California, 2011

Winter Weather in California, May 15, 2011

May 15, 2011 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A large, cold, and slow moving system over the West brought a modest snowfall to the Sierra on the 15th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
1

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 large, cold, and slow moving system over the West brought a modest snowfall to the Sierra on the 15th.

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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 14, 9:48 PM PST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 14, 9:48 PM PST, 3 hours 12 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 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Greater Lake Tahoe Area

When
May 15, 1:00 AM PST to 9:00 AM PST
Where
Greater Lake Tahoe Area forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to seven inches of snow fell from South Lake Tahoe north and west to the Sierra crest near Donner Summit. The morning snow and cold as well as wet roads later in the day forced the delay and eventual cancellation of the first leg of the Amgen Pro Cycling Tour.

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, 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 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2011

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 312658.