Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- January 3, 6:00 PM PST to January 6, 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
Winter Storm and High Wind in California, January 3 to 7, 2008
The first major winter storm of the new year arrived on the 4th, and brought heavy snow to the Southern Sierra Nevada, and rain to the San Joaquin Valley. Very strong winds developed on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley with this storm, with gusts to 66 mph recorded at Kettleman Hills during the afternoon of January 4th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 2
- Property damage
- $4.5 million
- Crop damage
- $7,000
- Events
- 12
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 winter storm of the new year arrived on the 4th, and brought heavy snow to the Southern Sierra Nevada, and rain to the San Joaquin Valley.
Very strong winds developed on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley with this storm, with gusts to 66 mph recorded at Kettleman Hills during the afternoon of January 4th. The strongest winds occurred in the town of Avenal in Kings County, where roofs were damaged, trees toppled and two glider planes lifted off the tarmac and flipped over at the local airport. Based on surveys of the sustained property damage, top winds were estimated at 70-75 mph. This high wind event was caused by an increase in local winds due to a combination of strong large-scale winds (synoptic winds due to the Pacific storm pattern) and the interaction of the nearby Coastal Mountain range, which likely involved a mountain range-induced cloud called a rotar cloud. Two direct injuries also occurred in Avenal during the wind event.
Elsewhere across the central and southern San Joaquin Valley, wind gusts of 45 to 50 mph were common on the 4th. Strong winds also occurred in the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the Kern County Desert. Strong winds are fairly uncommon in the foothills, and during this event, wind gusts were measured to 45 mph at Shadequarter, and 69 mph at Miami in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. More common are strong winds in the Kern County Desert, nonetheless gusts to 69 mph were recorded at Indian Wells Canyon. Strong winds were also common across the Southern Sierra Nevada and the Tehachapi Mountains. Peak winds up to 100 mph likely occurred at the crest of the Southern Sierra Nevada, however weather observations confirming those values were not available due to the scarcity of data in the highest elevations.
This winter storm event was actually a double-barrel system, as the second major storm arrived on the heels of the first one. This second storm originated over Siberia, and brought a very cold airmass to central California on the 5th and 6th. Snow fell down to 3000 feet, into the upper Sierra foothills. Total snow accumulations in the Southern Sierra Nevada for the two major storms ranged from nearly 9 feet in the high country near Yosemite National Park, to 5 feet in the Tulare County mountains. Further south, as much as one foot of new snow fell at Frazier Park in the Tehachapi Mountains of Kern 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 Jan 3, 4:11 PM PST, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 4:11 PM PST, 1 hour 49 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 411 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008 CORRECTED WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORY SECTION .DISCUSSION...I BELIEVE THE CLICHE IS THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM. THINGS ARE SHAPING UP FOR A VERY WET AND WINDY FRIDAY WITH SEVERAL FEET OF NEW HIGH ELEVATION SNOW PACK IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW THE DEEP UPPER LOW POSITIONED NEAR 46N/141W WITH A STRONG UNDERCUTTING JET. SKIES ARE CLOUDY OVER THE DISTRICT WITH CEILINGS STILL ABOVE 12K FEET FOR THE MOST PART. LATEST RADAR MOSAIC LOOPS SHOW A BAND OF PRECIP ALONG A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY FROM MONTEREY NORTHEAST THROUGH SACRAMENTO. ECHOES ARE GRADUALLY SAGGING FARTHER SOUTH AND SHOULD BEGIN TO AFFECT THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWFA SHORTLY. BUT EXPECT MAINLY VIRGA INITIALLY AS THE LOWEST LEVELS WILL STILL NEED TO MOISTEN UP SOME. MODELS AGREE WITH TRACKING THE MAIN LOW EASTWARD TOWARDS THE WASHINGTON COAST ON FRIDAY. BUT DEEP MOISTURE...GOOD DYNAMICS...AND A STRONG JET WELL SOUTH OF THE LOW ARE PROGGED TO SHIFT OVER CENTRAL CALIFORNIA LEADING TO COPIOUS PRECIPITATION. STRONG WSW WINDS ALOFT WILL ENHANCE PRECIPITATION ALONG THE SIERRA NEVADA DUE TO VERY GOOD OROGRAPHIC EFFECTS. MODEL QPF AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES IN THE SIERRA NEVADA HAVE BEEN PROGGED FOR SEVERAL RUNS NOW. THEREFORE...A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH 10 AM SATURDAY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN THE VALLEY COULD VARY QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY. DESPITE THE DEEP MOISTURE PROFILE...THE STRONG WSW WINDS ALOFT WILL CREATE A RAIN SHADOW EFFECT AND LIMIT PRECIP IN THE SOUTH END. SO SOME PLACES IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY AROUND MERCED AND FRESNO WILL LIKELY SEE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL. WHILE SOME SOUTH VALLEY LOCALES MAY ONLY RECEIVE AROUND A QUARTER OF AN INCH. ALSO THE SFO-LAS SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT IS FORECAST TO INCREASE TO AROUND -18 MB EARLY FRIDAY. THUS A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS AS WELL AS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERT FROM 4 AM FRIDAY THROUGH 10 PM FRIDAY. THIS ADVISORY REPLACES THE HIGH WIND WATCH. A WEAKER PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL ARRIVE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY AND BRING ADDITIONAL CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION. THEN A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE TRIES TO BUILD IN EARLY NEXT WEEK. BUT THE MODELS DIVERGE FROM HERE WITH SOME PREFERRING TO KEEP AN UNSETTLED PATTERN. