California, 2009

Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in California, February 12 to 13, 2009

February 12 to 13, 2009 · NWS MTR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A cold front moved through Northern and Central California producing strong wind and mountain snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 MTR wrote it up.

A cold front moved through Northern and Central California producing strong wind and mountain snow.

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 San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 12, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 12, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 12, 3:07 PM PST, 7 hours 23 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Heavy Snow, Santa Cruz Mountains

When
February 12, 10:30 PM PST to February 13, 5:30 AM PST
Where
Santa Cruz Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.230, -122.021 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A trained spotter reported one foot of snow had fallen overnight at Mount Bocci, near Mount Umunhum, at an elevation above 2500 feet.

Strong Wind, Northern Monterey Bay

When
February 13, 4:30 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where
Northern Monterey Bay forecast zone
Measured
39 kt (45 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
37.022, -122.010 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong wind sent numerous tree limbs into power lines resulting in power outages in Santa Cruz County. The strong wind combined with saturated soils from heavy rain to uproot trees causing road closures and additional power outages as trees knocked power lines to the ground.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2009

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 153773, 153774.