California, 2007

Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, February 25 to 27, 2007

February 25 to 27, 2007 · NWS HNX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A Pacific storm system moved across the Central California Interior on the 25th and brought a foot of snow to the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon. High winds developed behind this system across part of the Kern County mountains and desert and persisted into the evening of the 27th.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$27,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

A Pacific storm system moved across the Central California Interior on the 25th and brought a foot of snow to the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon. High winds developed behind this system across part of the Kern County mountains and desert and persisted into the evening of the 27th. In Ridgecrest (Kern County), shingles were blown off homes and an empty furniture delivery van was rolled over and totaled.

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 Feb 25, 3:12 AM PST, 2 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 3:12 AM PST, 2 hours 48 minutes before
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Event by event

2 strong wind, 1 heavy snow, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, S Sierra Mtns

When
February 25, 6:00 AM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where
S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When
February 25, 7:00 AM PST to February 27, 6:00 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
February 25, 7:00 AM PST to February 27, 6:00 PM PST
Where
Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured
49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
AWOS

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When
February 25, 7:00 AM PST to February 27, 6:00 PM PST
Where
Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
Mesonet

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9855, 9856, 9858, 12081.