Name: Winter Storm and Heavy Rain in California, October 19 to 20, 2004
Start: 2004-10-19T04:57
End: 2004-10-20T15:00
Location: California

Where it happened

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.

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: 2
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

Following the early-season Winter Storm that began on the 17th, extensively more snow fell on the 19th and 20th in the higher elevations of Central California. High winds accompanied this system throughout much of the state. This early winter storm caught numerous climbers and hikers throughout the Southern Sierra Nevada in the open. Two climbers in Yosemite National Park froze to death as they were climbing the El Capitan Face. Snow amounts for the period from the 19th through 21st in the South Sierra Nevada included 45" at Blackcap Basin; 40" at Gin Flat; 39" at Chilkroot Meadow, Tamarack Meadow, and Agnew Pass; and, 38" at Mitchell Pass and West Woodchuck Meadow. In the Tulare County Mountains 25" of snow was reported at Big Meadows with 22" at Farewell Gap. Accompanying the winter storm in the Southern Sierra Nevada were gusty wind throughout Interior Central California. In the Kern Mountains south winds were sustained at 15 MPH but had gusts to 50 MPH at the Bear Valley RAWS site west of Tehachapi, CA. On the Central San Joaquin Valley floor Fresno recorded a daily rain total of 0.75" shattering the old record of 0.21" on the date set in 1936.

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 Oct 19, 3:15 AM PST, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 19, 3:15 AM PST, 1 hour 42 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 19, 3:58 AM PST, 59 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 winter storm, 1 heavy rain, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Fresno

When: October 19, 4:57 AM PST to 5:11 PM PST
Where: Fresno County, (Fat) Air Terminal
Measured: 0.75
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: October 19, 4:24 PM PST to October 20, 3:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: October 19, 4:24 PM PST to October 20, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Winter Weather, Kern Cty Mtns

When: October 19, 10:44 PM PST to 11:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns	2004-10-19	40	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns	2004-10-19	40	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in California, October 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: 5426019, 5426016, 5426017, 5426018.