Winter Storm, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- March 25, 6:00 AM PST to March 26, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
Winter Storm in California, March 25 to 26, 2012
By the 20th, high pressure began to strengthen and allowed temperatures to recover; they rose to a few degrees above seasonal averages by the 21st. This pattern continued for the next couple of days until another low pressure system arrived on the 24th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
By the 20th, high pressure began to strengthen and allowed temperatures to recover; they rose to a few degrees above seasonal averages by the 21st. This pattern continued for the next couple of days until another low pressure system arrived on the 24th.
An upper-level low moved over interior central California on the 24th and 25th, bringing rain and mountain snow to much of the region during that weekend. Snow levels were much higher with this system than the one that moved through the area during the previous weekend; snow fell mainly above the pass levels in Kern County and remained above 5000 feet in most areas throughout the southern Sierra Nevada. Nearly a foot of new snow fell on the Southern Sierra Nevada, and rainfall amounts in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley were up to a quarter inch.
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 Mar 25, 1:46 AM PST, 4 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 25, 1:46 AM PST, 4 hours 14 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 246 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 .SYNOPSIS... LOW PRESSURE IS SPINNING OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST AND WILL MOVE INLAND LATER TODAY PRODUCING RAIN...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...AND SNOW TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. && .DISCUSSION... VERY IMPRESSIVE CLOSED UPPER LOW PRESSURE CENTER OFF THE CENTRAL CA COAST WILL PUSH ITS FRONT THROUGH HERE TODAY WITH SOME CLEARING EXPECTED BY MIDDAY. THE UPPER LOW CENTER WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION AND MAY PRODUCE SOME STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LATER TODAY. SPC HAS US IN A GENERAL RISK OF STRONG STORMS. CAPES OF AROUND 300-400 J/KG AND LAPSE RATES GREATER THAN 7C WITH SFC BASED LI VALUES AROUND 0 WILL BE SUFFICIENT ENOUGH FOR ISOLATED CONVECTION WITH A POSSIBLE ORGANIZED LINE LATER IN THE DAY AS THE UPPER VORT MOVES THROUGH. SMALL HAIL AND COLD AIR FUNNELS ARE POSSIBLE AS VERTICAL SPEED SHEAR AND DIRECTIONAL SHEAR ARE FAVORABLE FOR POSSIBLE COLD AIR FUNNEL CLOUDS AND SMALL ACCUMULATING HAIL IN LOW TOP THUNDERSTORMS. QPF AMOUNTS ARE STILL IMPRESSIVE ENOUGH TO CONTINUE THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SIERRA AND INTO THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS THROUGH TONIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP TO AROUND 4500 FEET LATER TODAY. THE LOW CENTER WILL MOVE EAST OF THE AREA BY TONIGHT AS A ZONAL FLOW PATTERN SETS UP FOR EARLY THIS WEEK. SEASONAL TEMPS AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL PREVAIL THROUGH TUESDAY. THE NEXT SYSTEM EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE AREA WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY. IT WILL BE A QUICK HITTER AND WILL ONLY SKIRT ACROSS THE NRN PORTION OF THE CWA ON WED. ZONAL FLOW WILL ONCE AGAIN RETURN TO THE REGION THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. THE EXTENDED FORECAST IS CALLING FOR ANOTHER WEAK SYSTEM TO SKIRT ACROSS THE NRN PORTION FO THE CWA ON SAT AND MAY BE STRONG ENOUGH TO BRING SHOWERS AS FAR SOUTH AS FRESNO COUNTY. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN NEAR NORMAL LATE IN THE WEEK AND INTO THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION... IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS...AREAS OF MVFR WITH LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS IN RAIN AND LOW CLOUDS AFTER 12Z SUNDAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY BETWEEN 19Z SUNDAY AND 03Z MONDAY. ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...MVFR WITH INCREASING AREAS OF IFR IN MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION AFTER 18Z SUNDAY. ACROSS THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS...MOSTLY VFR CONDITIONS WITH LOCAL MVFR CONDITIONS AFTER 21Z SUNDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... NONE. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 AM PDT MONDAY ABOVE 5000 FEET FOR THE CAZ096-097. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 AM PDT MONDAY ABOVE 5000 FEET FOR THE CAZ095. && PUBLIC...JDB AVN/FW...MOLINA SYNOPSIS...WP WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 25, 3:22 AM PST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 422 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 CAZ089>094-098-099-261130- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 422 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 ...UNSETTLED WEATHER RETURNING THIS WEEKEND... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ALL OF INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW TO THE AREA THIS WEEKEND...ALONG WITH LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS. THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. PLEASE REFER TO THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT OR /SFOSPSHNX/ FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. CAZ095>097-261130- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 422 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 ...WINTER WEATHER... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 5000 FEET FOR HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM SUNDAY TO 5 AM PDT MONDAY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AS WELL AS THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /SFOWSWHNX/ FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. WP
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Mar 25, 12:39 AM PST, 5 hours 21 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 139 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 CAZ089>092-251900- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 139 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY... THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PUT US IN A GENERAL RISK OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. A VIGOROUS UPPER LOW CENTER WILL CROSS THE REGION LATER TODAY BEHIND A COLD FRONT THAT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION EARLY TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BREAK OUT BY MID MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING. WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF ACCUMULATING SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH IN THE STRONGER STORMS. COLD AIR FUNNEL CLOUDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTING MAY ALSO ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS AS WELL. IF THUNDER ROARS...GO INDOORS!! PLEASE MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE...FOR UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION. CAZ093-094-251900- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- 139 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 ...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE LATER TODAY... STRONG PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL BRING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN TO AREAS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA FOOTHILLS TODAY AND TONIGHT. RAIN WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION LATER THIS MORNING AND MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN IS EXPECTED WITH THIS EVENT AND SOME MINOR FLOODING MAY OCCUR LATER TODAY. PLEASE MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE...FOR UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION. CAZ098-099-251900- INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 139 AM PDT SUN MAR 25 2012 ...BREEZY CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY... STRONG PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL BRING BREEZY CONDITIONS TO THE KERN COUNTY DESERT AREAS TODAY. RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE LATER TODAY AND INTO TONIGHT. RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN ONE HALF AN INCH...HOWEVER SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE IN SOME OF THE STRONGER SHOWERS. PLEASE MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE...FOR UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION. BARLOW WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Event by event
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- March 25, 6:00 AM PST to March 26, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
Winter Storm, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- March 25, 6:00 AM PST to March 26, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire in New Mexico, March 25, 2012
- Hail in North Carolina, March 25, 2012
- Hail in North Carolina, March 25, 2012
- Hail in North Carolina, March 25, 2012
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Nevada, March 25 to 26, 2012
- Hail in North Carolina, March 25, 2012
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Puerto Rico, March 25, 2012
- Blizzard in Alaska, March 25 to 26, 2012
- Winter Storm in California, March 25 to 26, 2012
- Hail in South Carolina, March 25, 2012
- Avalanche in Colorado, March 25, 2012
- Hail in South Dakota, March 25, 2012
More
Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2012
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: 374821, 374822, 374823.