Heavy Snow in California, December 13 to 14, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in California, December 13 to 14, 2001
Start: 2001-12-13T18:00
End: 2001-12-14T06:30
Location: California

December 13 to 14, 2001 · NWS REV · 7 events in 1 county or zone

7 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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 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 Dec 13, 2:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 13, 2:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
230 PM PST THU DEC 13 2001

WILL BE UPGRADING MOST OF THE WATCHES TO WARNING ON THIS FORECATS
PACKAGE.  ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION WOULD INDICATE HEAVY SNOW AND
STRONG WINDS IN THE SIERRA WITH GUSTY WINDS SPILLING OVER INTO THE
WESTERN VALLEYS TONIGHT.  THE WINDS COMBINED WITH THE SNOWFALL WILL
ALSO CREATE LOCAL BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT
TONIGHT.  QPF FROM THE MODELS APPEARED A LITTLE LIGHT DUE TO THE
POSSIBLE ADDITION OF SOME CONVECTION CAUSED BY THE DYNAMICS OF THE
STORM.  ALSO THERE IS SOME VERY COLD AIR BEHIND THIS SYSTEM WHICH
WILL MAKE THE WATER TO SNOW RATIO HIGHER THAN THE NORMAL 10-1.

EXTENDED...RIDGE OVER THE CENTRAL PACIFIC WEAKENS BY DAY 7 WHILE
STRONG JET REMAINS BETWEEN RIDGE AND GULF OF ALASKA LOW THROUGH THE
BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK. A SHORT WAVE MOVES INTO THE SIERRA MONDAY
SPREADING A CHANCE OF MOUNTAIN SNOW AND VALLEY RAIN SHOWERS TO AREAS
ACROSS NORTH OF THE RENO/TAHOE AREA. WINDS WILL BE GUSTY. SYSTEM
MOVES EAST TUESDAY AS A WEAK RIDGE BUILDS DEVELOPS WITH SOME
OVERRUNNING MID/HI CLOUDS. ANOTHER SHORT WAVE APPROACHES THE AREA
WEDNESDAY BUT IT APPEARS WEAKER AND FARTHER NORTH THAN THE MONDAY
SYSTEM. PARTLY CLOUDY MOST AREAS WEDNESDAY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW
SHOWERS ACROSS FAR NORTHERN AREAS. BY THURSDAY STRONG SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDS INTO OREGON AND IDAHO BRINGING GUSTY NE WINDS TO THE
MOUNTAINS. WHILE THERE MAY BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A SNOW SHOWER OVER
THE SIERRA CREST EXPECT HIGHER 500MB HEIGHTS AS THE EASTERN PACIFIC
RIDGE PUSHES EAST. THUS WILL KEEP THURSDAY DRY AND WINDY. IN GENERAL
TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS THROUGH THE PERIOD.

.REV...WINTER STORM WARNING CAZ071 AND NVZ005 ABOVE 5000 FEET AND
       ALL CAZ072-NVZ002 TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.
       WINTER STORM WARNING CAZ073 LATE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY
       HIGH WIND WARNING CAZ070>O72-NVZ002-003-005 TONIGHT.
       WIND ADVISORY NVZ001 TONIGHT.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine

When: December 13, 6:00 PM PST to December 14, 6:00 AM PST
Where: E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several spotters and ski resorts reported heavy snow in a 12 hour time period. Sierra at Tahoe had 14 inches at 8120 feet. Diamond Peak reported 12 inches at 7000 feet. Squaw Valley reported 6-8 inches at 6200 feet and 14-18 inches at 8200 feet. Alpine Meadows had 10 -14 inches at 8500 feet while Boreal reported 12-18 inches at 7200 feet.California Department of Transportation reported 6-8 inches of snow at Meyers (elevation 6340 feet) and 11 inches of snow at Echo Summit (elevation 7377 feet). The California Department of Agriculture check station in Truckee reported 12 inches of snow at 5840 feet.

Heavy Snow, E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine

When: December 13, 6:00 PM PST to December 14, 6:00 AM PST
Where: E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine

When: December 13, 6:00 PM PST to December 14, 6:00 AM PST
Where: E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine

When: December 13, 6:30 PM PST to December 14, 6:30 AM PST
Where: E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine

When: December 13, 6:30 PM PST to December 14, 6:30 AM PST
Where: E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine

When: December 13, 6:30 PM PST to December 14, 6:30 AM PST
Where: E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine

When: December 13, 6:40 PM PST to December 14, 6:30 AM PST
Where: E Nevada/E Placer/E El Dorado/Ne Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.935, -120.458 (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, December 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5275656, 5275657, 5275721, 5275722, 5275723, 5275724, 5275725.