Winter Storm and Strong Wind in California, December 6 to 9, 2007

Name: Winter Storm and Strong Wind in California, December 6 to 9, 2007
Start: 2007-12-06T14:56
End: 2007-12-09T02:50
Location: California

December 6 to 9, 2007 · NWS HNX · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $3,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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.

The first major Pacific storm since late October reached interior central California beginning December 5th. Cold air pushing into the region dropped temperatures back to near normal, and precipitation from the storm finally reached the area during the afternoon of the 6th. There was abundant moisture with this storm, with the heaviest San Joaquin Valley rain during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Precipitation continued through December 7th, and very cold air behind the cold front dropped snow levels down into the higher Sierra foothills. Fresno received a total of 0.31 inch from the storm; in two days, the rainfall at Fresno Yosemite International Airport equaled that received during the months of September, October and November combined.

This storm caused strong winds to develop on the 6th and 7th at times across the Kern County Mountains and Desert. The highest winds measured by the mesonet weather network included 59 mph at Jawbone, 52 mph at Inyokern, 64 mph at Indian Wells Canyon, 70 mph at Laurel Mountain, and 47 mph at Mojave.

Locally heavy snowfalls were recorded by spotters and SNOTEL stations in the Southern Sierra Nevada. Chilkoot Meadow received an estimated 32 inches of new snow, with several stations above 7000 feet reporting between 1 and 2 feet of fresh snow.

As the storm dropped through California, a closed upper-level low formed. As this low moved south, an upper-level disturbance rotating around it triggered a few moderate showers over the west side of the San Joaquin Valley on December 8th, mainly from Coalinga south. By late afternoon, rain and snow was spreading into the Frazier Park area of the Tehachapi Mountains, and snow levels were falling, reaching around 3500 feet by Sunday morning. Up to 5 inches of snow fell on Frazier Park during the night of December 8th-9th, and accumulating snow closed the Grapevine (at 4300 feet, 1000 feet lower than Frazier Park, which includes the Interstate 5 passageway between northern and southern interior California) for a period of time.

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 Dec 6, 9:40 AM PST, 5 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 6, 9:40 AM PST, 5 hours 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
940 AM PST THU DEC 6 2007

.UPDATE...NONE.

&&

.DISCUSSION...MAINLY LIGHT FOG IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THIS
MORNING WITH INCREASING MID LEVEL CLOUDS RESULTING IN MOSTLY
CLOUDY CONDITIONS. SOME PATCHY DENSE FOG WAS REPORTED TOWARDS THE
WEST SIDE OF THE VALLEY IN LEMOORE AND WESTERN KERN COUNTY.
WEATHER RADAR SHOWS LIGHT RAIN AS FAR SOUTH AS STOCKTON. OVERNIGHT
TEMPERATURES REMAINED ON THE MILD SIDE DUE TO CLOUD COVER.
SATELLITE PW ESTIMATES SHOW PWS 1.5 TO 1.8 IN. OFFSHORE WEST OF
THE BAY AREA. THE CORE OF THE UPPER LOW REAMINS OFFSHORE OFF THE
NORTH CALIFORNIA COAST AND SHOULD TAP INTO THE HIGH PW MOISTURE
PLUME. THUS NO CHANGES TO CURRENT FORECAST WITH HIGH POTENTIAL FOR
SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION TONIGHT AND FRIDAY.

