather Service chose to log. The Reno office logged far fewer separate high wind events from 2009 through 2016 than before or after (Washoe County shows 1 in 2013 and 81 in 2006), so yearly counts are reports, not a climate trend. The highest gusts come from ridge-top sensors such as Mount Rose and Peavine Peak, not valley floors, so the 132-knot figure is not what a yard feels.

An event is a report, not a measure of damage. The table says nothing about how many trees fell.