A Winter Storm Warning for this area was downgraded to a Snow Advisory at 1430 PST on 02/20. The advisory was finally cancelled at 1145 PST on 02/22.
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.
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 MFR wrote it up.
A Winter Storm Warning for this area was downgraded to a Snow Advisory at 1430 PST on 02/20. The advisory was finally cancelled at 1145 PST on 02/22. From the above reports, all of which verified a Heavy Snow Warning, it is clear that the warning should not have been downgraded, but the cancellation time would have remained the same
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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 22, 2:30 AM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 AM PST THU FEB 22 2001
STRONG JET MOVING THRU THE AREA WITH LARGE AREA OF ENHANCMENT. RADAR
SHOWING EXPANDING AREA OF RAIN/SNOW. WILL BUMP UP POPS FOR 1ST PERIOD
TO COVER THIS EARLY ACTIVITY. WILL ALSO CONTINUE SNOW ADVISORY FOR MT
SHASTA AREA INTO THE MORN. PRECIP SHUD WIND DOWN LATER TODAY THOUGH
UPR LOW STILL IN THE AREA SO SHOWERS LIKELY TO CONTINUE. SOME UPR
RIDGING MOVES IN TONIGHT AS LOW MOVES OUT. PRECIP WILL DIMINISH. ALL
MODELS SHOW ANOTHER WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVING THRU FRI. THIS ONE NOT
LIKELY TO PRODUCE MUCH AS IT SHEARS APART. WILL MAINTAIN SLIGHT
CHANCE POPS FOR THE WEST SIDE. STRONGER STORM WILL IMPACT THE REGION
SAT/SUN/MON SO CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK WITH SOME MODS TO
FIRST PERIOD FOR THE MOST PART.
.MFR...SNOW ADVISORY CAZ082 ABOVE 3500 FEET THIS MORNING.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FLORENCE TO PT ST GEORGE.
OTH RE 051/039 051/038 053 067331
4BK RE 052/039 052/038 052 067321
RBG RE 052/038 051/036 050 067321
MFR RE 053/035 053/033 050 066321
LMT SE 040/024 042/022 044 066311
LKV SE 040/022 041/020 043 066311
MHS SE 037/026 043/025 041 069311The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotter SY05 2 miles west of Weed recieved 11 inches of snow overnight. Nearby Bunny Flats at 7000 feet got 24 inches overnight.
A California Department of Water Resources snow measuring device at Sand Flat (6750 feet) reported 36 inches of snow between 0600 on 02/19 and 0600 on 02/22. The 24 hours totals (0600-0600) for the three days was 4 inches, 11 inches, and 21 inches, respectively.
Spotter SY19 4 miles west of Black Butte received 11 inches of snow in the past 10 hours. Elevation 3880 feet.
Spotter SY39 6 miles west of Black Butte reported 16 inches of snow in the past 24 hours.
Spotter SY01 reported 4 to 14 inches of snow in the Mt. Shasta area as of 0700 PST.
Spotter SY70 3 miles south of McCloud received 7 inches of snow between 0000 and 0900 PST.
Spotter SY31 3 miles NW of Mount Shasta City reported 13 inches of snow in 12 hours ending at 0800 PST on 02/22.
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: 5229701, 5229707, 5229702, 5229703, 5229704, 5229705, 5229706.