Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- March 21, 6:00 PM PST to March 23, 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Winter Storm in California, March 21 to 23, 2005
Another episode of heavy snow occurred in the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tulare County Mountains of Central California around the 23rd of the month. New snow reports included 44" at Tenaya Lake, 42" at Upper Burnt Corral, 39" at Paradise Meadow and West Meadows, and 33" at Pascoes and Volcanic Knob.
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.
Another episode of heavy snow occurred in the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tulare County Mountains of Central California around the 23rd of the month. New snow reports included 44" at Tenaya Lake, 42" at Upper Burnt Corral, 39" at Paradise Meadow and West Meadows, and 33" at Pascoes and Volcanic Knob. South Sierra ski resorts added 2 feet of new snow on top of a 10-foot base of snow.
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 Mar 21, 4:34 PM PST, 1 hour 26 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 21, 4:34 PM PST, 1 hour 26 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
434 PM PST MON MAR 21 2005
SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...LATEST PACIFIC
SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY PRODUCING RAIN AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW ACROSS
THE DISTRICT. ADDITIONAL SHORTWAVE ENERGY PASSING THROUGH THE UPPER
TROUGH DEVELOPING ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL KEEP PRECIPITATION IN
THE FORECAST FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...CATEGORICAL POPS OVER
MOST OF THE DISTRICT TODAY...TAPERING TO CHANCE POPS BY THURSDAY.
EXPECT ENOUGH CLOUDS AND RAIN TO LIMIT DAYTIME HEATING AND INHIBIT
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON...THOUGH MODELS CONTINUE TO
PORTRAY ENOUGH INSTABILITY AND DYNAMICS FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS IN THE VALLEY AND FOOTHILLS. WINTER STORM
WARNING LOOKS ON TRACK FOR TODAY AS MODELS SHOW AT LEAST 1 TO 2 FEET
OF ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION THROUGH THIS EVENING. INCREASING GRADIENT
AS THE DEVELOPING SYSTEM MOVES IN WILL PROVIDE GUSTY WINDS NEARING
ADVISORY CONDITIONS TODAY. HIGHER ELEVATIONS WILL COOL A BIT THROUGH
THE PERIOD AS HEIGHTS DECREASE...OTHERWISE LITTLE CHANGE IN
TEMPERATURES OVER THE DISTRICT...REMAINING NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW
CLIMO.
.LONG TERM...FOR THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...MODELS INDICATE
THAT THE UPPER TROUGH WILL LINGER OVER THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT
FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS. THE GFS AND CANADIAN GLOBAL SOLUTIONS HOLD
THE TROUGH BACK ACROSS CA INTO FRIDAY AFTERNOON WHILE THE UKMET AND
ECMWF BEGIN BUILDING THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE EASTWARD FROM THE
PACIFIC. PREFER TO REMAIN CAUTIOUS AND CONTINUE THE SLIGHT CHC POPS
IN OUR ZONES FRIDAY...ESPECIALLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. UPPER RIDGE
BUILDS INLAND SATURDAY WITH DRY AND WARMER CONDITIONS FOR THE
WEEKEND. THE RIDGE FLATTENS MONDAY AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE MOVES INTO
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. MODELS STILL INCONSISTENT WITH THE TIMING AND
STRENGTH OF THIS SYSTEM. BEST MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS WILL STAY TO THE
NORTH OF THE CWFA...BUT COULD SEE SOME LIGHT PRECIP NEAR YOSEMITE
MONDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT...SO WILL ADD A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THAT
AREA.
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN
COUNTY LINE THROUGH 600 PM.
&&
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/
JEB/BEANHazardous weather outlook, Mar 21, 6:00 AM PST, 12 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 600 AM PST MON MAR 21 2005 CAZ089>095-097>099-221300- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 600 AM PST MON MAR 21 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS...THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ096-221300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- 600 AM PST MON MAR 21 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON. .DAY ONE...TODAY A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT BEGINNING AT 6 PM THIS EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A WINTER STORM WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM TUESDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. AFTER 6 PM TUESDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. DCH
Event by event
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- March 21, 6:00 PM PST to March 23, 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, March 21, 2005
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, March 21, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, March 21, 2005
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 21 to 22, 2005
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, March 21, 2005
- Hail in Texas, March 21, 2005
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 21 to 22, 2005
- Winter Storm in California, March 21 to 22, 2005
- Avalanche in Colorado, March 21, 2005
- Tornadoes in Kansas, March 21, 2005
- Hail in Arkansas, March 21, 2005
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 21, 2005
More
Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 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: 5444654, 5444655.