A cold front moved through the region on December 13th and 14th. A total of 1 to 2 feet of snow fell in the Sierra with 3 to 5 inches east of the Sierra.
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.
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 REV wrote it up.
A cold front moved through the region on December 13th and 14th. A total of 1 to 2 feet of snow fell in the Sierra with 3 to 5 inches east of the Sierra. Some areas reported 2 to 3 inch-per-hour snowfall rates.Snowfall totals:Northstar at Tahoe Ski Resort 6-10 inchesAlpine Meadows Ski Resort (7000 ft) 10-12 inches (8637 ft) 16-18 inchesBoreal Ski Resort 12-16 inchesSquaw Valley Ski Resort (6200 ft) 4-6 inches (8200 ft) 8-10 inchesSierra at Tahoe Ski Resort 8-12 inchesEcho Summit 15 inchesKingvale 10 inchesMeyers 10 inches
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 Dec 13, 10:00 AM PST, 3 hours earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2003
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: 5328128.