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...SAT PIX SHOW DEVELOPING SYSTEM NEAR
135W/40N. THIS SYS HAS A RATHER DEEP SUBTROP FEED EXTENDING WELL
TO THE SOUTHWEST OF THE PARENT LOW TO NEAR 20N. AS THIS SYS
BECOMES BETTER ORGANIZED IT IS FCST TO DIG SE TOWARD NORCAL THIS
AFTERNOON...THEN INTO CENTRAL CA TONIGHT. PRECIP WILL SPREAD FROM
NORTH TO SOUTH AND BE HEAVIEST DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS
TONIGHT...BEFORE SLOWLY DECREASING DURING THE DAY FRIDAY. HEAVY
SNOW WILL OCCUR OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA ABOVE ABOUT 6000 FT...BUT
ACCUMULATING SNOW IS LIKELY DOWN TO 4000 FT OR SO BY FRI
AFTERNOON. SNOW IN THE TEHACHAPIS IS A BIT UNCERTAIN STILL...AS
THE UPPER LOW IS FCST TO MOVE THRU THAT AREA RATHER QUICKLY. AT
THIS TIME...EXPECT ACCUMULATING SNOW TO REMAIN ABOVE PASS LEVELS
TONIGHT AND FRI MORNING...THEN LOWER TO PASS LEVEL IN SHOWERS LATE
FRI. ISSUED NO WINTER HEADLINES FOR KERN CO FOR THE MOMENT...BUT
SOMETHING MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TODAY AS THE STORM APPROACHES AND
SNOW LEVELS AND AMOUNTS BECOME CLEARER. THE BROAD UPPER LOW IS
THEN FCST TO LINGER ACROSS THE SW U.S FRI NITE...WITH ANOTHER
SHORTWAVE/INSIDE SLIDER DIGGING SOUTH INTO CA AGAIN SAT. THIS WILL
CONT THE THREAT OF SHOWERS ACROSS THE MTNS AND DESERTS SAT AND SAT
NITE...POSSIBLY INTO SUN. FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE NEW WEEK...GFS
AND THE ECMWF DIFFER SOMEWHAT ON OVERALL DETAILS...BUT AGREE THE
PERIOD WILL BE DRY. FCST CONCERN FOR SUN NITE INTO TUES MORNING
WILL BE POTENTIAL FOR FREEZING TEMPS AS COLDER AIR SETTLES IN OVER
THE GREAT BASIN FROM WESTERN CANADA. AT THIS TIME...DO NOT
ANTICIPATE A WIDESPREAD HARD FREEZE IN THE VALLEY AND INCREASING
FOG SHOULD HELP MITIGATE THAT THREAT.

&&

.AVIATION...AREAS OF MVFR WITH LOCAL LIFR TO IFR CONDITIONS DUE
TO LOW STRATUS AND FOG WILL OCCUR IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNTIL
17Z TODAY. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY. AS PRECIPITATION OVERSPREADS
THE AREA FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THIS EVENING...WIDESPREAD IFR CONDITIONS
WILL DEVELOP OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS NORTH OF KERN COUNTY WITH
AREAS OF MVFR IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. VFR
CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL IN THE KERN COUNTY DESERT THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PST
FRIDAY FOR CAZ096-097.

&&

MV/GREISS

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 6, 7:57 AM PST, 6 hours 59 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
757 AM PST THU DEC 6 2007

CAZ096-097-071600-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
757 AM PST THU DEC 6 2007

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF
THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A STRONG WINTER STORM IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA TODAY AND WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS. PLEASE REFER
TO THE WINTER STORM WARNING ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE IN HANFORD AT /WWUS46 KHNX/ OR /SFOWSWHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA WILL
CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE WINTER STORM
WARNING ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HANFORD
AT /WWUS46 KHNX/ OR /SFOWSWHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE.

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

CAZ095-071600-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
757 AM PST THU DEC 6 2007

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A STRONG WINTER STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING GUSTY WINDS TO THE
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING. IN ADDITION...SNOW CAN BE
EXPECTED AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE
IN HANFORD AT /WWUS86 KHNX/ OR /SFOSPSHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

GUSTY WINDS AND LOWERING SNOW LEVELS CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS INTO FRIDAY EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE
IN HANFORD AT /WWUS86 KHNX/ OR /SFOSPSHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE.

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

CAZ098-099-071600-
INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
757 AM PST THU DEC 6 2007

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A STRONG WINTER STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING GUSTY WINDS TO THE
KERN COUNTY DESERT THIS EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE
IN HANFORD AT /WWUS86 KHNX/ OR /SFOSPSHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE TO BRING GUSTY WINDS TO THE
KERN COUNTY DESERT INTO FRIDAY EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE
IN HANFORD AT /WWUS86 KHNX/ OR /SFOSPSHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE.

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

3 strong wind, 2 winter storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: December 6, 2:56 PM PST to December 7, 12:13 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: December 6, 4:00 PM PST to December 7, 10:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: December 6, 4:00 PM PST to December 7, 10:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: December 6, 5:32 PM PST to December 7, 4:32 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: December 6, 8:56 PM PST to 9:56 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 41 kt (47 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Weather, Kern Cty Mtns

When: December 8, 4:24 PM PST to December 9, 2:50 AM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 2007

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: 73284, 73281, 73282, 73283, 73285, 73286.