Winter Storm and Winter Weather in California, April 6 to 7, 2001

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in California, April 6 to 7, 2001
Start: 2001-04-06T14:00
End: 2001-04-07T22:00
Location: California

April 6 to 7, 2001 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Winter storm verification occurred for the Southern Sierra Nevada from the Kern County line northward through Yosemite National Park with heavy snow reported: Fish Camp 12" by 07/0551 PST; Hume Lake 20" by 07/1600 PST; Lodgepole 23" by 07/0600 PST. 5"; and Jawbone Canyon Remote Automatic Weather Station gusting to 55 MPH.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 HNX wrote it up.

Winter storm verification occurred for the Southern Sierra Nevada from the Kern County line northward through Yosemite National Park with heavy snow reported: Fish Camp 12" by 07/0551 PST; Hume Lake 20" by 07/1600 PST; Lodgepole 23" by 07/0600 PST. The Kern County Mountains had lighter snow amounts but gusty wind: Greenhorn Summit/Alta Sierra 11.5" by 07/0653 PST; Tehachapi 1.5"; and Jawbone Canyon Remote Automatic Weather Station gusting to 55 MPH.

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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 6, 8:38 AM PST, 5 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 6, 8:38 AM PST, 5 hours 22 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
938 AM PDT FRI APR 6 2001

16Z SURFACE OBSERVATIONS SHOW THE RAIN FROM FIRST FRONTAL BAND DOWN
TO STOCKTON AND THE NORTHERN MONTEREY BAY AREA. GOES WATER-VAPOR
AND INFRARED LOOPS INDICATE A NARROW RAIN BAND...THEN A BREAK BEFORE
THE MAIN ENERGY OF THE STORM ARRIVES THIS EVENING.

THE MAIN TROUGH IS ALONG 130W WITH A SERIES OF VORTICITY MAXIMA
ROTATING THROUGH. THE FIRST VORTICITY IS OVER PUGET SOUND...WITH THE
NEXT LOCATED NEAR 43N/133W AND A THIRD NEAR 47N/137W. THE ETA
INITIALIZED THE 47N VORTTICITY...BUT MISSED THE ONE AT 43N. THE AVN
ALSO INITIALIZED THE 47N VORTICITY...BUT POORLY HANDLED THE 43N
VORTICITY...PLACING IT TOO FAR EAST. THE ETA DROPS THE THIRD
VORTICITY  TO THE MARIN/SONOMA COAST BY 12Z SATURDAY... INLAND OVER
THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA BY 18Z...AND OVER THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY BY 00Z SUNDAY.

THE AVN MOVES THE SECOND VORTICITY INTO THE PORTLAND AREA BY 00Z
SATURDAY. THE THIRD VORTICITY IS FORECAST TO TO STAY OFFSHORE
THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...MAKING LANDFALL NORTH OF MONTEREY BY 18Z
SATURDAY AND CONTINUING TO DROP SOUTHEAST...INTO KERN COUNTY BY 00Z
SUNDAY.

THE NGM HANDLES THE SECOND VORTICITY SIMILAR TO THE AVN. ITS TRACK
FOR THE THIRD VORTICITY IS SIMILAR IN TIMING AND TRACK TO THE ETA/S.

HARD TO CHOOSE A MODEL OF CHOICE DO TO ALL MODELS POORLY HANDLING
THE SECOND VORTICITY. HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION AREA SATURDAY WILL
DEPEND ON WHICH MODEL SOLUTION VERIFIES...BUT ALL ARE IN AGREEMENT
THAT BEST OROGRAPHICS FROM MAIN STORM IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
WILL BE LATE SATURDAY MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON. CURRENT FORECAST
AND WINTER STORM WARNING LOOK GOOD AND NO CHANGES PLANNED FOR EITHER.

POPS FAT 388 BFL 078 YNP 7++. SANGER

.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY
       FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND FOOTHILLS FROM YOSEMITE
       PARK TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE.

Event by event

2 winter storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: April 6, 2:00 PM PST to April 7, 10:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: April 6, 3:00 PM PST to April 7, 10:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE

Winter Weather, Kern Cty Mtns

When: April 6, 10:00 PM PST to April 7, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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: 5240960, 5240961, 5240959.