Winter Weather in California, March 30, 2008

A strong and wet system moved into California on March 28th, bringing interior central California gusty winds and precipitation that persisted through the 30th. In the central and southern San Joaquin Valley, only a few showers developed, with the heaviest rainfall 0.09 inch at Lemon Cove during the early morning of the 30th near the Sierra foothills. Winds gusted as high as 38 mph on the Valley floor on the 28th, while gusts to around 50 mph continued over the mountains and deserts through March 30th. The storm brought a push of cold air to the region, with snow levels dropping to around 5000 feet by the morning of the 30th, and locally even lower as Tehachapi recorded a trace of new snow. Appreciable snow fell in the Southern Sierra Nevada during the morning of March 30th as the upper-level trough axis moved through the region, with Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park reporting 4 inches of new snow, and further south, Lodgepole had 5.5 inches and Grant Grove getting 4.7 inches of snow.