Blizzard, Mono
- When
- December 22, 3:00 PM PST to 9:00 PM PST
- Where
- Mono forecast zone
- Measured
- 87
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 37.939, -118.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in California, December 22, 1996
Blizzard conditions developed across parts of Mono County from 3 PM to 9 PM. Wind gusts of 61 to as high as 87 kts were reported in the Mammoth Lakes area.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS REV wrote it up.
Blizzard conditions developed across parts of Mono County from 3 PM to 9 PM. Wind gusts of 61 to as high as 87 kts were reported in the Mammoth Lakes area. A tree fell on a house in Mammoth Lakes. Another tree fell on a power line, knocking power out for over half the town. Fifty cars were reported stranded in the blizzard Sunday evening on Highway 203 between U.S. 395 and Mammoth Lakes.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Nevada, December 22, 1996
- Tornado in California, December 22, 1996
- Winter Storm in Colorado, December 22 to 23, 1996
- High Wind in Utah, December 22, 1996
- Blizzard in California, December 22, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 22 to 23, 1996
- Flood in California, December 22, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, December 22, 1996
- High Wind in California, December 22, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, December 22 to 24, 1996
- Damaging Wind in California, December 22, 1996
- Damaging Wind in California, December 22, 1996
More
Every storm in California in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5580651.