Heavy Snow in California, December 4 to 6, 1998

Name: Heavy Snow in California, December 4 to 6, 1998
Start: 1998-12-04T07:00
End: 1998-12-06T07:00
Location: California

December 4 to 6, 1998 · NWS SGX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

This was the first heavy snow storm for late autumn 1998. The snow occurred in two episodes, the first beginning the late evening of Dec.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 SGX wrote it up.

This was the first heavy snow storm for late autumn 1998. The snow occurred in two episodes, the first beginning the late evening of Dec. 4, and the second beginning in the early morning hours of Dec. 5. Total snowfall at the 6000 foot elevation was 9 to 10 inches. In the passes 4 to 6 inches was reported. The high valleys to the north of the San Bernardino Mountains received one to three inches of snow. As a result 70 to 90 percent of the primary roads were closed, and nearly 100 percent of the secondary roads. Highway crews used 22 person days of overtime to clear the roads in San Bernardino county alone. Several traffic accidents in Hesperia were also the result of the snow.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, P Sw San Bernardino

When: December 4, 7:00 AM PST to December 6, 7:00 AM PST
Where: P Sw San Bernardino forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Apple and Yucca Valleys

When: December 4, 7:15 PM PST to December 6, 4:18 AM PST
Where: Apple and Yucca Valleys forecast zone, Ph
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, P W Riverside

When: December 4, 8:15 PM PST to December 6, 7:00 AM PST
Where: P W Riverside forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, San Diego T X W

When: December 4, 9:15 PM PST to December 5, 5:10 PM PST
Where: San Diego T X W forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 1998

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: 5671260, 5671261, 5671262, 5671263.