A cold winter storm dropped significant snowfall amounts over Northwest California. This resulted in chain restrictions on the higher elevation roads.
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 EKA wrote it up.
A cold winter storm dropped significant snowfall amounts over Northwest California. This resulted in chain restrictions on the higher elevation roads.
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 Eureka, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 19, 1:49 PM PST, 9 hours 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 249 PM PDT SAT MAR 19 2011 .SYNOPSIS...THE WET AND COLD PATTERN CONTINUES THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS A LARGE STORM SYSTEM LINGERS OFFSHORE. THERE WILL BE A BRIEF BREAK MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY BEFORE ADDITIONAL STORMS RETURN BY MIDWEEK. && .DISCUSSION...HEAFTY SNOW TOTALS OVER THE PAST 36 HRS...WITH MORE TO COME. LARGE UPPER LOW CURRENTLY NEAR 44N 132W WILL CONTINUE TO DROP SOUTH TONIGHT. IN THE MEAN TIME...SATELLITE PICS ARE SHOWING A DEVELOPING SFC LOW NEAR 36N 131W. MODELS HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THIS LOW...BUT THE GFS HAS BEEN MOST CONSISTENT AND AGREES REASONABLY CLOSELY TO THE OTHER GLOBAL MODELS. THE GFS WAS THE BASIS FOR OUR FCST THIS AFTERNOON...AND BRINGS A 992MB LOW JUST OFF THE MENDOCINO COAST AROUND MIDNIGHT THEN RIDES IT NORTH TO NEAR KCEC LATE SUNDAY MORNING. THIS PATH SENDS A SWATH OF MOISTURE (WITH PWATS OF 0.75") ACROSS NW CA ALONG WITH A S-SE TRAJECTORY...ENHANCING UPSLOPE FLOW IN EASTERN MENDOCINO AND TRINITY COUNTIES. FOR THIS REASON...WE HAVE UPGRADED TO A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR LOCATIONS ABOVE 3000 FT. ALTHOUGH SNOW LEVELS ARE CURRENTLY AROUND 1500 FT PER NSSL AND SPOTTER REPORTS...WE EXPECT LEVELS TO RISE A BIT OVERNIGHT AS SOUTHERLY FLOW INCREASES. NARROW VALLEYS MAY TRAP THE COLD AIR AND SEE MINOR ACCUMULATIONS...BUT OVERALL WE EXPECT THE HIGHEST SNOW AMOUNTS ABOVE 3000 FT. OFF AND ON SHOWERS WILL PERSIST ALONG THE COAST...WITH A CONTINUED THREAT FOR THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY SUN AFTERNOON/EVENING ONCE THE COLD UPPER LOW IS OVERHEAD...LEADING TO THE GREATEST DESTABILIZATION. THE ENTIRE SYSTEM BEGINS TO PULL OFF TO THE EAST SUN NIGHT...BUT SHOWERS WILL LINGER DUE IN PART TO ONSHORE FLOW BEHIND THE DEPARTING LOW. THE BREAK IN THE PRECIP SLATED FOR TUE LOOKS TO BE SHORTER LIVED THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT AS THE NEXT LOW RAPIDLY APPROACHES THE COAST UNDER FAST MOVING ZONAL FLOW. STORMS SEEM TO BE STACKED UP BEHIND THE TUE SYSTEM...WITH NO BIG BREAKS IN- BETWEEN. EACH SYSTEM USHERS IN SLIGHTLY COOLER AIR WITH ORIGINS IN THE GULF OF ALASKA...SO THE PROSPECT FOR MORE LOW ELEVATION SNOW (AOB 3000 FT) IS ALMOST A GIVEN. JCA && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING AT THE COASTAL LOCATIONS WITH OCCASIONAL MVFR DUE TO SCATTERED SHOWERS MOVING THROUGH. LATE TONIGHT A HEAVIER BAND OF RAIN IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA. MAINLY MVFR TO VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED...HOWEVER LOWER CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN PERIODS OF HEAVIER RAIN. GUSTY SOUTH WINDS WILL DIMINISH SLIGHTLY TONIGHT AND BECOME EASTERLY AS THE LOW PRESSURE MOVE NORTHEASTWARD ALONG THE COAST. MKK && .MARINE...MODELS HAVE BEGUN TO CONVERGE ON A SOLUTION FOR THE COMPLEX WEATHER PATTERN THAT IS SHAPING UP FOR TONIGHT. A LOW PRESSURE MOVING SOUTH DOWN THE COAST FILLS AND A NEW LOW PRESSURE FORMS TO THE SOUTH OF IT SOUTH OF OUR WATERS AND MOVES NORTHEASTWARD. 12Z GFS AND NAM HAD VERY DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS. THE 12Z GFS WAS IN DECENT AGREEMENT WITH THE UKMET...LOCAL NMM MODEL AND GEM GLOBAL. THE 12Z ECMWF AND THE 18Z HAVE NOW COME INTO RELATIVELY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE OTHER MODELS. MAINLY WENT WITH THE GFS. THE GFS DOES HAVE BRIEF PERIOD OF GALE FORCE WINDS...HOWEVER ELECTED NOT TO ISSUE A GALE WARNING TO THE SHORT TIME FROM AND SMALL AREA OF 35 KT WINDS. SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MODELS ARE IN DECENT AGREEMENT ON THE LOW PRESSURE PAUSING NEAR CRESCENT CITY AND THEN HEADING BACK SOUTH. THIS WILL KEEP WINDS SLIGHTLY ELEVATED THROUGH MONDAY. EXTENDED THE SCA'S DUE TO SLIGHTLY HIGHER WINDS IN THE SOUTHERN WATERS. A SERIES OF SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE WATERS MID TO LATE WEEK BRINGING PERIODS OF HIGHER WINDS. TIMING STILL REMAINS IN QUESTION ALTHOUGH IN MODELS ARE GENERALLY IN AGREEMENT. MODELS ARE CURRENTLY KEEPING THE WEST SWELL SLIGHTLY HIGHER TONIGHT SO HAVE EXTENDED THE SCA IN THE NORTHERN WATERS THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING. MONDAY ANOTHER LONG PERIOD SWELL IS PREDICTED TO MOVE INTO OUR WATERS. INITIALLY IT WILL BE AROUND 4 TO 5 FEET AT 22 SECONDS BUILDING TO 12 TO 14 FT BY WEDNESDAY. MKK && .EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON CAZ003-004-076. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY PZZ450-455-470-475. && VISIT US AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/EUREKA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 243 PM PDT SAT MAR 19 2011 CAZ001-002-202145- REDWOOD COAST-MENDOCINO COAST- 243 PM PDT SAT MAR 19 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SMALL HAIL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EUREKA. CAZ003-004-076-202145- NORTH COAST INTERIOR-UPPER TRINITY RIVER-MENDOCINO INTERIOR- 243 PM PDT SAT MAR 19 2011 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM PDT SUNDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT. FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE REFER TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR WEATHER.GOV/EUREKA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT ON SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EUREKA.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Several spotters reported snowfall meeting warning criteria. Chain restrictions were also required on some of the main roads.
Several spotters reported snowfall meeting warning criteria. Chain restrictions were also required on some of the main roads.
Several spotters reported snowfall meeting warning criteria. Chain restrictions were also required on some of the main roads.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2011
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: 283433, 283430, 283432.