Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- December 28, 4:00 PM PST to December 29, 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Winter Storm in California, December 28 to 29, 2001
Although snow levels were quite high (above 8500 feet MSL), snow amounts were quite significant such as the 36" of new snow at Wet Meadows in Tulare County and 31" at West Woodchuck Meadow in the Southern Sierra.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Although snow levels were quite high (above 8500 feet MSL), snow amounts were quite significant such as the 36" of new snow at Wet Meadows in Tulare County and 31" at West Woodchuck Meadow in the Southern Sierra.
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 28, 3:20 PM PST, 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 28, 3:20 PM PST, 40 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
320 PM PST FRI DEC 28 2001
A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE PACIFIC AND
INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA THE NEXT FEW DAYS. DEEP MOIST FLOW WILL HAS
BEEN FOCUSED MAINLY ON THE BAY AREA AND THE SRN SAC AND NRN SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEYS SO FAR TODAY...BUT HAS BEGUN SPREADING FARTHER
SOUTH. RAIN WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. PRECIP MAY BE
MODERATE TO HEAVY AT TIMES...AIDED BY OROGRAPHICS AND ALSO BY THE
CLOUD BAND DEVELOPING JUST WEST OF 30N/130W WHICH IS TAKING AIM ON
CENTRAL CA. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN HIGH...MAINLY ABOVE 8000 FEET AS
700 MB TEMPS ARE NEAR 0C TONIGHT. WILL CONTINUE WITH WINTER STORM
WARNING ABOVE 8500 FEET TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.
SHOULD GET A BRIEF BREAK FROM THE RAIN SUNDAY AS A WEAK SHORTWAVE
RIDGE MOVES OVER THE AREA...THEN THE NEXT SYSTEM BEGINS TO SPREAD
RAIN IN AGAIN SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. THE NEXT IN THE SERIES OF
STORMS ARRIVES TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY WITH THE CHANCE OF RAIN CONTINUING
INTO THURSDAY. THE STORM TRACK SHIFTS SLIGHTLY FARTHER NORTH BY
TUESDAY...WITH THE MAIN ENERGY SHIFTING MORE INTO NRN CALIFORNIA.
WILL NOT TRY TO TIME THE INDIVIDUAL WAVES AT THIS TIME...BUT WILL
BROAD BRUSH THE EXTENDED WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN EACH DAY THROUGH
THURSDAY. WILL KEEP FRIDAY DRY FOR NOW...CONTINGENT ON THE MRF
ACTUALLY BUILDING A RIDGE OVER THE REGION.
.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 8500 FEET FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE TONIGHT AND
SATURDAY.
BEANIn the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 28, 3:45 PM PST, 15 minutes before
CAZ089>097-290600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA 345 PM PST FRI DEC 28 2001 A WARM PACIFIC STORM WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD RAIN ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR TONIGHT AND SATURDAY...WITH SNOW FALLING AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 8000 FEET. THE STORM WILL HAVE ACCESS TO AN ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE. BY SATURDAY EVENING...RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL AVERAGE ONE-HALF TO ONE INCH IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...WITH ONE TO TWO INCHES POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE HIGHER THAN OBSERVED WITH RECENT STORMS...AND WILL RANGE FROM 8000 TO 8500 FEET. THE RELATIVELY WARM RAINS WILL CAUSE SOME MELTING OF THE SNOW PACK...RESULTING IN ADDITIONAL RUNOFF INTO CREEKS AND STREAMS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE... FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND UPDATES ON THESE APPROACHING STORMS. OR VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/HANFORD. BEAN
Event by event
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- December 28, 4:00 PM PST to December 29, 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, December 28 to 30, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 28 to 30, 2001
- Winter Storm in Michigan, December 28 to 29, 2001
- High Wind in Hawaii, December 28 to 31, 2001
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, December 28 to 29, 2001
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, December 28, 2001
- Drought in Pennsylvania, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 28 to 29, 2001
More
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5275632, 5275633.