Winter Storm in California, December 19 to 21, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in California, December 19 to 21, 2002
Start: 2002-12-19T15:00
End: 2002-12-21T04:00
Location: California

December 19 to 21, 2002 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Sierra Nevada and Kern County Mountains. Observed snowfall included: 13 inches at Volcanic Knob and Charlotte Lake, 12" at Crane Flat and Hume Lake, 24" at Quaking Aspen, 20" at Lodgepole, 16" at Ponderosa Lodge, 13" at Chagoopa Plateau, and 7" at Mountain Valley Airport on the Tehachapi Valley floor.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

While snow fell to an elevation of 2500 feet Mean Sea Level, larger amounts of snow fell at high elevations of the S.Sierra Nevada and Kern County Mountains. Observed snowfall included: 13 inches at Volcanic Knob and Charlotte Lake, 12" at Crane Flat and Hume Lake, 24" at Quaking Aspen, 20" at Lodgepole, 16" at Ponderosa Lodge, 13" at Chagoopa Plateau, and 7" at Mountain Valley Airport on the Tehachapi Valley floor.

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, 9:55 AM PST, 5 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 19, 9:55 AM PST, 5 hours 5 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
955 AM PST THU DEC 19 2002

DEEP UPPER LOW WAS CENTERED NEAR 45N/133W THIS MORNING WITH A
VIGOROUS FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING SOUTH OFF THE COAST. FRONTAL
SYSTEM HAS SLOWED A BIT WITH A PRECIP NO SPREADING INTO THE BAY
AREA. ONSET OF PRECIP INTO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY EXPECTED BY LATE
AFTERNOON WITH OROGRAPHICS AIDING AN EARLIER START TO THE PRECIP IN
THE SIERRA. SOME LIGHTNING DETECTED WITH THE PRECIP MOVING
ONSHORE...SO MENTION OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS LATE AFTN/EVENING
LOOKS GOOD AS THE FRONT APPROACHES. WILL NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES TO
WINTER STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS AT THIS TIME.

OTHER CONCERN TODAY IS THE INCREASING WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT.
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS CONTINUE TO INCREASE THIS MORNING WITH
WINDS ALREADY 15-20 MPH FROM ABOUT MADERA NORTHWARD. EXPECT
SOUTHEAST WINDS TO INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE VALLEY THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON. WIND ADVISORY LOOKS GOOD FOR THE CENTRAL VALLEY...AND
WILL HAVE TO MONITOR WINDS IN THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF THE VALLEY
FOR GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON.

PATTERN WILL REMAIN UNSETTLED FRI-SAT AS INITIAL TROUGH MOVES INLAND
FRI AFTERNOON AND NEXT SHORTWAVE TRACKS SE TOWARD THE SOCAL COAST ON
SAT.

.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NORTH OF
       KERN COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY.
    ...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS TONIGHT AND
       FRIDAY.
    ...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THROUGH THIS
       EVENING.

BEAN

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 19, 5:40 AM PST, 9 hours 20 minutes before

CAZ089>099-201400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
540 AM PST THU DEC 19 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF STRONG PACIFIC STORMS WILL BRING
PRECIPITATION AND GUSTY WINDS TO THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR
TODAY.

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
NORTH OF KERN COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR HEAVY SNOW AND
STRONG WIND. PLEASE REFER TO SFOWSWHNX (WWUS46 KHNX).

A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
TONIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO SFOWSWHNX (WWUS46 KHNX).

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR SOUTHEAST WINDS INCREASING TO 15 TO 30
MPH...WITH LOCALLY STRONGER GUSTS. STRONGEST WINDS WILL AFFECT AREAS
FROM WESTERN FRESNO COUNTY...NORTH THROUGH LOS BANOS AND MERCED.
WINDS WILL SUBSIDE LATE THIS EVENING.

A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ALSO EXISTS ACROSS THE CENTRAL SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS THIS AFTERNOON...AND ACROSS
MOST OF THE CENTRAL INTERIOR TONIGHT. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP
WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HEAVY DOWNPOURS...GUSTY WINDS AND
HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH CHRISTMAS DAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
NORTH OF KERN COUNTY FRIDAY.

A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
FRIDAY.

ADDITIONAL STORMS WILL BRING MORE RAIN AND SNOW TO THE CENTRAL
INTERIOR FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL MONDAY
THROUGH CHRISTMAS DAY WITH NIGHT AND MORNING FOG RETURNING TO THE
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

JSN

Event by event

3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: December 19, 3:00 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 19, 5:00 PM PST to December 20, 4:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Winter Storm, Kern Cty Mtns

When: December 19, 10:00 PM PST to December 20, 4:00 PM PST
Where: Kern 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

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5324666, 5324667, 5324668.