Drought in California, March 1 to 31, 2009

Name: Drought in California, March 1 to 31, 2009
Start: 2009-03-01T00:00
End: 2009-03-31T23:59
Location: California

March 1 to 31, 2009 · NWS SGX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A weakening cold front brought light to locally moderate showers March 4th through 5th. Rainfall in San Bernardino and Orange Counties ranged from one-tenth to one-half inch.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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 SGX wrote it up.

A weakening cold front brought light to locally moderate showers March 4th through 5th. Rainfall in San Bernardino and Orange Counties ranged from one-tenth to one-half inch. Areas in Riverside and San Diego counties, as well as all deserts, received less than one-tenth of an inch. A strong cold front brought light to moderate showers on the 22nd. Rainfall amounts were generally less than one-quarter inch, with local amounts between one-half and one inch in the mountains.

The State of California remained under a State of Emergency due to the ongoing drought. Water restrictions went into effect for some water districts, and San Diego continued their Stage 1 water shortage emergency, though no water shortages were reported.

The Weekly U.S. Drought Monitor has the entire area classified as D0 (abnormally dry).

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 Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 28, 9:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 9:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
930 PM PST SAT FEB 28 2009

.SYNOPSIS...FAIR AND WARM AGAIN SUNDAY UNDER WEAKENING HIGH
PRESSURE. UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE WILL BRING MORE CLOUDS AND
COOLING NEXT WEEK WITH PERIODIC SHOWERS POSSIBLE.

&&

.DISCUSSION...FOR SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA INCLUDING SAN DIEGO...
ORANGE...SOUTHWEST SAN BERNARDINO AND WEST RIVERSIDE COUNTIES.

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT-TUESDAY)...THERE WAS VARIABLE HIGH CLOUDINESS
THIS EVENING. THE 00Z NKX SOUNDING WAS DRY IN THE LOW LEVELS BUT
SHOWED THE HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE IN WSW WINDS ALOFT. WEAK OFFSHORE
GRADIENTS WITH ABOUT -6 MB SAN-TPH.

SUNDAY WILL BE ANOTHER WARM DAY...ESPECIALLY W OF THE MOUNTAINS...AS
AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTS E AND OFFSHORE FLOW
WEAKENS. A LARGE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP OFF
THE PAC NW COAST WITH A LONG FETCH OF MOISTURE TO S OF HAWAII. THIS
WILL BRING INCREASING MID AND HIGH CLOUDS AND COOLING THE TROUGH
SLOWLY APPROACHES FROM THE NW. THERE COULD EVENTUALLY BE ENOUGH MID
LEVEL MOISTURE FOR A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
TUESDAY. WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR A POSSIBLE SURGE OF SUBTROPICAL
MOISTURE IN SW FLOW ALOFT THAT COULD BRING THE POTENTIAL OF HEAVIER
PRECIP. A MARINE LAYER COULD REDEVELOP AS EARLY AS SUNDAY NIGHT BUT
MORE LIKELY MONDAY NIGHT.

&&

.LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY)...MOIST SW FLOW ALOFT WITH A GRADUAL
COOLING TREND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY AS THE TROUGH SHIFTS
E. A COUPLE OF COLDER SHORT WAVES SHOULD MOVE THROUGH WITH ONE EARLY
FRIDAY AND ANOTHER SATURDAY...ALTHOUGH THE TIMING AND STRENGTH
REMAIN UNCERTAIN. THESE SHORT WAVES WILL BRING MORE COOLING AND
COULD BRING A BETTER CHANCE OF PRECIP.

&&

.AVIATION...
010230Z...NO MARINE LAYER RELATED ISSUES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH
SUNDAY. EXCEPT FOR CIRRUS AT OR ABOVE FL200...SKIES WILL BE CLEAR
AND VIS UNRESTRICTED.

&&

.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

PUBLIC..ATKIN
AVIATION...JD

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Apple and Lucerne Valleys

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Apple and Lucerne Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coachella Valley

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Coachella Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Orange County Coastal Areas

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Orange County Coastal Areas forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought, Riverside County Mountains

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Riverside County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys - the Inland Empire

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys - the Inland Empire forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 34.293, -116.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Bernardino County Mountains

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Coastal Areas

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Coastal Areas forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Deserts

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Deserts forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Mountains

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Valleys

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills

When: March 1, 12:00 AM PST to March 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.483, -116.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 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: 158762, 158763, 158764, 158765, 158766, 158767, 158768, 158769, 158770, 158771, 158772.