Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- February 22, 4:00 AM PST to February 23, 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Winter Storm and Dense Fog in California, February 22 to 25, 2009
High clouds streaming into interior central California on February 20th heralded the arrival of the next winter storm. This storm moved through the region on the 21st and 22nd, bringing more rain and mountain snow.
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 HNX wrote it up.
High clouds streaming into interior central California on February 20th heralded the arrival of the next winter storm. This storm moved through the region on the 21st and 22nd, bringing more rain and mountain snow. Over a foot of snow fell on the Southern Sierra Nevada from Yosemite south to Kings Canyon, while 8-10 inches fell in the Tulare County mountains. Skies cleared over the San Joaquin Valley on February 23rd, except for some clouds along the east side of the Valley and over the south end. A northwest flow over the San Joaquin Valley during the night of the 24th-25th pushed these clouds into the Valley-facing slopes of the Tehachapi Mountains and the Kern County portion of the Sierra Nevada, including the passes. As the clouds pushed into the Tehachapi Pass and contacted the surface, some dense fog developed and persisted through the night into daybreak.
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 Feb 22, 4:00 AM PST, 0 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 4:00 AM PST, 0 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 400 AM PST SUN FEB 22 2009 .DISCUSSION... LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN HAS OVERSPREAD MUCH OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY EARLY THIS MORNING. THE MODEL THAT IS INITIALIZING THE BEST SEEMS TO BE THE ECM ESPECIALLY WITH THE PROGRESSIVE NATURE OF THE INITIAL RAIN BATCH AND NICELY DEFINED MOISTURE RIBBON FEEDING INTO THE LOW. GFS AND NAM SEEM UNDERDONE ON PRECIP AMTS IN THE FAVORED UPSLOPE AREAS BUT HANDLE RAIN SHADOWED SOUTHERN SJV VERY WELL. NICE SW FLOW INTO THE FOOTHILLS AND SIERRA NEVADA...MAINLY NORTH OF KINGS CANYON NP...SHOULD PROMOTE EXCELLENT UPSLOPE ENHANCED PRECIPITATION AND SEE NO REASON TO BACK OFF PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ESPECIALLY NORTH OF THE TULARE COUNTY LINE. HOWEVER IN THE VALLEY...PRECIP WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY RAIN SHADOWED SOUTH OF FRESNO COUNTY AND HAVE BACKED OFF PRECIP CHANCES THERE THROUGH THE KERN DESERTS THROUGH MONDAY NGT. CATEGORICAL POPS FROM FRESNO NORTH IN THE SJV. PRECIP AMOUNTS IN OUR NORTHERN HALF OF THE VALLEY AROUND ONE-HALF INCH...WITH ISOLATED AMTS APPROACHING ONE INCH...SEEMS REASONABLE. WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN IN THE UPSLOPE AREAS BELOW 7000 FEET. MINOR PONDING WATER IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE VALLEY ALSO A POSSIBILITY. GFS IS A LITTLE MORE BULLISH WITH SOME MINOR RIDGING WORKING IN WITHIN THE ESTABLISHED FAST ZONAL FLOW MON NGT - TUE NGT. THIS SEEMS TO BE SUPPORTED IN THE ECM AS WELL AND HAVE BACKED OFF POPS SLIGHTLY IN THE VALLEY. ON WED ANOTHER MORE PRONOUNCED S/W TROUGH APPROACHES IN THE MEAN FLOW AND COULD TRIGGER A MORE WIDESPREAD PRECIP EVENT WED-THU TIMEFRAME. HWVR AT THIS TIME THE BEST CHANCES OF PRECIP APPEAR TO BE SETUP JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE HANFORD CWA...BUT WITH THIS FAST ZONAL PATTERN A SLIGHT SHIFT IN THE S/W PATH AND MOISTURE TAP IS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. HAVE INCREASED THE POPS A BIT ESPECIALLY FOR THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE VALLEY ON WED AS A RESULT. STILL HAVE POOR HANDLE ON NEXT WEEKENDS SYSTEM AND HAVE NOT CHANGED THE FORECAST PERIODS AFTER WEDNESDAY MUCH AT ALL AS A RESULT. && .AVIATION...A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM NEARING THE CALIFORNIA COAST WILL KEEP WIDESPREAD RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW OVER INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA THROUGH 12Z MONDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE AREAS OF MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES ALONG WITH LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS IN HEAVIER PRECIPITATION AS WELL AS WIDESPREAD MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... NONE && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 12 PM PST MONDAY FOR CAZ096. && PUBLIC...BROTHERTON AVN/FW...JEB WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 22, 3:49 AM PST, 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 349 AM PST SUN FEB 22 2009 CAZ096-231200- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- 349 AM PST SUN FEB 22 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST MONDAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 7000 FEET. FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION PLEASE SEE THE LATEST WINTER STORM WARNING ISSUED BY THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN HANFORD /SFOWSWHNX OR WWUS46 KHNX/. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST MONDAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 7000 FEET. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. BSO WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Event by event
1 winter storm, 1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Dense Fog, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- February 25, 12:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- 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.
- Dense Fog
- Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Strong Wind in California, February 22, 2009
- Winter Storm in Vermont, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Maine, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Maine, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Strong Wind in New Jersey, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New York, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, February 22, 2009
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Strong Wind in Delaware, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 22 to 23, 2009
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Vermont, February 22 to 23, 2009
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 157071, 157073.