Winter Storm in California, May 8 to 9, 2005

Name: Winter Storm in California, May 8 to 9, 2005
Start: 2005-05-08T22:00
End: 2005-05-09T21:50
Location: California

May 8 to 9, 2005 · NWS STO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Snow levels were as low as 4000 to 5000 feet. Four to ten inches of snow fell above 5000 feet and and more than twelve inches fell in the highest elevations.

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 STO wrote it up.

Snow levels were as low as 4000 to 5000 feet. Four to ten inches of snow fell above 5000 feet and and more than twelve inches fell in the highest elevations. Wind gusts were as high as 60 mph.

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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 8:10 PM PST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 8:10 PM PST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
910 PM PDT SUN MAY 8 2005

.DISCUSSION...
SHOWERS BEGAN TO FORM IN LINES THIS EVENING ALONG THE OCCLUDED FRONT
AS IT MADE ITS WAY EWD ACROSS NORCAL. AIR MASS GENERALLY BECOMING
MORE UNSTABLE THIS EVENING AS LAPSE RATES STEEPEN WITH APPROACHING
OFFSHORE VORT MAX THAT IS FORECAST TO GENERALLY MOVE ALONG THE I-80
CORRIDOR THRU 12Z MON. SLY FLOW IS ALSO INCREASING OROGRAPHIC EFFECT
IN THE SHASTA DRAINAGE WHERE RAINFALL WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY UNTIL
FROPA. THE VORT MAX WILL PUSH OCCLUDED FRONT EWD AND MAY BECOME
Q-STATIONARY OVER THE SIERNEV AS IT MOVES EWD THRU 12Z MON.
ADDITIONAL CONCERN IS THE MCS-LIKE AREA OF ENHANCED CLOUDS...WITH A
FEW C-G STRIKES AT TIMES...JUST OFF THE N COAST ASSOCIATED WITH THE
VORT MAX. THIS AREA LIKELY TO MOVE INLAND WITH THE VORT MAX...AND
ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL ON ALREADY SATURATED SOILS PROMPTED
ISSUANCE OF URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY...SEE BELOW. IN
ADDITION...UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE FROM INDIRECT CIRCULATION OF THE
UPPER JET WILL ALSO ENHANCE UPWARD MOTION OVER NORCAL TONITE.
RAINFALL HAS ALREADY EXCEEDED 3 TO 4 INCHES IN SPOTS IN SHASTA CO
PAST 24 HRS.

AREAL COVERAGE OF SHOWERS OVER SIERRA GRADUALLY DECREASING NOW...BUT
LINE OF SHOWERS WILL MOVE INTO THE SIERNEV WITH FRONT LATER THIS
EVENING...AND PCPN ALSO SHOULD INCREASE AS OFFSHORE VORT MAX MOVES
INLAND. WILL CONTINUE WARNING FOR SIERNEV...SEE BELOW.

500 MBS COLD POOL FROM LARGE UPPER LOW WILL BE OVER NORCAL ON
MON...AND OCCASIONAL INSTABILITY SHOWERS/STORMS WILL OCCUR. STRONG
CYCLONIC FLOW WILL CONTINUE OVER NORCAL ON TUE AS UPPER LOW MOVES
INTO NV. AREAL COVERAGE OF SHOWERS SHOULD DECREASE. SHORT WAVE
RIDGING WILL BRING DRY/WARM WX TO NORCAL FOR THE MIDDLE TO LATTER
PART OF THE WEEK.    JHM

&&

.STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE WEST
     SLOPES OF NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY AND
     LASSEN PARK AREA...10 PM TONIGHT THROUGH 10 PM MONDAY NIGHT.
    URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR SHASTA...TEHAMA...
     GLENN AND BUTTE COUNTIES UNTIL 7 AM MONDAY.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, May 8, 9:35 PM PST, 25 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
1035 PM SUN MAY 8 2005

CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-091400-
SHASTA LAKE AREA/NORTHERN SHASTA COUNTY-
BURNEY BASIN/EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY-NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-
CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-
CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MOUNTAINS SOUTHWESTERN SHASTA TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTIES-
CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY-MOTHERLODE-
EAST FOOTHILLS/NORTH SACRAMENTO VALLEY-
WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA-
1035 PM PDT SUN MAY 8 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A LATE SEASON PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING WINTRY WEATHER TO THE SIERRA
NEVADA MOUNTAINS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE VALLEY AND FOOTHILLS.
PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN OVER SATURATED SOIL MAY CAUSE URBAN AND SMALL
STREAM FLOODING IN SHASTA COUNTY AND PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN HALF
OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY.

* WINTER STORM WARNING.......SEE WWUS46 KSTO - WSWSTO FOR DETAILS *

* FLOOD STATEMENT............SEE WGUS86 KSTO - FLSSTO FOR DETAILS *

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THE LATE SEASON PACIFIC STORM WILL CONTINUE OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
INTO TUESDAY.

* WINTER STORM WARNING.......SEE WWUS46 KSTO - WSWSTO FOR DETAILS *

* FLOOD STATEMENT............SEE WGUS86 KSTO - FLSSTO FOR DETAILS *

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT
(LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/STO

JHM

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, X Se Shasta/X E Tehama/W Plumas T X Sw

When: May 8, 10:00 PM PST to May 9, 9:50 PM PST
Where: X Se Shasta/X E Tehama/W Plumas T X Sw forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, W Sierra T X W/C Nevada/C Placer/C El Dorado/E Amador/Ne Calaveras/C & Ne Tuolumne/Sw Alpine

When: May 8, 10:00 PM PST to May 9, 9:50 PM PST
Where: W Sierra T X W/C Nevada/C Placer/C El Dorado/E Amador/Ne Calaveras/C & Ne Tuolumne/Sw Alpine forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

Every storm in California in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in California, May 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: 5478762, 5478763.