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY. AREAS OF MVFR CIGS AND VSBYS WITH LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS SPREADING SOUTHWARD IN LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN...AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW BETWEEN 00Z FRIDAY AND 12Z FRIDAY ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... NONE. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM PST FRIDAY FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...THE SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS...AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS /CAZ089>095-098-099/. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM PST SATURDAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...FROM YOSEMITE TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE /CAZ096-097/. && SANGER/DCH/MOLINA WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 4:40 PM PST, 1 hour 20 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 440 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008 CAZ089>092-041200- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 440 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A WIND ADVISORY GOES INTO EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM FRIDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST NON PRECIPITATION WARNING /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR /SFONPWHNX/ ISSUED BY THE NWSFO HANFORD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD CAZ093-094-096-097-041200- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 440 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING UNTIL 10 AM SATURDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER STORM WARNING /WWUS46 KHNX/ OR SFOWSWHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING UNTIL 10 AM SATURDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER STORM WARNING /WWUS46 KHNX/ OR SFOWSWHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. A HIGH WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM FRIDAY MORNING UNTIL 10 AM FRIDAY NIGHT FOR THE FOOTHILLS. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR /SFONPWHNX/ 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 CAZ095-098-099-041200- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 440 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A HIGH WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM FRIDAY MORNING UNTIL 10 PM FRIDAY NIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR /SFONPWHNX/ 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
8 strong wind, 2 winter storm, 1 high wind, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, S Sierra Foothills
- When
- January 4, 1:59 AM PST to 7:59 PM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- January 4, 7:00 AM PST to January 6, 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
Strong Wind, E Central S.J. Valley
- When
- January 4, 7:53 AM PST to 3:54 PM PST
- Where
- E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- January 4, 8:49 AM PST to January 5, 5:13 AM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, W Central S.J. Valley
- When
- January 4, 9:31 AM PST to 5:32 PM PST
- Where
- W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 42 kt (48 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, Se S.J. Valley
- When
- January 4, 9:48 AM PST to 7:20 PM PST
- Where
- Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 36 kt (41 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
High Wind, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- January 4, 10:50 AM PST to 7:50 PM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 65 kt (75 mph) measured gust
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $4.5 million
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
Strong Wind, Tulare Cty Foothills
- When
- January 4, 10:55 AM PST to 10:55 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Foothills forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- January 4, 2:36 PM PST to 9:45 PM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Winter Weather, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- January 6, 12:00 AM PST to January 7, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- January 6, 7:13 AM PST to 4:31 PM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
- 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.
- 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
- Winter Weather in Oklahoma, January 3, 2008
- Cold in Louisiana, January 3, 2008
- High Wind in Oregon, January 3 to 4, 2008
- High Wind in Oregon, January 3 to 4, 2008
- Winter Weather in Texas, January 3, 2008
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, January 3, 2008
- High Wind in Oregon, January 3 to 4, 2008
- High Wind in California, January 3 to 4, 2008
- Astronomical Low Tide in New Jersey, January 3, 2008
- Blizzard in California, January 3 to 4, 2008
- Astronomical Low Tide in Delaware, January 3, 2008
- Astronomical Low Tide in Pennsylvania, January 3, 2008
More
Every storm in California in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2008
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: 79039, 79701, 79040, 79404, 79704, 79400, 79700, 79407, 79702, 79703, 79041, 79724.