Winter Storm in California, April 2 to 5, 2006

Name: Winter Storm in California, April 2 to 5, 2006
Start: 2006-04-02T19:00
End: 2006-04-05T12:00
Location: California

April 2 to 5, 2006 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

An extended period of inclement weather continued from March into the 1st week of April. and especially so considering the time period.

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.

An extended period of inclement weather continued from March into the 1st week of April. During the 1st week of April, mountain areas received very large amounts of snow...and especially so considering the time period. Winter snowpacks in the S.Sierra Nevada normally reach peak by April 1st...this 2005-06 cool season snowpack peak occurred later in the month with continued periods of snowfall. Snowfall received over a 48 hour period essentially during the 3rd and 4th included: 48" at Upper Burnt Corral, 45" at Bishop Pass, 35" at Graveyard Meadow, 22" at Tunnel Guard Station, and 19" at Crabtree Meadow. Snowfall from the 30th of March through the 6th of April included 84" at Green Mountain in Madera County, 75" at Tamarack Summit in Fresno County, and 81" at Big Meadows 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 Apr 2, 1:50 PM PST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 1:50 PM PST, 5 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
250 PM PDT SUN APR 2 2006

.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...PRECIPITATION
FROM THE NEXT PACIFIC STORM HAS MOVED INTO THE NORTHERN PART OF THE
STATE...AND IS ON TRACK TO REACH YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK BY THIS
EVENING. SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW TWO SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE PLUMES
AFFECTING THE STATE. THE FIRST IS BEING DRAWN INTO NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA BY THE CIRCULATION AROUND THE UPPER-LEVEL LOW...CENTERED
NEAR 42N/138W. THE SECOND PLUME...FURTHER SOUTH...EXTENDS SOUTHWEST
TO 15N/155W...JUST SOUTH OF HAWAII...AND IS RIDING UP THE LEADING
EDGE OF THE TROUGH INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. GIVEN THE SUBTROPICAL
NATURE OF THESE MOISTURE PLUMES...SNOW LEVELS INITIALLY WILL BE HIGH.
EXPECT SNOW LEVELS NEAR YOSEMITE PARK TONIGHT AND MONDAY TO BE AROUND
7000 FEET...RISING TO AROUND 8000 FEET IN TULARE COUNTY. IN THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS...ONLY THE HIGHEST PEAKS WILL SEE SNOW INITIALLY.

THE 12Z NAM HAS 700-MB TEMPERATURES AT 00Z TUESDAY FROM -2 C TO -6 C
OVER THE HANFORD WARNING/FORECAST AREA...WHILE THE 12Z GFS IS 2-3 C
WARMER. BY 00Z WEDNESDAY...BOTH MODELS FORECAST 700-MB TEMPERATURES
OVER THE REGION TO BE -6 TO -8 C. THIS AMOUNTS TO 5-6 DEGREES C
COOLING FOR THE GFS...AND 2-4 DEGREES C COOLING FOR THE NAM...AND
THAT THE SNOW LEVEL WILL FALL TO AROUND 4500-5500 FEET DURING THE DAY
TUESDAY. ANOTHER 1-2 C COOLING IS FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY...DROPPING
THE SNOW LEVEL TO THE PASS LEVEL IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS BY
WEDNESDAY MORNING.

THE LATEST RFC QPF FOR YOSEMITE IS JUST UNDER 4 INCHES. SNOW/WATER
RATIOS FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF STORMS HAVE AVERAGED AROUND 12/1...SO
COULD SEE AT LEAST 4 FEET OF NEW SNOW ABOVE 7000 FEET FROM YOSEMITE
SOUTH INTO TULARE COUNTY...WITH 1-2 FEET POSSIBLE ABOVE 5000 FEET
TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. WILL UPGRADE THE WINTER STORM WATCH FOR
THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA TO A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TONIGHT
THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...AND ISSUE A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.

FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SNOW LEVELS WILL NOT DROP UNTIL
LATE MONDAY...SO WILL ISSUE A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR MONDAY NIGHT
THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.

THE SPC DAY-2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK HAS ALL OF THE HANFORD WARNING/
FORECAST AREA...EXCEPT THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS...UNDER A GENERAL
RISK FOR THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY...SO HAVE ADDED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
THUNDER TO THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND THE SIERRA
FOOTHILLS FOR MONDAY AFTERNOON. THERE WILL BE A BETTER CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE STRONG COLD FRONT PUSHES
THROUGH THE REGION.

THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH AXIS
MOVING EAST OF THE HANFORD WARNING/FORECAST AREA BY 00Z THURSDAY...
SO HAVE LOWERED POPS TO SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE CATEGORIES.

.LONG TERM...FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...MEDIUM RANGE
MODELS AGREE WITH MOVING AN UPPER TROUGH EAST OF CALIFORNIA BY
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A BRIEF DRY PERIOD IN ON TAP WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND
THURSDAY COURTESY OF SHORT WAVE RIDGING. MODELS MAINTAIN A
PROGRESSIVE PATTERN AND QUICKLY BRING THE NEXT SYSTEM OUT OF THE
GULF OF ALASKA TOWARDS THE NORCAL COAST FOR AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS
AND A THREAT OF PRECIP AS EARLY AS THURSDAY NIGHT. MODEL CONSENSUS
IS FOR THIS SYSTEM TO STAY AT A HIGHER LATITUDE THAN THE PREVIOUS
ONE AND EXPECT THE BEST CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE NORTH OF
KERN COUNTY. THE SHORT WAVE LIFTS INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
FRIDAY NIGHT. A CLOSED UPPER LOW REMAINS OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
COAST WITH ONSHORE WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. AT THIS POINT LOOKS LIKE
FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MAY BE DRY ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION.
BEFORE ANOTHER UPPER WAVE MOVES THROUGH THE TROUGH BRINGING AN
INCREASING THREAT OF PRECIPITATION SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. A
SLIGHT INCREASE IN AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES EACH DAY BUT THE
PROGRESSIVE PATTERN WILL KEEP US A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL LEVELS.

&&

.AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
THROUGH 06Z MONDAY...WITH ISOLD MVFR POSSIBLE NORTH OF KFAT
AFTER 02Z IN LIGHT RAIN. AFTER 08Z A STORM SYSTEM WILL RESULT IN
AREAS OF MVFR CEILINGS IN RAIN AND MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS OVER THE
SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS...PLEASE
REFER TO TAFS FOR KMCE...KFAT AND KBFL.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
     SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON...FROM
     THIS SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
  ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS FROM
     MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
  ...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS FROM MONDAY
     NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.

&&

WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/

SANGER/MV

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: April 2, 7:00 PM PST to April 5, 12:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: April 3, 5:00 AM PST to April 5, 12:00 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

Every storm in California in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in California, April 2006

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: 5504111, 5504112.