Heavy Snow in California, April 2 to 3, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in California, April 2 to 3, 2001
Start: 2001-04-02T20:30
End: 2001-04-03T04:30
Location: California

April 2 to 3, 2001 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Spotter in Modoc County, CA reported 6 inches in 8 hours at Eagleville.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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.

Spotter in Modoc County, CA reported 6 inches in 8 hours at Eagleville.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 2, 8:09 PM PST, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 8:09 PM PST, 21 minutes before

WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
900 PM PST MON APR 2 2001

A STRONG NW/SE SURFACE GRADIENT HAS DEVELOPED OVER WRN NV IN COLD
ADVECTION THAT ENDS BY ABOUT TUESDAY MORNING.  LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS
WILL DIMINISH OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY IN THE LOWER VALLEYS BUT STILL
REMAIN 10-20 MPH IN MANY EXPOSED AREAS.  A SHORT WAVE IS ROTATING
THROUGH THE BASE OF THE UPPER TROUGH THAT CONTINUES TO SINK SLOWLY
SOUTH OVER CA.  THE SHORT WAVE WILL ENHANCE SNOWFALL OVER PORTIONS
OF NE CA AND EXTREME NORTHWEST NEVADA OVERNIGHT WITH VERTICAL MOTION
THAT IS STRONGEST IN THE AVN.  THE FEATURE WEAKENS AND MOVES EAST
TUESDAY.  THE SATELLITE SHOWS THE MOST ACTIVE AREA OF CONVECTION AND
PRECIPITATION OVER NRN CA WITH CLOUDS DEVELOPING SOUTH OVER THE NRN
SIERRA FOOTHILLS TO ABOUT WEST OF LAKE TAHOE THIS EVENING.  A POSITIVE
TILT RIDGE BUILDING TOWARD THE CANADIAN COAST TURNS THE UPPER FLOW TO
NNE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE UPPER LOW BY LATE TUESDAY.  THIS HAS THE
EFFECT OF ELONGATING THE LOW TOWARD THE SW AND STEERING THE LOW IN
THAT DIRECTION OFF CA THROUGH WEDNESDAY.  THE AIRMASS GRADUALLY
MOISTENS IN THE LOWER LEVELS TUESDAY...MAINLYv NORTH OF HIGHWAY 50.
BY WEDNESDAY...THE MID LEVELS ARE MOISTENING ALSO WITH AT LEAST WEAK
VERTICAL MOTION AND A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW AND LOW QPF.  OSTERMAN.

.REV...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Surprise Valley

When: April 2, 8:30 PM PST to April 3, 4:30 AM PST
Where: Surprise Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.590, -120.725 (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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in California, April 2001

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: 5239018.