A very large, cold low pressure system and associated 160 kt jet brought strong wind and heavy low-elevation snow to the mountains of Southern California. Communities in the San Diego mountains were particularly hard hit by the near record snowfall.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 very large, cold low pressure system and associated 160 kt jet brought strong wind and heavy low-elevation snow to the mountains of Southern California. Communities in the San Diego mountains were particularly hard hit by the near record snowfall. Roof damage was reported in Guatay and power outages were widespread. One person died and 7 others were injured after their party became lost near Pine Valley during the storm. Numerous traffic accidents forced the closure of most major mountain roads, including I-8, hwy 18, hwy 38, and hwy 243. Snowfall totals ranged from around 1 to 3 feet, including 12" at Pine Valley, 13" at Warner Springs, 25" at Cuyamaca, 27" at Pine Cove and Idyllwild, and 36" at Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear, and the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Light snow was also reported in Hemet, Temecula, Devore, Sage, Yucaipa, and Alpine. Post storm visible satellite imagery showed heavy snowfall accumulations as far as 200 miles south of the international border into Baja Mexico.
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 Mar 10, 3:30 AM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 330 AM PST FRI MAR 10 2006 .SYNOPSIS...A SLOW MOVING WINTER STORM WILL BRING HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND SOME HIGH DESERT AREAS OF EXTREME SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...AND CHILLY...BREEZY...AND SHOWERY WEATHER TO THE COASTS...VALLEYS...AND LOWER DESERTS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY WITH PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS...AND HEAVY SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH DESERTS. THERE WILL ALSO BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO WIND DOWN SUNDAY WITH DRY WEATHER FOLLOWING EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. DOPPLER RADAR HAS SHOWN A STEADY STREAM OF SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. RAINFALL AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN VERY LIGHT...BUT IT IS UNKNOWN HOW MUCH SNOW MAY BE ACCUMULATING IN AREA MTNS. RAWS OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT THE SNOW LEVEL IS BETWEEN 3.5K AND 4K FT. NIGHT CAMS AT BIG BEAR SHOW SNOW HAS BEEN FALLING AND ACCUMULATING. IN ADDITION...STRONG WINDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT MANY LOCATIONS... INCLUDING THE DESERTS WITH GUSTS IN THE 35 TO 40 MPH RANGE. THE IR SATELLITE LOOP SHOWS A THICK BLANKET OF CLOUDS TO 12K FT SHROUDING THE MTNS OF SW CA WITH COLDER...HIGHER CLOUDS RAPIDLY APPROACHING FROM THE NW. THE WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS THE INITIAL SPEED MAX THAT KICKED OFF OUR PRECIPITATION AND STRONG WINDS BEGINNING YESTERDAY EVENING...NOW ROUNDING THE BASE OF THE TROUGH. DERIVED WIND FLOW INDICATED THE MAIN 160 KT JET CORE STILL NEAR 45N/145W...OVER THE E PACIFIC. OPEN CELL CUMULUS INDICATIVE OF VERY COLD AIR AND INSTABILITY ARE STREAMING RAPIDLY SE AND SHOULD BE OVER SPREADING SW CA TODAY. ALL THIS SPELLS A VERY ACTIVE SIEGE OF WEATHER FOR US AND IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO BREAK OUT START TIMES FOR THE WORST OF IT. BECAUSE OF ONGOING WEATHER IN THE MTNS...THOUGHT IT PRUDENT TO GO AHEAD AND ISSUE THE WINTER STORM WARNING WITH THE CAVEAT THAT THE WORST...OR BEST...IF YOU ARE A WINTER WEATHER ENTHUSIAST...IS YET TO COME. WITH LESS SNOW AND WIND...WINTER WEATHER CRITERIA SHOULD BE MET FOR THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AS WELL. THE ECMWF/UK/GFS MODELS REMAIN IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT REGARDING THE EVOLUTION OF THIS SYSTEM THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MODEL CROSS SECTIONS SHOW DEEP MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY PEAKING ON SAT...THEN GRADUALLY WINDING DOWN THROUGH SUN. STEADY W TO SW UPSLOPE FLOW SHOULD KEEP SNOW FALLING IN THE MTNS ALMOST CONTINUOUSLY...ALTHOUGH AT TIMES IT WILL BE LIGHT. THE WINDS WILL ALSO FLUCTUATE AND BE VERY STRONG AT TIMES...SO WINTER STORM CRITERIA IS LIKELY TO BE MET AT TIMES THROUGH SAT NIGHT. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE LIKELY TO BE QUITE HEAVY IN FAVORED AREAS WHERE UPSLOPE AND CONVECTION COMBINE. