A winter storm brought one to two feet of snow and strong winds to the higher elevations of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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 STO wrote it up.
A winter storm brought one to two feet of snow and strong winds to the higher elevations of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 11, 9:20 PM PST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 920 PM PST FRI DEC 11 2009 .DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CONTINUES TO SHOW A SYSTEM MOVING INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA THIS EVENING...WITH A SECONDARY AND MORE POTENT SYSTEM ALONG 140 WEST. AS A RESULT...THE WET AND SOGGY WEATHER CONTINUES ACROSS THE REGION THIS EVENING...WITH RAIN AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW. RADAR IMAGERY CLEARLY SHOWS A BAND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION LIFTING NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE REGION...WITH MOST LOCATIONS SEEING ANYWHERE BETWEEN 0.15 AND ABOUT A 0.33 INCHES OF NEW RAINFALL THIS EVENING. ONE SPOTTER IN FOREST HILL HAS HAD 0.65 INCHES THUS FAR THIS EVENING...AND IT WAS STILL RAINING. NEEDLESS TO SAY...SNOW LEVELS ARE QUITE A BIT HIGHER WITH THIS STORM THAN WE SAW EARLIER THIS WEEK....RUNNING BETWEEN 5500 AND 6000 FEET. HOWEVER...SOME COLD AIR STILL REMAINS TRAPPED IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS VALLEYS...AND PLACES LIKE THE BURNEY BASIN ARE STILL HOVERING AROUND 30 DEGREES AND REPORTING A MIX OF SNOW AND FREEZING DRIZZLE. ELSEWHERE TEMPERATURES REMAIN PRETTY MILD. THEREFORE...HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST THIS EVENING THIS EVENING TO TWEAK TEMPERATURES AND WINDS FOR TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. HAVE ALSO ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE BURNEY BASIN...AS A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION WILL CREATE SLICK ROADS. THIS LITTLE SOAKER IS A NICE PRECURSOR TO WHAT WE WILL SEE WITH SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT SYSTEM. MODELS ARE SUGGEST A BRIEF BREAK IN THE VALLEY LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY TOMORROW...THEN BRING IN THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THESE MODELS ARE SUGGESTING ANYWHERE FROM 0.75 TO 1.25 INCHES OF ADDITIONAL PRECIPITATION IN THE VALLEY THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THIS COULD MEAN AN ADDITIONAL COUPLE OF FEET OR LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS AT THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA. THIS STORM WILL ALSO BRING SOME GUSTY SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS TO THE REGION TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND EVENING. BOTH 925 AND 850 WINDS ARE RANGING BETWEEN 40 AND 50 KNOTS OVER THE NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN AND SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEYS...WHICH MAY MEAN SOME LOCALLY HIGHER WINDS MIXING DOWN TO THE SURFACE TOMORROW AFTERNOON. IN THE SIERRA...WIND GUSTS UPWARDS TO 65 OR 70 MPH MAY BE POSSIBLE...CREATING TREACHEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS OVER THE SIERRA. THEREFORE...BELIEVE THE WINTER STORM WATCH WILL LIKELY BE UPGRADED TO A WINTER STORM WARNING WITH THE NEXT PACKAGE...BUT DO NOT WANT TO CONFUSE THIS FIRST SYSTEM WITH THE NEXT ONE AT THIS TIME. PALMER .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION (ISSUED AT 350 PM PST)...STORM #2 FOR SAT HAS A VERY STRONG AND TEXT BOOK JET STRUCTURE ASSOCIATED WITH IT AND IS FORECAST TO EFFECT NORCAL SAT AFTN INTO SUN EVENING. NORCAL WILL BE IN THE THERMALLY INDIRECT CIRCULATION OF THE UPPER JET FROM 00Z-06Z SUN. STRONG UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE WILL ENHANCE UPWARD MOTION OVER INTERIOR NORCAL WITH STRONG 12-20 UBAR/S OMEGA FORECAST BY THE GFS CROSS SECTIONS DURING THIS TIME. WINDS... AND PCPN INTENSITY SHOULD BE QUITE STRONG DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. SATELLITE IMAGERY CONFIRMS THIS TREND OVER THE ERN PAC AS A STRONG VORT MAX VCNTY 37N/135W IS FORMING ON THE NOSE OF THE JET AND TRANSVERSE CLOUD BANDS ARE DEVELOPING S OF THE JET W OF 140W. THE SYSTEM SHOULD WIND DOWN OVER INTERIOR NORCAL LATER IN THE DAY ON SUN/SUN EVENING...WITH SHORT WAVE RIDGING PROVIDING A BREAK IN THE PCPN ON MON...ALTHOUGH WARM ADVECTION CLOUDS AND POSSIBLE LIGHT PCPN MAY SPREAD EWD ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE DAY. JHM .