Heavy Snow and Hail in California, March 28 to 29, 1998

A deep, upper-level low pressure trough produced unusually cold, late season winter storm conditions throughout southwest California. Strong winds developed behind the surface cold front on the twenty- eighth, and continued in the mountains into the twenty-ninth. Thirty to forty mph wind gusts were reported along the Orange County Coast much of the twenty-eighth. Peak gusts hit 60 mph at Huntington Beach, and 70 mph at Newport Beach. Two trees blew down onto cars in Huntington Beach, smashing one, damaging the other and breaking-up twenty feet of sidewalk. The strong winds knocked out power to 6000 customers as well. In San Diego County, a woman suffered broken ribs, and two cars were damaged when wind gusts to 35 mph blew down a tree in Escondido shortly after noon. Falling trees in Del Mar also damaged a garage and took down power lines in one neighborhood. Although it was late in the season, this storm was the coldest of the entire winter. An illegal immigrant died of exposure early on the twenty-ninth. His body was found in a shed in Jamul. Snow was reported as low as 2000 feet in the deserts. In the mountains, 1 to 3 feet of snow fell above 5000 feet, with generally 4 to 8 inches between 3000 and 5000 feet. Strong winds gusting as high as 60 mph accompanied the snowfall in some areas, resulting in heavy drifting and road closures. Along the coasts, and in the foothills, scattered showers and thunderstorms on the twenty-ninth produced enough ice pellets and hail to cover the ground one inch deep in some areas. Considerable damage was reported to flower and strawberry crops, and a 10 car pile-up on the I-15 near Deer Springs sent 5 people to area hospitals. In a Lake Elsinore neighborhood, an apparent microburst uprooted a tree and ripped two 20-foot sections of roofing tiles from a home. A funnel cloud was spotted that afternoon near Dulzura.