Winter Storm in California, December 29 to 30, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in California, December 29 to 30, 2003
Start: 2003-12-29T06:00
End: 2003-12-30T06:00
Location: California

December 29 to 30, 2003 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

L. and above varied from 18" at Kibbie Ridge to 26" at Paradise Meadow in the Southern Sierra Nevada and from 10" at Pascoes to 17" at Crabtree Meadow in the Tulare County Mountains.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

In a late month storm snow totals at elevations from 6000 feet M.S.L. and above varied from 18" at Kibbie Ridge to 26" at Paradise Meadow in the Southern Sierra Nevada and from 10" at Pascoes to 17" at Crabtree Meadow in the Tulare County Mountains.

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 29, 4:00 AM PST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 29, 4:00 AM PST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
400 AM PST MON DEC 29 2003

.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...MOISTURE-LADEN
PACIFIC STORM REACHING NRN AREAS THIS MORNING...SPREADING SOUTH
DURING THE DAY. X-SECTIONS SHOW IMPRESSIVE UVM TODAY AND TONITE
ALONG WITH DEEP LAYER OF 90+ PCT RH. LIKELY TO SEE PRECIP TOTALS THE
NEXT 24-36 HRS SIMILAR TO LAST WEEKS STORM. NOT A LOT OF COLD AIR
ASSOCIATED THE THIS SYS...WITH LACK OF COLD AIR CU ON THE BACKSIDE.
SO SNOW LEVELS SHOULD REMAIN FAIRLY CONSTANT THRU THE EVENT. ON
TUES...PRECIP EMPHASIS SHIFTS TO THE SOUTH AS DRIER AIR WORKS IN
FROM THE NW AND UPPER LOW SKIRTS THE SOCAL COAST MOVING TOWARD NRN
BAJA. ON TUES NITE...REMAINING PRECIP TO END MTNS AND DESERTS AS
SHORTWAVE RIDGING TAKES PLACE. WED SHOULD BE DRY...BUT WILL HAVE TO
SEE IF ZONAL FLOW ACROSS NORCAL SAGS FAR ENOUGH SOUTH TO BRING ANY
PRECIP TO THE FAR NORTH PORTION OF THE FA LIKE MCE AND YNP.

.LONG TERM...FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...MEDIUM RANGE PROGS
CONTINUE TO INDICATE WEAK SHORTWAVE RIDGING OVER CENTRAL CA
WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHICH SLOWLY BREAKS DOWN ON NEW YEARS DAY AS
MOISTURE FROM A DEEPENING UPPER TROUGH PUSHES SLOWLY SOUTHWARD OVER
NORCAL. GFS IS MUCH FASTER THAN THE OTHER PROGS WITH THE TIMING OF
THE SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION OF THIS MOISTURE...AND SINCE IT IS THE ODD
MODEL OUT...WILL FOLLOW THE SLOWER TIMING SUGGESTED BY THE OTHER
MODELS. HAVE INTRODUCED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS TO THE EXTREME NORTHERN
PORTION OF THE CWFA ON NEW YEARS DAY FOR CONSISTENCY WITH THE NORCAL
OFFICES...ALTHOUGH THE DEEPER MOISTURE AND STRONGER MID LEVEL OMEGAS
SHOULD NOT REACH CENTRAL CA UNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT WHEN THE TROUGH
DEEPENS OFFSHORE. SEVERAL SHORTWAVE IMPULSES ROTATING AROUND THE
TROUGH ARE THEN PROJECTED TO CROSS THE AREA AS THE TROUGH REMAINS
QUASI-STATIONARY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. HAVE OPTED TO KEEP LOW
CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION GOING ON DAYS 5 TROUGH 7 SINCE TIMING THESE
IMPULSES IS TRICKY THIS FAR OUT.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
     SOUTHERN SIERRA TODAY AND TONIGHT FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE
     KERN COUNTY LINE...
  ...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS TONIGHT AND
     TUESDAY...

&&

BINGHAM/DS

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 29, 5:00 AM PST, 1 hour before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
500 AM PST MON DEC 29 2003

CAZ095-301300-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
500 AM PST MON DEC 29 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY.
REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...WWUS46 KHNX...FOR
FURTHER DETAILS.

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION MAY AVERAGE 1 TO 2 FEET OVER HIGHEST
PEAKS...WITH 8 TO 12 INCHES ABOVE 6000 FEET.

GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS 25 TO 40 MPH WILL ACCOMPANY THE SNOWFALL OVER
HIGHER RIDGES...RESULTING IN CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF
SNOW.

CAZ089>094-098-099-301300-
WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
500 AM PST MON DEC 29 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY...THE MARIPOSA, MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS...
AND THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

CAZ096-097-301300-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
500 AM PST MON DEC 29 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON...AND THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH TODAY. REFER TO
THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...WWUS46 KHNX...FOR FURTHER
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE WINTER STORM WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGHOUT TONIGHT.
REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...WWUS46 KHNX...FOR
FURTHER DETAILS.

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL AVERAGE 2 TO 4 FEET ABOVE 8000 FEET...
WITH 10 TO 15 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION AT AND ABOVE 6000 FEET.

GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS 25 TO 40 MPH WILL ACCOMPANY THE SNOWFALL OVER
HIGHER RIDGES...RESULTING IN CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF
SNOW.

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: December 29, 6:00 AM PST to December 30, 6:00 AM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: December 29, 6:00 AM PST to December 30, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Tulare 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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 2003

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: 5332364, 5332365.