A prescribed burn spotted into the next canyon when temperatures rose, humidities dropped into the single digits and winds increased from the southwest. The fire raced up to the ridge line and burned a ski patrol shack at the top of Goldmine Peak.
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 SGX wrote it up.
A prescribed burn spotted into the next canyon when temperatures rose, humidities dropped into the single digits and winds increased from the southwest. The fire raced up to the ridge line and burned a ski patrol shack at the top of Goldmine Peak. Both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit skiresorts were evacuated as a precaution. In all, 358 acres burned.
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 25, 8:30 AM PST, 5 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO 830 AM PST THU MAR 25 2004 .SYNOPSIS...A DEEP MARINE LAYER AND ONSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY AND CAUSE NIGHT AND MORNING LOW CLOUDS AND PATCHY FOG WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. LOCAL DRIZZLE WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY MORNING DUE TO A WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. OFFSHORE FLOW WILL DEVELOP OVER THE WEEKEND AND BRING LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS THROUGH PASSES AND CANYONS AND VERY WARM WEATHER. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. UPDATED THE ZONES AT 7 AM PST TO REMOVE THE DENSE FOG ADVISORY THAT WAS ISSUED FOR THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY COAST AROUND 6 AM PST. MARINE LAYER REMAINS AROUND 3500 TO 4000 FEET DEEP WITH STRATOCUMULUS UP AGAINST THE COASTAL SLOPES OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING. THE STRATOCUMULUS LAYER WAS NOT SOLID ALLOWING ENOUGH OPEN AREAS FOR SOME PATCHY FOG. LATEST MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH THAT WILL PASS THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ON FRIDAY WILL BE QUITE WEAK. SOME INTERACTION WITH THE DEEP MARINE LAYER COULD WRING OUT A LITTLE DRIZZLE OR LIGHT RAIN FRIDAY BUT NO SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED. ANY MEASURABLE AMOUNTS SHOULD BE LESS THEN 5 HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH AND CONFINED TO WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. THE SHORTWAVE SHOULD BRING SOME GUSTY WINDS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. OFFSHORE FLOW DEVELOPS BEHIND THE SHORTWAVE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY ALTHOUGH REMAINING ONSHORE ALONG THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY COAST UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OVER THE OUTER COASTAL WATERS BEHIND THE SHORTWAVE SHOULD KEEP A COASTAL EDDY IN PLACE AT LEAST THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. ANY EDDY SHOULD DISSIPATE BY LATE SATURDAY AS THE OFFSHORE FLOW STRENGTHENS. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SHOW SOME DIFFERENCE ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK WITH THE EUROPEAN MODEL SHOWING A CUT OFF LOW OFF THE CENTRAL CALIFORIA COAST WHILE THE 00Z GFS MODEL SHOWS A WEAKER CUTOFF LOW FURTHER SOUTH NEAR 30N ABOUT WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. THE GFS INDICATES THIS SYSTEM MAY PICK UP SOME SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE WHICH COULD BRING SOME PRECIPITATION LATE IN THE WEEK. HOWEVER...WITH THE DISAGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS...WILL NOT GO WITH THE GFS MODEL AT THIS TIME BUT KEEP PARTLY CLOUDY IN PLACE FOR NOW AND WAIT AND SEE WHAT LATER MODELS DO. NO FURTHER UPDATES ARE PLANNED AT THIS TIME. && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && HORTON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 600 AM PST THU MAR 25 2004 CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-261400- ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS- SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE- SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS- SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- APPLE AND YUCCA VALLEYS- COACHELLA VALLEY- SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS- 600 AM PST THU MAR 25 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY POSSIBLE GUSTY SANTA ANA WINDS BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS IN THE SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE... SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS... SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS... SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. MACKECHNIE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2004
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: 5393393.