Tornado near Fernley, funnel clouds spotted near Dayton

Friday, June 12, 1998 | 8:22 a.m.

The weird spring weather just gets weirder in Nevada, spawing a tornado near Fernley, funnel clouds outside Dayton and a flood watch that blanketed western Nevada.

The tornado, a rarity in Nevada, touched down on Thursday six miles south of Fernley along Alternate U.S. 50 and U.S. 95. It was spotted by a sheriff's deputy and a passing motorist. A pilot also reported the tornado.

The National Weather Service said the noontime twister was on the ground for about five minutes, but hit in open country and there were no reports of damage.

Three funnel clouds were reported east of Dayton at about 2 p.m. and moved west across Carson City into extreme southern Washoe County. Unlike a tornado, a funnel cloud does not touch the ground.

Elko County had a swarm of tornadoes in remote areas southeast of Wells on Tuesday.

The unstable conditions also produced a flash flood watch for a second straight day over a large section of western Nevada and the Sierra.

It covers the Reno-Carson City-Minden area along the U.S. 395 corridor, Mineral and southern Lyon counties and the Lake Tahoe Basin. That includes Lassen and eastern Plumas and eastern Lassen counties in Califonria.

With most drainages and small streams close to their banks and the ground saturated, the water has nowhere to go and forecasters say there could be some local flooding in low-lying areas. Rivers are filling as well, but are not expected to cause any problems today, the National Weather Service said.