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME SPOTS WITH OVER TWO FEET AT RESORT LEVELS AND HIGHER. LESSER AMOUNTS BELOW 5000 FEET. BELOW 3K FT...CONVECTION COULD RESULT IN HEAVY DOWNPOURS OF RAIN AND ICE PELLETS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND EVEN WATERSPOUTS...ESPECIALLY TONIGHT AND SATURDAY AS THE MAIN JET CORE ADVANCES JUST TO OUR SW...PLACING US IN THE FAVORABLE LEFT FRONT QUADRANT WHICH MAXIMIZES LIFT AND INSTABILITY. THIS WILL PEAK ON SAT MORNING. ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED DUE TO THE SHOWERY NATURE OF THIS EVENT...THE LOW SNOW LEVELS...AND FAST MOVEMENT OF CELLS...WHERE CONVECTION TRAINS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE. THE BURN AREAS WILL BE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE AND THE DAY SHIFT MAY CONSIDER ISSUING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THESE AREAS. ALL MODELS POINT TOWARD DRYING AND WARMING THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK UNDER BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT. && .AVIATION... STRONG WEST WINDS ALOFT WILL GENERATE MODERATE OR GREATER TURBULENCE OVER TERRAIN WITH MOUNTAIN WAVE ACTIVITY AND LOCAL LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR. CIGS BETWEEN 3000-5000 FT BUT LOCALLY LOWER AS SHOWERS MOVE THROUGH LATE TODAY. MODERATE OR GREATER MIXED ICING THREAT AS THE PRECIPITATION INCREASES OVER THE REGION. FAIRLY DEEP LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE WILL GENERATE PLENTY OF MTN OBSCURATIONS THROUGH SAT NIGHT. && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS...SEE LAXWSWSGX. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS... SEE LAXWSWSGX. HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM PST SUNDAY FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS- SEE LAXCFWSGX. HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK FOR THE COAST... SEE LAXSRFSGX. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR INNER WATERS GALE WARNING FOR OUTER WATERS. SEE LAXCWFSGX. && PUBLIC...JAD AVIATION/MARINE...MM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 400 AM PST FRI MAR 10 2006 CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-111200- 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 MAR 10 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ALL OF EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. WINTER STORM CONDITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH DESERTS. PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL MAKE TRAVEL HAZARDOUS. HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK FOR COASTAL SAN DIEGO COUNTY...SEE LAXSRFSGX. GALE WARNING THROUGH 8 AM THIS MORNING FOR THE OUTER COASTAL WATERS SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE COASTAL WATERS...SEE LAXCWFSGX. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL COULD CAUSE FLOODING AND MUD AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN AND NEAR RECENTLY BURNED AREAS LATE TONIGHT. DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. A COLD WINTER STORM WILL BRING WET...WINDY WEATHER THROUGH SUNDAY. THE HEAVIEST RAIN AND SNOW ARRIVING LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN COULD FALL IN THE COASTAL AND VALLEYS AREAS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. THE HEAVY DOWNPOURS COULD CAUSE FLASH FLOODING...AND MUDSLIDES AND DEBRIS FLOWS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN AND BELOW THE BURN AREAS. IN THE MOUNTAINS THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS...HEAVY SNOW...AND DENSE FOG WILL RESULT IN HAZARDOUS TRAVEL THIS WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES IN THE 20S AND 30S...ALONG WITH STRONG WINDS COULD BE A DEADLY COMBINATION FOR UNPREPARED HIKERS AND CAMPERS THIS WEEKEND. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH DESERTS DUE TO THE STRONG WINDS WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH...AND HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED...SEE LAXWSWSGX. THE STORM WILL ALSO BRING INCREASING SURF AND A HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. THE STRONG WINDS AND A LARGE...SHORT PERIOD SWELL OVER THE COASTAL WATERS WILL POSE A HAZARD TO SMALL CRAFT THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...SEE LAXCWFSGX .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...THE SKYWARN WEATHER SPOTTER NETWORK WILL LIKELY BE ACTIVATED FOR THIS STORM. JAD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Storm, San Diego T X W | 2006-03-11 | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2006
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: 5493224, 5493225, 5493226, 5493227.