Winter Storm and High Wind in California, December 19 to 21, 2001

Name: Winter Storm and High Wind in California, December 19 to 21, 2001
Start: 2001-12-19T22:00
End: 2001-12-21T10:00
Location: California

December 19 to 21, 2001 · NWS HNX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

" Park Service reported 9" new snow in Yosemite Valley and 8" from Sequoia Dispatch with snow levels as low as 2500 feet MSL in the foothills in Mariposa County and 3000 feet in the Tulare County foothills. With the episode, gusty wind was reported in the Kern County Desert areas with Government Peak measuring 54 MPH during the afternoon of the 20th.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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.

Lodgepole reported 15" and Giant Forest with 16" of new snow in the Tulare County Mountains while Upper Burnt Corral in the Southern Sierra had 20." Park Service reported 9" new snow in Yosemite Valley and 8" from Sequoia Dispatch with snow levels as low as 2500 feet MSL in the foothills in Mariposa County and 3000 feet in the Tulare County foothills. With the episode, gusty wind was reported in the Kern County Desert areas with Government Peak measuring 54 MPH during the afternoon of the 20th.

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 Dec 19, 8:35 PM PST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 19, 8:35 PM PST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
835 PM PST WED DEC 19 2001

VERTICALLY STACKED LOW WAS CENTERED NEAR 39N/131W THIS EVE AND
MOVING SE AROUND 25 KTS. COLD FRONT WAS ALSO MAINTAINING AN EASTWARD
PROGRESSION AT AROUND 25 KTS AND SHOULD APPROACH THE NW CORNER OF
THE CWA AROUND 08Z...REACHING KERN COUNTY AROUND 14-15Z. MODELS
INITIALIZED LOW 90-100 MILES TOO FAR NE AND REMAIN ABOUT 100 MILES
IN ERROR THIS EVE. HENCE STRONGER DYNAMICS SHOULD EXTEND FARTHER
SOUTH INTO THE CWA THAN INDICATED BY PROGS...HOWEVER JET MAX IN SE
QUAD SHOULD RESULT IN A SLIGHTLY MORE EASTWARD TRAJECTORY
OVERNIGHT.  NEVERTHELESS...TIMING WILL DELAY DEEPER MOISTURE AND
FORCING UNTIL WELL AFTER MIDNIGHT FOR THE TULARE MTNS...AND NOT
UNTIL SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE FOR THE KERN MOUNTAINS.

WILL NEED TO MONITOR EXACT TRACK OF UPPER LOW OVERNIGHT TO ASSESS
WHERE CIRCULATION WILL SHIFT ONSHORE. GIVEN DISPARITIES BETWEEN
PROGS AND SYSTEM MOVEMENT THIS EVE...PROJECTIONS OF 200-300 J/KG SB
CAPE FOR THURS MAY BE UNDERDONE IF CIRCULATION MOVES INLAND FARTHER
SOUTH THAN CURRENTLY INDICATED. REGARDLESS...POTENTIAL FOR DEEPER
CONVECTION WILL EXIST ON THURS AS SURFACE HEATING IN POST-FRONTAL
AIRMASS WILL RESULT IN RAPID DESTABILIZATION...COUPLED WITH
FAVORABLE LOW-MID LEVEL SHEAR PROFILES.

IN THE INTERIM...WILL MAKE SOME WORDING ADJUSTMENTS IN WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA FOR TONIGHT. WILL ALSO DELAY WARNING
UNTIL THURS FOR THE KERN MTNS...HOWEVER FINAL TRACK OF UPPER LOW AND
ASSOCIATED DYNAMICS WILL DETERMINE IF WARNING IN KERN MTNS MAY NEED
TO BE DOWNGRADED TO ADVISORY STATUS. PERSISTENT LOW CLOUD COVER ALSO
SUPPRESSED MAX TEMPS AT MOST CENTRAL/SOUTHERN SJ VALLEY LOCALES TODAY
AND WILL TWEAK OVERNIGHT MINS IN A FEW LOCATIONS.

.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT FOR
       THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA.
    ...WINTER STORM WARNING THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT FOR THE
       TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS.

JSN

Event by event

4 winter storm, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: December 19, 10:00 PM PST to December 21, 4:00 AM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: December 20, 9:00 AM PST to December 21, 10:00 AM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: December 20, 10:21 AM PST to 6:40 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: December 20, 10:21 AM PST to 6:40 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Winter Storm, S Sierra Foothills

When: December 20, 3:00 PM PST to December 21, 4:00 AM PST
Where: S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE

Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Foothills

When: December 20, 4:00 PM PST to December 21, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5275622, 5275623, 5275626, 5275627, 5275624, 5275625.