Current Conditions, Weather Forecast, and Imagery

June 29: Black Rock playa conditions:

The playa is looking pretty good for the 4th of July weekend. It's over 90 degrees out here this week and the water is gone from the west playa roads. People have been getting out to the Black Rock without trouble, but there may still be wet areas in the usual spots, especially the edges of the playa and below springs. Sometimes the playa color does not match the wetness beneath.

High Rock Canyon was opened to vehicle traffic May 9th.

Call Friends for up-to-date information. We're located right off the Playa and are in touch with what's going on out here. 775.557.2900 info@blackrockdesert.org

(NEW) Playa MODIS imagery viewer

Gerlach Monthly Climate Summary 1/1948 thru 4/2007
BM Gerlach: station: temp, wind, barometer; DW1623
Bryan Dongray's Weather at Gerlach
Weather Underground: Gerlach
National Weather Service: Gerlach, Vya, Truckee
National Weather Service radar: Reno
University of Utah MesoWest: Surface Weather Map
Road Conditions: Nevada (map), CalTrans, Oregon
Black Rock Desert "Clear Sky Chart": link
UNR NSL Helicorder webcam


looking south-east from Hualapai Valley (refresh / animate)
cowcam.jpg

looking north-east from Gerlach (refresh / animate)
gerlach nevada black rock desert playa webcam


June 2009:   01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July 2009:   01 02


sunrise: 5:30 , sunset: 20:32

Area Forecast Discussion (glossary)
 
 FXUS65 KREV 022224
 AFDREV
 
 AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
 324 PM PDT THU JUL 2 2009
 
 .SHORT TERM...
 CONVECTION HAS BEEN MORE ACTIVE TODAY FROM RENO-TAHOE SEWD ACROSS
 DOUGLAS-LYON-MINERAL COUNTIES. STRONGEST CELLS FORMED IN RURAL
 PORTIONS OF MINERAL COUNTY SO FAR THIS AFTERNOON. WINDS AT SLIDE
 MTN FINALLY SWITCHED TO WEST IN PAST HOUR AS THE BACK EDGE OF
 CONVECTION APPEARS TO HAVE PUSHED EAST OF TRUCKEE...WHILE FARTHER
 SOUTH IN MONO COUNTY ONLY A FEW CELLS REMAIN EAST OF HWY 395.
 GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS WILL REMAIN A THREAT THRU EARLY EVENING
 ESPECIALLY IN W-CNTRL NV NORTH OF HWY 50 WHERE DRIER LOW LEVEL AIR
 MASS WILL INCREASE DOWNDRAFT MOMENTUM FROM ANY CELLS MOVING INTO
 THIS AREA.
 
 MOST ACTIVITY SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET AS THE WEAK SHORTWAVE
 TROF RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TSTMS EJECTS TO THE NORTHEAST...ALTHOUGH
 SOME INSTBY IS EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO FAR NWRN NV AND SURPRISE VLY
 OVERNIGHT AND FRI MORNING SO ISOLD TSTMS WERE MAINTAINED IN THOSE
 AREAS.
 
 FOR FRIDAY...REDUCED COVERAGE OF CONVECTION IS EXPECTED ALTHOUGH
 STUBBORN WEAK LOW OVER NRN CA WILL KEEP THREAT OF SOME ACTIVITY
 OVER FAR NERN CA AND NWRN NV. FARTHER SOUTH TO MINERAL-MONO
 COUNTIES...A FEW SHORT LIVED CELLS ARE POSSIBLE...BUT ANYTHING
 THAT FORMS WILL BE LESS INTENSE COMPARED TO TODAY. WITH DRIER AND
 MORE STABLE AIR MASS ADVANCING INTO THE RENO-TAHOE ZONES AND NO
 FORCING MECHANISMS INDICATED BY THE NAM AND GFS GUIDANCE...THE
 MENTION OF TSTMS WAS REMOVED FOR THESE AREAS.
 
 FOR THE INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND...DRY AND WARM CONDITIONS ARE
 EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION AS SW FLOW ALOFT PREVAILS WITH LITTLE
 OR NO DYNAMIC FORCING. SOME LEFTOVER MID LEVEL MOISTURE WILL LEAD
 TO SOME CUMULUS BUILDUPS SAT AFTERNOON MAINLY IN MINERAL-MONO
 COUNTIES AND ALSO NEAR THE OREGON BORDER...BUT WARMER AIR ALOFT
 SHOULD CAP VERTICAL CLOUD GROWTH. WHILE A BRIEF SHOWER CAN NOT BE
 RULED OUT...THIS POTENTIAL IS TOO REMOTE TO INCLUDE IN THE
 FORECAST TEXT. WINDS ON SATURDAY THE 4TH SHOULD BE ZEPHYR TYPE
 BREEZES WITH GUSTS NEAR 25 MPH...WHICH MAY PERSIST UNTIL ABOUT 10
 PM FOR THE RENO-SPARKS-CARSON AREAS BUT SHOULD DIMINISH BY DUSK
 AROUND TAHOE. FOR SUNDAY...WIND GUSTS WILL INCREASE TO THE 30-35
 MPH RANGE AS WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO THE NWRN US BRUSHES
 ACROSS NERN CA-NWRN NV. MJD
 
 .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
 THE MAIN CHANGES TO THE LONG TERM GRIDS WERE TO LOWER SKY COVER 
 (EXCEPT ACROSS THE FAR NORTHERN CWA) AND RELATIVE HUMIDITIES.
 
 A LARGE-SCALE UPPER TROUGH WILL BE HANGING AROUND ALONG THE WEST 
 COAST OR SLIGHTLY OFFSHORE THROUGH THE EXTENDED...WITH AN IMPULSE 
 EJECTING AROUND THE MAIN TROUGH LATE TUESDAY (GFS) OR WEDNESDAY 
 (ECMWF). THE IMPULSE WOULD AT MOST BRING A FEW SHOWERS TO THE FAR 
 NORTH...WITH VERY DRY SOUTHWEST FLOW ELSEWHERE TO WARD OFF 
 PRECIPITATION. THE MAIN STORY WILL BE THE COOLING TREND...WITH 70S 
 TO MID 80S IN THE VALLEYS TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY (5-10 DEGREES 
 BELOW AVERAGE). IT WILL ALSO TEND TO BE BREEZY WITH THE PERSISTENT 
 GRADIENT BETWEEN THE UPPER TROUGH AND A RIDGE OVER THE DESERT 
 SOUTHWEST. SNYDER 
 
 .AVIATION...
 LIGHTER WINDS ALOFT THAN EXPECTED AND AN INCOMING DISTURBANCE ARE 
 ALLOWING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP FURTHER WEST THAN 
 PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED...WITH A LINE OF CONVECTION IN THE AREA OF 
 KTVL/KTRK/KRNO TO MOVE EAST OF KRNO (AND AFFECT THE AREA OF KLOL) 
 CIRCA 01Z. ALL STORMS COULD PRODUCE GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS...BUT THE 
 MAIN RISK FOR VERY GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS WILL BE EAST OF KRNO AND FROM 
 ABOUT KNFL NORTH...WHERE STRONGER STORMS COULD PRODUCE GUSTS TO 
 40-45 KTS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
 
 FRIDAY...ANY THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE RESTRICTED TO NORTH AND EAST OF 
 A SUSANVILLE TO FALLON TO BRIDGEPORT LINE. SNYDER
 
 
 .REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
 NV...NONE.
 CA...NONE.