Heavy Snow in California, March 14 to 15, 2003

Name: Heavy Snow in California, March 14 to 15, 2003
Start: 2003-03-14T05:49
End: 2003-03-15T04:50
Location: California

March 14 to 15, 2003 · NWS MFR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A Heavy Snow Warning was issued for the above locations efffective at the above listed times. Sand Flat, at 6750 feet in the mountains east of Mt.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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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 MFR wrote it up.

A Heavy Snow Warning was issued for the above locations efffective at the above listed times. Sand Flat, at 6750 feet in the mountains east of Mt. Shasta City, recorded 23 inches of snow between 0700 PST on 03/14 and 0500 PST on 03/15. Unfortunately, no verifying reports were received at lower elevations, although it is likely that significant snow fell in these areas above 5000 feet.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 14, 3:00 AM PST, 2 hours 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 14, 3:00 AM PST, 2 hours 49 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR
300 AM PST FRI MAR 14 2003

SHOWER ACTIVITY THIS MORNING...PRIMARILY COAST AND SISKIYOU COUNTY AS
A SHORTWAVE MOVES NORTHEAST ACROSS OUR REGION.

NEXT SYSTEM NOW OFFSHORE NEAR 140W WILL APPROACH THE COAST TONIGHT
AND MOVE INLAND SATURDAY MORNING. NEW 06Z RUN OF THE ETA LOOKS
VERY REASONABLE WITH SLIGHTLY SLOWER TIMING AS THE LOW DEVELOPS AND
MOVES NORTHEAST TOWARD VANCOUVER ISLAND. SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE
AGAIN ALONG THE COAST IN THE SHASTA AND ROGUE VALLEYS AND ON THE EAST
SIDE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND BECOME STRONG THIS EVENING. WILL
ISSUE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR SHASTA VALLEY AS WELL AS THE COAST WITH
WIND ADVISORY IN ROGUE VALLEY AND EAST SIDE.  RAIN WILL DEVELOP
ACROSS THE WEST SIDE THIS EVENING EXCEPT TILL AFTER MIDNIGHT IN THE
ROGUE VALLEY THEN SPREAD EAST WITH SNOW LEVELS NEAR 6000 FEET
FALLING TO NEAR 4500 FEET. RAIN TURNING TO SHOWERS SATURDAY WITH
SNOW LEVEL RISING SLIGHTLY.

PARENT UPPER TROUGH WILL REMAIN CENTERED IN THE GULF OF ALASKA
THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK WITH A SERIES OF WEAKER SYSTEMS
DELIVERING CHANCE TO LIKELY POPS AND GRADUALLY LOWERING SNOW LEVELS
THEN POSSIBILITY OF ANOTHER DEEPER TROUGH IN THE GULF OF ALASKA
TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK.  DW

.MFR...HIGH WIND WARNING.....OR ZONES ORZ021/022 FOR FRI AFTN/EVNG.
       HIGH WIND WARNING.....CA ZONE CAZ081 FOR FRI NIGHT.
       WIND ADVISORY.........OR ZONES ORZ026/029>031 AND CA ZONES
                             084>085 FOR FRI NIGHT.
       WINTER STORM WARNING..CA ZONES CAZ080/082 ABV 5.0 KFT FOR TNGT
                             THRU SAT.
       SNOW ADVISORY.........CA ZONES CAZ083 AND OR ZONES 028/NRN 030
                             ABV 5.0 KFT FOR TNGT THRU SAT.
       GALE WARNING..........FLORENCE OR TO CAPE BLANCO OR.
       STORM WARNING.........CAPE BLANCO OR TO PT ST GEORGE CA.
       HIGH SURF ADVISORY....ORZ021/022.

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 14, 5:39 AM PST, 10 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

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Western Siskiyou County

When: March 14, 5:49 AM PST to March 15, 4:50 AM PST
Where: Western Siskiyou County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.593, -122.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Heavy Snow, South Central Siskiyou County

When: March 14, 5:49 AM PST to March 15, 4:50 AM PST
Where: South Central Siskiyou County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.593, -122.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

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

Every storm in California in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5344885, 5344886.