Flash Flood and Winter Storm in California, March 4 to 6, 2000

Name: Flash Flood and Winter Storm in California, March 4 to 6, 2000
Start: 2000-03-04T18:00
End: 2000-03-06T01:30
Location: California

March 4 to 6, 2000 · NWS SGX · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 4
Injuries: 30
Property damage: $610,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Events: 10

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.

A winter storm started out on the evening of Saturday, March 4 with heavy wet snow at the higher elevations and heavy rain and flooding at the lower elevations. Sustained 40 knot winds overnight caused heavy surf and several boats to lose their anchorage. On Sunday, March 5, strong winds continued to cause damage to trees and power lines. Participants in outdoor athletic events Sunday morning, March 5, developed hypothermia. Later outdoor events were cancelled. As reinforcing cold air arrived Sunday night, the snow level lowered dramatically, trapping at least 30 people in the wilderness areas of the San Diego Mountains, closing highways and freeways with seven inches of snow in the passes. Three people died and another thirteen were hospitalized for hypothermia. At the 6500 foot level, seventeen inches snow fell in less than 24 hours. Blizzard conditions were reported throughout the Southwest California Mountains.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm, 3 flood, 3 high wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, San Bernardino County Mountains

When: March 4, 6:00 PM PST to March 5, 9:10 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Riverside County Mountains

When: March 4, 8:30 PM PST to March 5, 12:10 PM PST
Where: Riverside County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Orange

When: March 5, 12:00 AM PST to 2:00 PM PST
Where: Orange County, Costa Mesa
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 33.677, -117.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, San Diego

When: March 5, 12:00 AM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where: San Diego County, San Ysidro
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Orange County Coastal Plain

When: March 5, 6:30 AM PST to 9:30 AM PST
Where: Orange County Coastal Plain forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Injuries: 15 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $125,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

High Wind, San Diego County Coasts

When: March 5, 9:02 AM PST
Where: San Diego County Coasts forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Riverside

When: March 5, 11:50 AM PST to 12:45 PM PST
Where: Riverside County, Desert Hot Spgs
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $300,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, San Bernardino

When: March 5, 12:15 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino County, Lytle Creek
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Coachella Valley

When: March 5, 12:45 PM PST
Where: Coachella Valley forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, San Diego County Mountains

When: March 5, 6:10 PM PST to March 6, 1:30 AM PST
Where: San Diego County Mountains forecast zone
Deaths: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 13 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Flash Flood, Riverside	2000-03-05	20	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Winter Storm, San Diego County Mountains	2000-03-05	17	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Winter Storm, San Diego County Mountains	2000-03-05	21	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Winter Storm, San Diego County Mountains	2000-03-05	45	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 2000

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: 5136027, 5136028, 5136033, 5136034, 5136031, 5136032, 5136035, 5136029, 5136036, 5136030.