Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- January 1, 3:00 AM PST to January 3, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Winter Storm in California, January 1 to 3, 2004
Typical winter storm for the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra Nevada with the following estimated snowfall in generally less than 24 hours on the 1st: Chilkoot Meadow 41 inches; Wet Meadows 40"; Paradise Meadow and Kaiser Point 37"; Crabtree Meadow 22"; Tamarack Summit 21"; and, Huntington Lake 20". Another storm system on the 2nd and 3rd followed the stronger system of the 1st…
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.
Typical winter storm for the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra Nevada with the following estimated snowfall in generally less than 24 hours on the 1st: Chilkoot Meadow 41 inches; Wet Meadows 40"; Paradise Meadow and Kaiser Point 37"; Crabtree Meadow 22"; Tamarack Summit 21"; and, Huntington Lake 20". Another storm system on the 2nd and 3rd followed the stronger system of the 1st continuing to deposit lessor amounts of snow. For the foothills elevations as low as 3000 feet a couple of inches were reported from Mariposa to the Kern County Mountains with up to 15" of new snow at the higher elevations into the morning of the 3rd.
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 31, 9:50 PM PST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 9:50 PM PST, 5 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
950 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003
.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...PATCHY FOG HAS
DEVELOPED IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...WITH
HANFORD AND VISALIA ALREADY DOWN TO A QUARTER MILE OR LESS...AND
FRESNO BELOW 2 MILES. HAVE ISSUED A DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THE
CENTRAL AND SOUTH VALLEY FOR TONIGHT THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS OF
NEW YEARS DAY.
THE NEXT CONCERN IS THE APPROACHING PACIFIC STORM. SATELLITE LOOPS
SHOW THE UPPER-LEVEL LOW WEST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND THIS EVENING. A
120+ KT JET IS FORECAST TO DIVE AROUND THE ASSOCIATED TROUGH AND
INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BY 18Z THURSDAY. THIS JET WILL BRING A
SERIES OF IMPULSES ROTATING AROUND THE TROUGH INTO CALIFORNIA DURING
THE DAY...FOR AN INCREASING CHANCE OF RAIN...INITIALLY OVER THE
NORTHERN PART OF THE HANFORD WARNING/FORECAST AREA...THEN SPREADING
SOUTH DURING THE DAY. THE TROUGH ITSELF IS FORECAST BY THE 00Z MODELS
TO REACH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THURSDAY NIGHT...THEN DROP INTO
CALIFORNIA FRIDAY. THE GFS IS A BIT MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE TROUGH
THAN THE ETA...PUSHING THE TROUGH AXIS EAST OF THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR BY 06Z SATURDAY...WHILE THE ETA IS AT LEAST 6
HOURS SLOWER. IF THE TRENDS SEEN IN THE 00Z MODELS ARE CORRECT...THE
RAIN AND SNOW MAY BE SLOWER TO REACH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA...AND SLOWER
TO MOVE OUT SATURDAY. WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE TIMING ISSUES THIS
EVENING...BUT WILL LET THE MIDNIGHT CREW COORDINATE ANY CHANGES TO
THE FORECAST WITH NEIGHBORING OFFICES.
.LONG TERM...FOR SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE
IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH PLACING THE WEST COAST UNDER A NORTHWESTERLY
FLOW ALOFT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EXTENDED. ALL MODELS EXCEPT THE
CANADIAN PLACE THE LONGER WAVE TROF AXIS OVER THE MIDWEST WITH A
SHORT WAVE RIDGE PUSHING THROUGH THE WEST. WILL GO WITH MODEL
CONSENSUS/WITHOUT THE CANADIAN/ AND MAINTAIN SUNDAY AS A DRY DAY
WITH PRECIP RETURNING TO THE DISTRICT LATER SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. WILL
KEEP POTENTIAL FOR PRECIP LOW (SLIGHT CHANCES TO LOW CHANCES) FOR
THE MONDAY AND TUESDAY TIME FRAME AS A MORE ZONAL FLOW REPLACE THE
RIDGING OVER THE WEST. EXPECTING ONLY WEAK PIECES OF ENERGY TO MOVE
THROUGH THE MEAN ZONAL FLOW TO MAINTAIN THE DISTRICT UNDER UNSETTLED
WEATHER INTO MIDWEEK. MODELS SHOW THE UPPER TROF SWINGING CLOSER TO
THE WEST COAST BY WEDNESDAY. THEREFORE...WILL INCREASE THE POTENTIAL
FOR PRECIP ON WEDNESDAY AS A MUCH MORE DEEPER AREA OF MOISTURE
CUTTING ACROSS THE DISTRICT. COLDER AIR PUSHING THROUGH ON SATURDAY
WILL BE MODIFIED BY SUNDAY TO RAISE THE SNOW LEVEL. TEMPERATURES
DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD WILL BE ON A WARMING TREND AS 850-700MB
TEMP/S AND 1000-500MB THICKNESS BOTH SHOW RISING VALUES.
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
...DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY TONIGHT THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS OF NEW YEARS DAY.
...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SOUTHERN SIERRA LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY EVENING FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO KINGS CANYON.
...WINTER STORM WARNING NEW YEARS DAY AND THURSDAY EVENING FOR
THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS.
...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND THE
FOOTHILLS OF MARIPOSA...MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTIES NEW
YEARS DAY.
&&
SANGER/MOLINAHazardous weather outlook, Dec 31, 9:17 PM PST, 5 hours 43 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 917 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003 CAZ096-011300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- 917 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON...FOR LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...WWUS46 KHNX...FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ097-011300- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 917 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS FOR NEW YEARS DAY THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...WWUS46 KHNX...FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ089-090-011300- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 917 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. .DAY ONE...TODAY A DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY TONIGHT THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS OF NEW YEARS DAY. PLEASE REFER TO SFONPWHNX...WWUS76 KHNX...FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY IS IN EFFECT FOR NEW YEARS DAY. PLEASE REFER TO SFONPWHNX...WWUS76 KHNX...FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ091-092-011300- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 917 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY .DAY ONE...TODAY A DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FOR TONIGHT THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS OF NEW YEARS DAY. PLEASE REFER TO SFONPWHNX...WWUS76 KHNX...FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ093-011300- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- 917 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MARIPOSA...MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOOTHILLS OF MARIPOSA...MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTIES FOR NEW YEARS DAY. PLEASE REFER TO SFONPWHNX... .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ094-095-098-099-011300- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 917 PM PST WED DEC 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS... AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
Event by event
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- January 1, 7:00 AM PST to January 3, 4:00 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
- Blizzard in Idaho, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Drought in Colorado, January 1 to 31, 2004
- Winter Storm in Montana, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 1 to 3, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Winter Storm in Montana, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Winter Storm in Colorado, January 1 to 4, 2004
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in California, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Winter Storm in Utah, January 1 to 4, 2004
- Drought in Utah, January 1 to 31, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 1, 2004
More
Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2004
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: 5382207, 5380375.