Heavy Snow, San Bernardino County Mountains
- When
- April 7, 1:30 AM PST to 1:00 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)
Heavy Snow in California, April 7, 2001
Two to four inches of snow fell at the 6000 foot level and six to twelve inches of snow fell above 8000 feet from early morning to early afternoon. Light to moderate snow continued into the evening hours.
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
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 SGX wrote it up.
Two to four inches of snow fell at the 6000 foot level and six to twelve inches of snow fell above 8000 feet from early morning to early afternoon. Light to moderate snow continued into the evening hours. One person was injured when he drove off the road and down a 25 foot embankment. Sixteen campers were rescued after their vehicles became bogged down in the mud and snow.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 7, 1:20 AM PST, 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 7, 1:20 AM PST, 10 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
220 AM PDT SAT APR 7 2001
...SYNOPSIS...
A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH TODAY AND BRING RAIN AND
SNOW TO MOST AREAS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL GENERALLY BE NEAR OR
SLIGHTLY UNDER 1/2 INCH EXCEPT FOR HIGHER AMOUNTS ON SOUTH AND WEST
SLOPES OF ORANGE AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES...AND LESS IN THE
DESERTS. IT WILL BE WINDY OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. SOME
CLEARING AND WARMING SHOULD OCCUR SUNDAY BEFORE ANOTHER SYSTEM
BRINGS A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION MONDAY AND TUESDAY. A GRADUAL
WARMING TREND SHOULD OCCUR LATER NEXT WEEK.
...DISCUSSION...
RAIN IS STARTING TO SPREAD INTO ORANGE COUNTY. EXPECT MOST AREAS TO
RECEIVE AT LEAST SOME RAIN TODAY...ESPECIALLY NORTH. 06Z MSO IS
DEFINITELY THE PREFERRED MODEL AS IT SEEMS TO BE TRACKING THE VORT
MAX NW OF SFO WELL...AND THE 00Z MSO WAS GOOD TOO...UNLIKE THE 00Z
NOGAPS WHICH SEEMS TO BE OVERDOING THE SYSTEM WITH THE VORT MAX
BEING TRACKED TOO FAR SOUTH. MOST LIKELY...THE VORT MAX WILL STAY
JUST NORTH OF THE NORTHERN END OF OUR FORECAST AREA. SATELLITE
INDICATES PRETTY GOOD MOISTURE EXTENDING AT LEAST 200 MI SW OF PT
CONCEPTION...SO THIS WILL CERTAINLY CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THE
RAIN TOTALS.
IT IS ALREADY QUITE COLD IN THE MOUNTAINS...SO THE SNOW LEVELS
SHOULD START AT AROUND 4000 FEET AND REMAIN THERE THROUGH THE DAY.
GENERALLY...AMOUNTS SHOULD BE 3-8 INCHES...DEPENDING ON
LOCATION/ELEVATION. WINDS ALOFT...LIKE AT 700 MB ARE QUITE STRONG
AND SHOULD PEAK AROUND 18Z. THE MOUNTAIN WAVE ACTION CAN BE SEEN ON
THE MSO...WHICH HAS GOOD DVV AT 700 MB OVER THE DESERTS. THE DVV
PEAKS THIS MORNING...BUT THE NORMAL DIURNAL PATTERN HAS MOST
FAVORABLE WINDS IN THE AFTERNOON...SO OVERALL IT SHOULD BE WINDY ALL
DAY. THUS...A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE DESERTS UNTIL 6
PM.
THE NEXT SYSTEM COULD BRING SHOWERS MONDAY AND/OR TUESDAY. THE VORT
MAX SO FAR IS TRACKED FURTHER SOUTH...AND THERE COULD BE MORE
INSTABILITY. AFTER THAT...WE REMAIN IN SOME CYCLONIC FLOW AS A
WEAKER CLOSED LOW GOES BY TO THE SW...IF THE NEW AVN VERIFIES. DUE
TO THE CYCLONIC FLOW AND TOO SLOW OF TRANSITION TOWARDS EVENTUAL
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT...I HAVE CUT BACK ON SOME TEMPS AND ADDED SOME
CLOUDS TO THE WED-FRI PERIOD.
SAN 74-
.SAN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY 55/56/58.
WIND ADVISORY 60/61/62.
MAXWELLThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Winter Weather in California, April 7 to 10, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Utah, April 7 to 9, 2001
- High Wind in Iowa, April 7, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in California, April 7, 2001
- High Wind in Illinois, April 7, 2001
- Flooding in Iowa, April 7 to 17, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Minnesota, April 7 to 8, 2001
- High Wind in Minnesota, April 7, 2001
- Flood in North Dakota, April 7 to 26, 2001
- Flood in Minnesota, April 7 to 26, 2001
- High Wind in Iowa, April 7, 2001
- Flooding in South Dakota, April 7 to 8, 2001
More
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5237546.