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)...UPPER LEVEL RIDGING BEGINS TO GIVE WAY MONDAY NIGHT AS A SHORTWAVE RIDES OVER IT AND BRINGS PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA. THERE IS A GOOD MOISTURE TAP WITH THIS SYSTEM EXTENDING INLAND...WITH GFS PW LEVELS AROUND 1.25 INCHES JUST OFF THE COAST. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE RELATIVELY WARM WITH 700 MB TEMPERATURES AROUND 0 TO -2 C...SO SNOW LEVELS WILL BE ABOVE 5500 FEET. THE GFS IS QUITE WET WITH THIS SYSTEM ACROSS THE AREA. THE ECMWF AND GEM ALSO HAVE THIS SHORTWAVE...BUT IT IS WEAKER AND BRINGS A SMALLER QPF AMOUNT...WITH THE BULK IN THE NORTHERN AND COASTAL MOUNTAINS. ADDITIONAL SHORTWAVE ENERGY BRINGS A CONTINUED CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK...MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80. TEMPERATURES TREND UP THROUGH THE EXTENDED WITH THE WARMER AIRMASS OVER THE REGION. && .AVIATION...RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS BAND OF MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY PRECIPITATION EXTENDING FROM THE COASTAL RANGE THROUGH THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY AND TOWARDS THE NORTHERN SIERRA. IFR TO LIFR CEILINGS AND VISBYS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RAIN BAND. ON AND OFF PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR THROUGH TONIGHT WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCAL DENSE FOG TONIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. A BRIEF PERIOD OF CLEARING IS POSSIBLE LATE SATURDAY MORNING BEFORE ANOTHER POTENT STORM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THIS SYSTEM BRINGS THE POSSIBILITY OF AFTERNOON/EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. SNOW LEVELS SHOULD HOVER IN THE 5000 TO 6000 FT RANGE. SOUTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 KT WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 40 KT WILL DEVELOP AT THE SACRAMENTO AND KSAC TAF SITES SATURDAY AFTERNOON. LOCAL SOUTHWEST GUSTS UP TO 50 KT WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER SIERRA RIDGETOPS SATURDAY AFTERNOON. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM PST SATURDAY FOR THE BURNEY BASIN. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM PST SATURDAY FOR THE WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA-WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK. ...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING FOR WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA-WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 700 AM PST FRI DEC 11 2009 CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-121500- SHASTA LAKE AREA/NORTHERN SHASTA COUNTY- BURNEY BASIN/EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY-NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MOUNTAINS SOUTHWESTERN SHASTA TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTIES- CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY-MOTHERLODE- EAST FOOTHILLS/NORTH SACRAMENTO VALLEY- WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA- 700 AM PST FRI DEC 11 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A PACIFIC STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH TODAY INTO TONIGHT BRINGING PERIODS OF MODERATE SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. * WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY....SEE WWUS46 KSTO - WSWSTO FOR DETAILS * .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER STORM WILL BRING A DOSE OF HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS TO THE MOUNTAINS SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY MORNING. * WINTER STORM WATCH.........SEE WWUS46 KSTO - WSWSTO FOR DETAILS * .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT (LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/STO
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow fell above 5000 feet with up to two feet of new accumulation.
One to two feet of snow fell at the highest elevations and winds to 50 mph brought visibilities down to a mile or less in some areas.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2009
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: 206052, 246835.