A strong storm dumped several feet of snow at the higher elevations of the mountains on the 7th and 8th. On the morning of the 8th, nearly 200 motorists had to be rescued from Highway 18 in an area known as the Article Circle when hundreds of cars became stranded in near whiteout conditions.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 strong storm dumped several feet of snow at the higher elevations of the mountains on the 7th and 8th. On the morning of the 8th, nearly 200 motorists had to be rescued from Highway 18 in an area known as the Article Circle when hundreds of cars became stranded in near whiteout conditions. The rescue operation was conducted with the help of snowcats over a 10 hour period. Strong warm air advection eventually brought snow levels back up above all resort towns by the afternoon of the 8th. Near the end of the rescue operation, snow began to change to rain, and caused rocks and mud to start falling from the cliffs along the highway.
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 Jan 7, 3:30 AM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 400 AM PST FRI JAN 7 2005 CAZ042-043-048-050-055-056-057-058-060-061-062-081400- 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 LUCERNE VALLEYS- COACHELLA VALLEY- SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS- 400 AM PST FRI JAN 7 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ALL OF EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. STRONG SUBTROPICAL FLOW WILL BRING PERIODS OF RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...AND SNOW IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS TODAY INTO TUESDAY. THIS WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD FLOODING AND MUD SLIDES. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED IN ALL AREAS. HIGH TIDES AND LARGE SURF WILL BRING A THREAT OF COASTAL FLOODING AND EROSION THIS WEEKEND. DUE TO THIS WEATHER PATTERN...THE FOLLOWING HAZARDOUS WEATHER EVENTS ARE OCCURING... WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 AM THIS MORNING UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SEE LAXWSWSGX. HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS AND WIND ADVISORY FOR ALL OTHER AREAS FROM 8 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM THIS EVENING...SEE LAXNPWSGX. FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL AREAS BELOW 7000 FT UNTIL TUESDAY AFTERNOON...SEE LAXFFASGX. COASTAL FLOOD WATCH AND HIGH SURF ADVISORY THROUGH SUNDAY...SEE LAXCFWSGX. MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT FOR STRONG WINDS...HIGH SEAS AND TIDAL OVERFLOW THROUGH WEDNESDAY...SEE LAXMWSSGX. GALE WARNING FOR THE COASTAL WATERS TODAY...SEE LAXCWFSGX. SKYWARN SPOTTERS WILL BE ACTIVATED TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN WITH FLASH FLOODING AND MUDSLIDES... PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN WITH URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING... PROLONGED RAINFALL WITH RIVER FLOODING... MODERATE TO STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS... WINTER STORM WITH HEAVY SNOW AND/OR STRONG WINDS... SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY. SKYWARN ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED AT TIMES THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY. MM
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2005
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5438003, 5438004.