--- title: Heavy Snow and Winter Storm Events by County Since 1996 url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/winter-storm-events-by-county/ business: Battle Born Tree Service address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701 phone: 775.232.8243 hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood) --- - [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/) - [Local data](https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/) - Heavy snow and winter storm events by county since 1996 # Heavy snow and winter storm events by county since 1996 The Weather Service logged 492 heavy snow events for Washoe County between 1996 and 2025, 462 each for Carson City and Douglas County, 249 for Lyon, 191 for Storey, and only 32 and 26 for Mineral and Churchill counties. The 2018 season alone produced 58 heavy snow reports for Washoe County. | County | Heavy snow events 1996-2025 | Winter storm events | Blizzard events | Heavy snow + winter storm, 2016-2025 | |---|---|---|---|---| | Washoe County | 492 | 36 | 1 | 233 | | Carson City | 462 | 33 | 1 | 221 | | Douglas County | 462 | 33 | 1 | 221 | | Lyon County | 249 | 24 | 0 | 126 | | Storey County | 191 | 16 | 0 | 98 | | Mineral County | 32 | 5 | 0 | 17 | | Churchill County | 26 | 3 | 0 | 11 | Source: [NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database (details files 1996-2025), zones mapped to counties with the NWS zone-county correlation file](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/). Snow and winter storms are reported by forecast zone; a zone is credited to every county it touches, so counts overlap between counties. One storm crossing two zones counts twice for a county in both. Counts follow Weather Service logging practice. [Download this table (CSV)](https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/winter-storm-events-by-county/winter-storm-events-by-county.csv) Snow load is one of the two big winter stresses on Northern Nevada trees, with wind. This table counts heavy snow, winter storm and blizzard events logged for the seven counties we work in, from the Weather Service's Storm Events Database, 1996 through 2025. It describes how often warnings-level snow was reported, not how many inches fell on any street. ## What the dataset is The Storm Events Database is NOAA's catalogue of reports from National Weather Service offices. Heavy snow, winter storm and blizzard events are logged by forecast zone, and a zone is credited to every county it touches, so the counts overlap between counties. One storm crossing two zones counts twice for a county that lies in both. Do not add the rows together. Carson City and Douglas County show identical numbers, 462 heavy snow events, 33 winter storms and 1 blizzard, because they share the same zones. ## What stands out The pattern follows the Sierra front, with the biggest counts where the mountains are closest. - Heavy snow events: Washoe 492, Carson City and Douglas 462 each, Lyon 249, Storey 191, Mineral 32 and Churchill 26. - Winter storm events: Washoe 36, Carson City and Douglas 33, Lyon 24, Storey 16, Mineral 5 and Churchill 3. Only Washoe, Carson City and Douglas have a blizzard, one each. - The last ten years, 2016 to 2025, hold 233 heavy snow and winter storm events for Washoe County and 221 for Carson City and Douglas, about 44% of Washoe's thirty-year total of 528. - 2018 is the outlier year in the file, with 58 heavy snow reports for Washoe, and 2023 is next with 41. The quietest stretch is 2012 to 2014, with 5, 4 and 3. - Lyon County also peaked in 2018, with 41 reports, against 18 or fewer in every other year. ## What it means for trees Heavy, wet snow is what breaks limbs. It piles on a crown that still holds leaves, or on evergreen branches, and the weight lands on forks, narrow unions and old pruning wounds. Our [heavy snow and broken limbs guide](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/heavy-snow-broken-limbs/) and the [snow-load breakage page](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/storm-and-snow-load-breakage/) explain what to look for. Do not shake or climb a loaded tree; leave that to a crew. Battle Born handles [storm damage and emergency tree work](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/emergency-tree-service/) around the clock, and [snow and ice removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/snow-removal/) in snow season. If anyone is hurt, call 911; if a line is down, stay clear and call NV Energy first. ## Limits of the data These are counts of reports, not inches. A single event can mean a few inches in a valley or several feet at Tahoe elevations, and the Weather Service changed what it logged over the years. For depth, use the NOAA snowfall normals by station on our [climate normals page](https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/climate-normals-by-station/). The table does not break out the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe from the rest of Washoe and Douglas counties. ### Sources - [NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: Storm Events Database (details files 1996-2025)](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/) (pulled October 17, 2026) - [National Weather Service: Zone-County Correlation File (bp16ap26)](https://www.weather.gov/source/gis/Shapefiles/County/bp16ap26.dbx) (pulled October 17, 2026) ### Talk to the office [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) | Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | |---|---| | Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered | Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service. [Free estimate](#quote) ### Keep reading - [Heavy wet snow and broken limbs: what to do the morning after](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/heavy-snow-broken-limbs/) - [Protecting trees from plow and snow-load damage](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/protecting-trees-from-plows-snow-load/) - [High wind events by county since 1996](https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/high-wind-events-by-county/) - [Snow, rain and temperature normals by weather station](https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/climate-normals-by-station/) - [Storm and snow-load breakage](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/storm-and-snow-load-breakage/) ## Questions people ask Still have a question? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243). Phones are answered seven days a week. ### Which county gets the most heavy snow? On reported events, Washoe County, with 492 heavy snow events from 1996 to 2025. The counts overlap between counties, so it is a ranking of reports only. ### Why do Carson City and Douglas County match exactly? They share the same forecast zones, so every event in those zones is credited to both. ### Does 'heavy snow event' mean a set number of inches? No. It is a Weather Service report category, and thresholds differ by zone and elevation. ### Which year was the snowiest? By reports, 2018: 58 heavy snow events for Washoe County and 55 for Carson City and Douglas County. That is a count of reports, not a measure of depth.