Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- December 1, 2:00 PM PST to December 2, 6:00 AM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Winter Storm and Heavy Rain in California, December 1 to 2, 2005
While a couple of storm systems had brought a few inches of snow to the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra Nevada earlier in the cool season for Interior Central California, the first winter storm for the high elevations came on the 1st of December. Overnight new snow totals included 55" at Kaiser Point, 30" at Tuolumne Meadows, and 26" at Charlotte Lake.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
While a couple of storm systems had brought a few inches of snow to the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra Nevada earlier in the cool season for Interior Central California, the first winter storm for the high elevations came on the 1st of December. Overnight new snow totals included 55" at Kaiser Point, 30" at Tuolumne Meadows, and 26" at Charlotte Lake. In the Tulare County Mountains, 24" of new snow fell at Crabtree Meadows. Precipitation totals included 2.51" at Mariposa, 3.61" at Yosemite, 4.56" at Bass Lake, 5.16" at Kaiser Point and Chilcoot Meadow, and Wishon Dam 5.26". The higher snow totals were the result of strong orographic influence in the southwest wind flow aloft. While the Central San Joaquin Valley had only minor amounts of rainfall of less than 0.10" in the frontal passage, the Southern San Joaquin Valley locally accumulated substantial amounts: Lemoore 0.30" and a spotter in Bakersfield reported 0.60" before the rain ceased.
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 1, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 1, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
900 AM PST THU DEC 1 2005
.SHORT TERM...MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW UNDERNEATH AN UPPER TROUGH OFF
THE PAC NW COAST STREAMING INTO CENTRAL CA BROUGHT AN INCREASE
IN CLOUD COVER TO MUCH OF THE CWFA OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER...SAT LOOPS AND
WEB INDICATE ONLY SOME THIN HIGH CLOUDS OVER THE KERN MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS. KHNX 88Z INDICATING PRECIPITATION HAS BEEN CONFINED
MAINLY TO THE YOSEMITE PARK AREA AND THE MARIPOSA COUNTY FOOTHILLS
AS THE MAIN PRECIPITATION BAND HAS REMAINED MAINLY NORTH OF OUR
AREA. HOWEVER...THE OPAQUE CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION ARE EXPECTED TO
SAG SOUTHWARD OVER THE COURSE OF THE DAY AS THE OFFSHORE TROUGH
DEEPENS AND A VIGOROUS S/W DEPICTED BY WV NEAR 32N/135W APPROACHES
OUR AREA.
12Z NAM/NGM/GFS REMAIN CONSISTENT IN BRINGING THE MAIN ENERGY
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM ACROSS CA TONIGHT AS A 120+ KT 250 MB JET
MAX CROSSES THE CWFA. EXPECT MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION ACROSS
THE NORTHERN HALF OF OUR AREA TONIGHT AS THE FAVORED LFQ MOVES
OVERHEAD. ALREADY REPORTS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL ABOVE 8500
FEET IN YOSEMITE PARK SO THE WINTER STORM WARNING ISSUED BY THE
PREVIOUS SHIFT LOOKS TO BE ON TARGET AND WILL REFRESH BY 1000 PST.
RFC HAS QPF PROGS INDICATING TWO TO FOUR INCHES OF LIQUID RAINFALL IN
THE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF KINGS CANYON AND 1 1/2 TO 3 INCHES SOUTH OF
KINGS CANYON TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE. ACROSS THE SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY...HALF TO THREE QUARTERS AN INCH OF RAINFALL ARE PROGGED IN
THE CENTRAL SJV BETWEEN 18Z TODAY AND 18Z FRIDAY. RAIN SHADOWING WILL
LIMIT PRECIPITATION IN THE SOUTH VALLEY ALTHOUGH SOME LIGHT RAINFALL
IS STILL EXPECTED. SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO START OUT NEAR 8500
FEET AS THIS IS A FAIRLY WARM SYSTEM...THEN LOWER TO 7000 FEET
TONIGHT AND 6000 FEET ON FRIDAY IN THE COOLER AIRMASS BEHIND THE
MAIN S/W. HIGH PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO BUILD IN FROM OFFSHORE FRIDAY
NIGHT AND SATURDAY...BRINGING A DRIER AIRMASS INTO THE AREA.
TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO BE WELL ABOVE SEASONAL NORMALS WITH PRE-FRONTAL
WAA TAKING PLACE TODAY. TEMPS ARE GENERALLY RUNNING SEVERAL DEG F
ABOVE YDAY AND ARE ON TARGET TO REACH PROGGED MAX/S. SINCE THE
FORECAST PACKAGE LOOKS IN GOOD SHAPE FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT...DO NOT
ANTICIPATE ANY UPDATES THIS MORNING.
.LONG TERM...FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...FOR SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY...AN UPPER RIDGE IS PROGGED TO BUILD ALONG THE WEST COAST
SUNDAY AND MONDAY...THEN WEAKEN SLIGHTLY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. AS A
RESULT...THE STORM TRACK WILL BE SHIFTED WELL TO THE NORTH OF CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA AND DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD. RH PROGS
INDICATING SOME UPPER MOISTURE WILL OVERRIDE THE RIDGE AND SPREAD
INTO THE AREA WHICH WOULD BE REFLECTED AS SOME HIGH CLOUDS AT TIMES.
PRECIPITATION IN THE SHORT TERM WILL LEAD TO AREAS OF NIGHT AND
MORNING FOG IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THROUGH MID-WEEK.
&&
.AVIATION...APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING INCREASING MOISTURE
INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA TODAY. PRECIPITATION WILL GRADUALLY SPREAD
SOUTHWARD WITH GENERALLY MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES PREVAILING
BY 18Z...EXCEPT IN THE KERN DESERTS WHICH WILL REMAIN VFR. AREAS
OF IFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR THE CREST OF
THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA IN MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW. FREEZING
LEVELS GENERALLY BETWEEN 9000 AND 10000 FEET...LOWERING TO 7000
FEET. FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO TAFS FOR KMCE...KFAT
AND KBFL.
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 7500
FEET FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NORTH OF KERN COUNTY
THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH 900 AM FRIDAY.
&&
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/
DS/BEANHazardous weather outlook, Dec 1, 4:30 AM PST, 9 hours 30 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 430 AM PST THU DEC 1 2005 CAZ096-097-021300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 430 AM PST THU DEC 1 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE. .DAY ONE...TODAY A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY THROUGH 9 AM PST FRIDAY MORNING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX...SFOWSWHNX/ FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 9 AM FRIDAY. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ089>095-098-099-021300- EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 430 AM PST THU DEC 1 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...THE ADJACENT FOOTHILLS...AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. MYERS
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 winter storm, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- December 1, 5:00 PM PST to December 2, 6:00 AM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Heavy Rain, Kern
- When
- December 2, 12:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- Kern County, 2 mi NW of Bakersfield
- Measured
- 0.6
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Wildfire and Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Drought in Oklahoma, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, December 1 to 2, 2005
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 1 to 2, 2005
- Drought in Oklahoma, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Drought in Colorado, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Drought in Iowa, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Drought in Illinois, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Drought in Illinois, December 1 to 31, 2005
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 1 to 2, 2005
More
Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2005
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: 5489086, 5489170, 5489171.