There were several reports of heavy snow in a 12 hour period. A spotter in Westwood reported 6 inches at 5100 feet.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS REV wrote it up.
There were several reports of heavy snow in a 12 hour period. A spotter in Westwood reported 6 inches at 5100 feet. Graeagle reported 8 inches at 4300 feet and Portola reported 6 inches at 5000 feet. California Department of Transportation reported 6-8 inches at 4950 feet in Sierraville.
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 19, 3:30 PM PST, 5 hours earlier.
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
330 PM PST WED DEC 19 2001
RADAR COMPOSITE LOOP SHOWS HEAVIER FRONTAL PRECIP ALONG NRN CA CST
THIS AFTERNOON WHILE SUPPORTING UPPER LOW NR 130W MOVG SLOWLY EWD.
SNOW SHOULD BEGIN IN THE NRN SIERRA LATER THIS EVENING WITH SNOW
BECOMING HEAVY AT TIMES AFTER MIDNIGHT FROM TAHOE NWD. QPF FOCUSES
ON CENTRAL SIERRA EARLY THURSDAY WITH OMEGA FIELDS MAXED OUT NEAR
TAHOE AT 12Z AND MONO COUNTY AT 18Z. SNOW SHOWERS DIMINISH OVER
LASSEN COUNTY THURSDAY AS DYNAMICS WITH JET AND VORT MAX REMAINS
TO S. SNOW LEVELS STARTING OUT AROUND 5000 FEET IN LASSEN
COUNTY TO 6000 FEET IN MONO COUNTY THIS EVENING THEN LOWERING TO
VALLEY FLOORS BY THURSDAY MORNING EXCEPT W CNTRL NV WHERE COLD AIR
DELAYED TIL THU AFTN. 700 MB WINDS INCREASE TO AROUND 40-50 KTS AT
06Z TONIGHT ALTHOUGH SFC WINDS SHOULD REMAIN GENERALLY IN 15-30 KT
RANGE BASED ON SFC GRADS AND MOS GUIDANCE. WINDS WILL CAUSE
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN THE UPPER EXPOSED
ELEVATIONS OF THE NORTHERN SIERRA TONIGHT AND CENTRAL AND SRN
SIERRA ON THURSDAY AS THE GRADIENT SHIFTS S. LINGERING SNOW
SHOWERS OVER MONO COUNTY FRIDAY MORNING OTHERWISE PARTIAL CLEARING
FROM N WITH CONTINUED COLD TEMPS.
SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
MED RANGE MODELS BEGIN TO DIVERGE WITH AVN AND UKMET SHOWING
STRONGER SYSTEM BREAKING DOWN RIDGE SATURDAY AND ANOTHER
AROUND CHRISTMAS DAY. 6-10 DAY MEAN 5 WAVE PATTERN SUGGEST
LONG WAVE RIDGE TO DOMINATE SO WILL KEEP FORECAST DRY FOR
NOW EXCEPT TO MENTION CLOUDS AND LOCAL WINDY CONDITIONS.
.REV...WINTER STORM WARNING CA072..NVZ002 TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY.
.WINTER STORM WARNING CA071 ABOVE 5500 FEET TONIGHT
THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING.
.SNOW ADVISORY BELOW CA071 5500 FEET TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY MORNING.
.WINTER STORM WARNING CA073 ABOVE 6500 FEET THURSDAY
AND THURSDAY NIGHT.
.SNOW ADVISORY CAZ073 BELOW 6500 FEET THURSDAY AND
THURSDAY NIGHT...The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2001
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: 5275750, 5275751, 5275787, 5275788.