California, 2005

Heavy Snow in California, February 21 to 22, 2005

February 21 to 22, 2005 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Significant snow occurred in the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tulare County Mountains on the 21st with Chilkoot Meadow reporting 22" of new snow and Pascoes with 21". Larger snowfall totals over the 48 hour period from the 20th into the morning of the 22nd included: 39" of new snow at Tamarack Summit in Fresno County, 35" at Poison Ridge in Madera County, 34" at Chilkoot Meadow in Madera and…

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.

Significant snow occurred in the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tulare County Mountains on the 21st with Chilkoot Meadow reporting 22" of new snow and Pascoes with 21". Larger snowfall totals over the 48 hour period from the 20th into the morning of the 22nd included: 39" of new snow at Tamarack Summit in Fresno County, 35" at Poison Ridge in Madera County, 34" at Chilkoot Meadow in Madera and Chagoopa Plateau in Tulare Counties, and 30" at Farewell Gap in Tulare County.

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 Feb 20, 9:08 PM PST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 20, 9:08 PM PST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
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Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, S Sierra Mtns

When
February 21, 12:00 AM PST to February 22, 12:00 AM PST
Where
S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Tulare Cty Mtns

When
February 21, 12:00 AM PST to February 22, 12:00 AM PST
Where
Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

More

Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5442271, 5442272.