166
NOUS41 KWBC 191350
PNSWSH
SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE 25-91
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS SILVER SPRING MD
850 AM EST FRI DEC 19 2025
TO: SUBSCRIBERS:
-NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
-EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK
-NOAAPORT
OTHER NWS PARTNERS, USERS AND EMPLOYEES
FROM: MARY MULLUSKY, CHIEF
OPERATIONS SERVICES DIVISION
SUBJECT: CHANGES TO PUBLIC FORECAST ZONES FOR WFO LAS VEGAS, NV
EFFECTIVE MARCH 3, 2026
EFFECTIVE TUE, MARCH 3, 2026, AT 1:00 PM/2:00 PM PACIFIC
STANDARD TIME/MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME (PST/MST), 2100 COORDINATED
UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC), THE NWS WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE IN LAS
VEGAS, NV (VEF) WILL CHANGE PUBLIC FORECAST ZONES ENCOMPASSING
CLARK COUNTY IN SOUTHERN NEVADA, INYO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST
CALIFORNIA, AND MOHAVE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARIZONA. AFTER THIS
CHANGE, ALL FORECASTS AND RELATED PRODUCTS WILL USE THE ZONE
NUMBERS AND NAMES SHOWN IN TABLE 2 BELOW.
IF MARCH 3, 2026 IS DECLARED A CRITICAL WEATHER DAY, THIS
IMPLEMENTATION WILL BE POSTPONED TO MARCH 4, 2026 AT 2100 UTC.
THESE CHANGES WILL RESULT IN MORE GEOGRAPHICALLY PRECISE
FORECAST, WATCH AND WARNING PRODUCTS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND
WILL ENHANCE WEB-BASED GRAPHICAL PRODUCT CONSISTENCY AND
APPEARANCE.
FOUR CURRENT ZONES WILL BE CONVERTED INTO EIGHT SEPARATE ZONES.
THESE NEW ZONES ARE BEING DIVIDED TO OPTIMIZE ISSUANCE OF HAZARD
PRODUCTS FOR CONDITIONS THAT VARY SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE COLORADO
RIVER VALLEY ALONG THE NEVADA/ARIZONA BORDER, HUALAPAI MOUNTAINS
IN CENTRAL MOHAVE COUNTY, AND THE OWENS VALLEY IN INYO COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA. THE NEW ZONES ARE LISTED IN TABLE 2.
TABLE 1. UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHIC CODES (UGC): CURRENT PUBLIC
FORECAST ZONE NAMES
----------------------------------
AZZ003: NORTHWEST DESERTS
AZZ036: LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
CAZ520: OWENS VALLEY
NVZ021: LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
TABLE 2. UGC: NEW PUBLIC FORECAST ZONE NAMES
-------------------------------
AZZ570: LAKE MEAD - AZ SIDE
AZZ571: LAKE MOHAVE - AZ SIDE
AZZ575: HUALAPAI MOUNTAINS
AZZ576: NORTHWEST DESERTS
CAZ582: OWENS VALLEY NORTH
CAZ581: OWENS VALLEY SOUTH
NVZ025: LAKE MEAD - NV SIDE
NVZ026: LAKE MOHAVE - NV SIDE
TABLE 3. NWS PRODUCTS AFFECTED BY THE WFO LAS VEGAS, NV PUBLIC
FORECAST ZONE CHANGES ARE LISTED BELOW.
PRODUCT NAME WMO HEADING AWIPS ID
------------- ----------- --------
AVALANCHE WATCH WOUS45 KVEF AVAVEF
AVALANCHE WARNING WOUS45 KVEF AVWVEF
SPECIAL AVALANCHE BULLETIN WWUS85 KVEF SABVEF
WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE WWUS45 KVEF WSWVEF
NON-PRECIPITATION WATCH/WARNING/ WWUS75 KVEF NPWVEF
ADVISORY
FLOOD WATCH WGUS65 KVEF FFAVEF
HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK FGUS75 KVEF ESFVEF
ZONE FORECAST FPUS55 KVEF ZFPVEF
POINT FORECAST MATRICES FOUS55 KVEF PFMVEF
TABULAR STATE FORECAST FPUS65 KVEF SFTVEF
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FXUS65 KVEF AFDVEF
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT WWUS85 KVEF SPSVEF
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NOUS45 KVEF PNSVEF
NWS PARTNERS AND USERS WILL NEED TO MAKE NECESSARY CHANGES TO
THEIR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS TO ACCOMMODATE THESE WEATHER
FORECAST ZONE CHANGES.
PRELIMINARY SHAPEFILES FOR PUBLIC FORECAST ZONES ARE AVAILABLE
ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GIS/PUBLICZONES
FINAL VERSIONS OF THESE SHAPEFILES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON FEBRUARY
13, 2026.
A GRAPHICAL DEPICTION OF THIS CHANGE IS ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/VEF/2026ZONECHANGES
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
DAN BERC
WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST
NWS LAS VEGAS, NV
DANIEL.BERC@NOAA.GOV
NATIONAL SERVICE CHANGE NOTICES ARE ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NOTIFICATION/
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