California, 2009

Heavy Snow in California, February 15 to 18, 2009

February 15 to 18, 2009 · NWS REV · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system brought heavy snowfall to the northern and central Sierra Nevada.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 REV wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system brought heavy snowfall to the northern and central Sierra Nevada.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Greater Lake Tahoe Area

When
February 15, 10:00 PM PST to February 18, 12:00 AM PST
Where
Greater Lake Tahoe Area forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm-total snowfall amounts:

Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, 20 inches (elev. 8500 ft.), 15 inches (6800 ft.); |Squaw Valley Ski Resort, 22 inches (elev. 8200 ft.), 16 inches (elev. 6200 ft.); |Tahoe Donner ski area, 18 inches; |4 miles west of Prosser Creek Reservoir, 18 inches; |Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort, 14 inches; |U.S. Coast Guard Station, Lake Tahoe, 8 inches (elev. 6250 ft.).

Heavy Snow, Mono

When
February 16, 2:00 AM PST to February 17, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Mono forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.939, -118.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm-total snowfall amounts:

Mammoth Mountain Snow Study site (elev. 9000 ft.), 20 inches; |1 mile WNW of Mammoth Lakes (elev. 8150 ft.), 15 inches; |Mammoth Lakes Ranger Station (elev. 7804 ft.), 10 inches; |Tom's Place, 8 inches.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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: 153434, 153435.