Winter Weather in California, November 28 to 30, 2012

Name: Winter Weather in California, November 28 to 30, 2012
Start: 2012-11-28T09:00
End: 2012-11-30T23:59
Location: California

November 28 to 30, 2012 · NWS STO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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 STO wrote it up.

A warm atmospheric river event began early Wednesday, November 28th with an initial wave of rain and snow at higher elevations above 6500 ft. A second wave came through Thursday evening, November 29th through Friday, November 30th, bringing heavier rain and more snow to the highest elevations above 7000 ft. The third wave came through Saturday evening December 1st through Sunday, December 2nd, bringing periods of moderate to heavy rainfall, flooding from overly saturated grounds and high river/stream water levels, and snow above 7000 ft. Windy conditions persisted through the event, especially Wednesday through Saturday, causing trees and tree branches to fall down and widespread power outages affecting over approximately 10K people. Winds were reported to reach as high as 60-70 mph in the valley/foothill region, and over 100 mph in the mountains.

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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 28, 4:57 AM PST, 4 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 28, 4:57 AM PST, 4 hours 3 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 28, 5:25 AM PST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
525 AM PST WED NOV 28 2012

CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-291500-
SHASTA LAKE AREA/NORTHERN SHASTA COUNTY-
BURNEY BASIN/EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY-NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-
CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-
CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MOUNTAINS SOUTHWESTERN SHASTA TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTIES-
CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY-MOTHERLODE-
EAST FOOTHILLS/NORTH SACRAMENTO VALLEY-
WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA-
525 AM PST WED NOV 28 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FAST MOVING WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
TODAY BRINGING A SHORT PERIOD OF MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY
PRECIPITATION. STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE SYSTEM AS IT
MOVES THROUGH. ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL IS LIKELY AT THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS OF THE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA.

* WIND ADVISORY..............SEE WWUS76 KSTO - NPWSTO FOR DETAILS *

* WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY....SEE WWUS46 KSTO - WSWSTO FOR DETAILS *

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

PERIODS OF WET AND WINDY WEATHER ARE EXPECTED THURSDAY THROUGH THE
WEEKEND AS A SERIES OF AT LEAST THREE STORM SYSTEMS TAKES AIM AT THE
AREA.

* FLOOD WATCH................SEE WGUS66 KSTO - FFASTO FOR DETAILS *

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT
(LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/STO

Event by event

2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada

When: November 28, 9:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

A series of waves, associated with a warm atmospheric river event, came through Northern California and dropped several inches of snow for the Sierra Nevada mountains. Over 20 of snow was reported at Sierra at Tahoe (7000-8000 ft) on Nov 28-30, with a storm total of 38 for the whole event. Ebbetts Pass (8765 ft) received 25 on Nov 28-30, with a storm total of 30. Blue Lakes (8000 ft) received approximately 15 through Nov 30. CSS Lab (6855 ft) located along I-80 received approximately 7 through Nov 30. The largest accumulations of snowfall occurred Thursday into Friday, and again Saturday into Sunday (Dec 1-2). Winds were reported to gust up to 80-100+ mph at the highest elevations.

Winter Weather, Mt Shasta/Western Plumas County

When: November 28, 9:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Mt Shasta/Western Plumas County forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

A series of waves, associated with a warm atmospheric river event, came through Northern California and dropped several inches of snow for the Sierra Nevada mountains. Snow began in the morning of Nov 28, and dropped about 27 inches of snow at Lower Lassen Peak between Nov 28-30. Additional snow fell with the event, bringing the Lassen storm total to about 39. The most intense 24 hour period occurred between Thursday and Friday with 15 at Lassen, which occurred during our winter storm warning. Winds were reported to gust up to 80-100+ mph at the highest elevations.

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

Every storm in California in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in California, November 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 416050, 416051.