Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, March 17 to 18, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, March 17 to 18, 2002
Start: 2002-03-17T15:00
End: 2002-03-18T10:50
Location: California

March 17 to 18, 2002 · NWS SGX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 32
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 SGX wrote it up.

Border Patrol agents rescued five separate groups of people who were lightly clad and suffering from hypothermia in the San Diego Mountains near Pine Valley. Whiteout conditions were reported over the High Desert areas. The snow level was near 2500 feet. More than 12 inches of snow fell above 6000 level in less than 12 hours. Thunderstorms were present during the middle of the night. Lightning struck an aircraft on final approach into San Diego International Airport. Small hail was reported over the Apple Valley.

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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 2:30 PM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 2:30 PM PST, 30 minutes before

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 PM PST SUN MAR 17 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A COLD STORM APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH WILL BRING SHOWERS
AND LOCAL GUSTY WINDS TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING WITH WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORIES IN EFFECT FOR THE MOUNTAINS. FAIR AND WARMER TUESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY UNDER HIGH PRESSURE. ANOTHER STORM WILL MOVE PAST TO THE NORTH
NEXT WEEKEND BRINGING MORE CLOUDS...COOLING AND A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

.DISCUSSION...SCT TO BKN CLOUDS OVER MOST OF CWFA TODAY. 12Z NKX
SOUNDING HAD A 5 KFT DEEP LOW LEVEL MOIST LAYER...WARMING ABOVE 800 MB
AND WLY WINDS ALOFT. ONSHORE GRADIENTS WITH ABOUT 5 MB SAN-IPL AND 9 MB
SAN-TPH BUT GRADIENTS WEAKENING TO THE NE.

STRONG NLY JET STILL EVIDENT ON W SIDE OF TROUGH AND THIS WILL HELP IT
DIG INTO SRN CA. SHOWERS EXPECTED TO SPREAD OVER MOST OF OUR CWFA
TONIGHT...PROBABLY STARTING AROUND 01-03Z IN ORANGE COUNTY AND 02-04Z IN
SAN COUNTY. THE SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF FROM THE N MON AM. WE WILL BE IN
THE LEFT FRONT QUAD OF THE NLY JET LATE TONIGHT SO GOOD DYNAMICS FOR
SOME HEAVY SHOWERS. VERY LOW 500 MB TEMPS AND TRAJECTORIES AT LEAST
PARTLY OVER THE RELATIVELY WARM WATER SO COULD BE SOME THUNDERSTORMS
TONIGHT INTO MON AM. RAINFALL TOTALS WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE 0.10 TO
0.50 INCH RANGE W OF MOUNTAINS BUT TOTALS WILL BE QUITE VARIABLE DUE TO
THE SHOWERY NATURE OF THE PRECIP AND MAY GETS SOME LOCAL LARGER AMOUNTS.
COULD GET 4-12 INCHES OF SNOW AT MANY MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS...WITH MORE N
AND LESS S. MOUNTAIN WINDS WILL BE CLOSE TO ADVISORY STRENGTH SO WILL
ISSUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WITH AFTERNOON PACKAGE. WINDY IN THE
DESERTS AS WELL...BUT PROBABLY BELOW ADVISORY STRENGTH THROUGH MON AM.
BRIEF N TO NE WINDS WILL DEVELOP MON AFTERNOON...AND COULD BE NEAR
ADVISORY STRENGTH IN THE MOUNTAINS...YUCCA VALLEY...COACHELLA VALLEY AND
BELOW CAJON PASS...WEAKENING BY TUE. BUILDING RIDGE ALOFT TUE-WED FOR
FAIR AND WARMER WEATHER.

LONGER RANGE PROGS GRADUALLY SHIFT RIDGE E THU-FRI WITH FLOW ALOFT
TURNING SW AND BRINGING IN SOME HI CLOUDS. TROUGH MOVES PAST TO THE N
SAT-SUN FOR MORE CLOUDS/COOLING AND CHANCE OF PRECIP.

.SAN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...SEE LAXWSWSAN.
       SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...SEE LAXCWFSGX.

ATKIN

The radar

The San Diego radar (KNKX), 134 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow, 1 lightning, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Riverside County Mountains

When: March 17, 3:00 PM PST to March 18, 7:42 AM PST
Where: Riverside County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, San Bernardino County Mountains

When: March 17, 3:51 PM PST to March 18, 7:36 AM PST
Where: San Bernardino County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, San Diego T X W

When: March 17, 5:46 PM PST to March 18, 7:06 AM PST
Where: San Diego T X W forecast zone
Injuries: 32 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, San Diego

When: March 17, 11:30 PM PST
Where: San Diego County, (San)san Diego Intl
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Apple and Yucca Valleys

When: March 18, 3:00 AM PST to 7:30 AM PST
Where: Apple and Yucca Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, San Bernardino County Valley/The Inland Empire

When: March 18, 10:50 AM PST
Where: San Bernardino County Valley/The Inland Empire forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 34.293, -116.086 (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.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, March 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: 5281722, 5281721, 5281718, 5281723, 5281720, 5281719.