One to two feet of snow was measured in a 48 hour period above 7000 feet.
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 STO wrote it up.
One to two feet of snow was measured in a 48 hour period above 7000 feet.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 18, 3:40 AM PST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
340 AM PST SUN FEB 18 2001
PATCHY AREAS OF LIGHT RAIN CONTINUE EARLY THIS MORNING OVER VALLEY AS
MODEL KEEPS LOW AND MID LEVEL MOISTURE TRAPPED IN THE VALLEY. MODELS
STILL HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME WITH THE COMPLEX PATTERN OVER THE
EASTERN PACIFIC. SO FOR THE SHORT TERM...WILL LEAN MORE ON SATELLITE
DATA THEN MODELS. MAIN STRONG UPPER LOW IS MOVING SOUTH-SOUTHEASTWARD
OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC. 120 PLUS KNOT JET ON THE BACK SIDE OF LOW
IS STARTING TO ROUND THE BOTTOM OF UPPER LOW. THIS SHOULD HELP SLOW
THE DIGGING LOW AND SWING IT MORE EASTWARD TODAY. A WEAK SHORTWAVE
...NOT PICKED UP WELL BY ANY OF THE MODELS...IS MOVING NORTHEAST
TOWARDS NORTHERN CA AT THIS TIME. THIS WAVE IS AHEAD OF MAIN LOW AND
SHOULD MOVE THROUGH NORTHERN CA TODAY BRINGING A THREAT OF SHOWERS
FOR THE AREA. HOWEVER...SATELLITE LOOP INDICATES THIS SYSTEM IS
WEAKENING AS IT APPROACHES THE COAST.
AS STRONG UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES TOWARDS NORTHERN CA
TONIGHT...EXPECT TO SEE OUR CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION TO INCREASE
OVERNIGHT. STRONG DYNAMICS...GOOD LOW TO MID LEVEL MOISTURE...STRONG
MID AND UPPER LEVEL JET...GOOD UPPER LEVEL DIFFLUENCE ALOFT...ETC...
SHOULD MAKE THIS IS GOOD PRECIPITATION PRODUCER IF THE MODELS ARE
CORRECT. ALONG WITH THE PRECIPITATION...BREEZY TO STRONG SOUTHERLY
WINDS SHOULD DEVELOP AS SYSTEM APPROACHES. LATEST MODELS ARE A LITTLE
SLOWER WITH TIMING OF SYSTEM...BUT AT THIS TIME...LOOK FOR MODERATE
TO LOCAL HEAVY PRECIPITATION TO SPREAD ACROSS AREA STARTING LATE
TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION AND GUSTY WIND SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY.
QPF AND TIMING FORECAST WILL BE A LITTLE TOUGH TO FORECAST AT THIS
TIME AS MODEL ARE ALREADY OFF ON THE FIRST 6 HOUR TIME STEP FORECAST
PERIOD. THE MODELS HAD A VERY TOUGH TIME WITH THE LAST SYSTEM.
A SHORT BREAK IS POSSIBLE LATE TUESDAY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY...BUT
EXTENDED MODELS KEEP WEATHER UNSETTLED THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD AS
MORE SYSTEMS WILL MOVE TOWARDS NORTHERN CA THROUGH THE END OF THE
WEEK. LAM
.STO...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR ALL OF THE INTERIOR MOUNTAINS OF
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.
BLU WS 037/031 034/029 036 76589
RBL WR 054/046 053/042 056 76589
SAC ER 057/047 055/046 058 763892 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, February 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: 5231231, 5231232.