California, 2002

Heavy Snow in California, April 15, 2002

April 15, 2002 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A heavy snow shower, creating low visibilityand a slick roadway, caused a 21 vehicle pile-up on Intertstate 80 about 5 miles east of Truckee, CA. Several trucks were involved in the accident with at least one semi trailer destroyed.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
4
Property damage
$500,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 REV wrote it up.

A heavy snow shower, creating low visibilityand a slick roadway, caused a 21 vehicle pile-up on Intertstate 80 about 5 miles east of Truckee, CA. Several trucks were involved in the accident with at least one semi trailer destroyed.

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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 15, 1:30 AM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 15, 1:30 AM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Greater Lake Tahoe Area

When
April 15, 7:00 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
Where
Greater Lake Tahoe Area forecast zone
Injuries
4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2002

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5289622.