Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, December 11 to 15, 2014

Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, December 11 to 15, 2014
Start: 2014-12-11T10:00
End: 2014-12-15T17:00
Location: California

December 11 to 15, 2014 · NWS HNX · 19 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $500,000
Events: 19

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.

A strong cold front moved into central California on Thursday, December 11 and continued to impact the region through December 13. This system brought strong southerly winds across the Tehachapi mountains and into the San Joaquin Valley from the afternoon of the 11th to the morning of the 12th. During this time, winds gusted 70 to 90 mph across the mountains of Kern county with one gust of 105 mph reported at Grapevine Peak RAWS. In the San Joaquin Valley, winds gusted 40 to 60 mph, with the strongest winds occurring across Merced county south through western Fresno county and throughout Kern county. There was widespread minor wind damage across Kern county, including trees toppled, power poles down, and fences blown over. One report included approximately 2000 almond trees down northwest of Bakersfield, with a valued loss of $0.2M-0.5M. It was reported that 9,000 people lost power in the Bakersfield area during the storm.

This storm system also brought heavy rain and snow beginning late on December 11 and continuing through December 13. Rainfall amounts were generally 1 to 3 inches across the San Joaquin Valley, the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, the Sierra Foothills, and the mountains of Kern county. Even the desert portion of Kern county received a tenth of an inch to as much as 1.5 inches of rain. The heavy rain resulted in widespread nuisance flooding, notably in Gustine, the Fresno area, and the Bakersfield area. A portion of Highway 99 (Taft Highway underpass) was closed for a period due to flooding during the morning of Friday, December 12. While a Flood Watch was issued for the Rim Fire burn scar, no impacts were noted.

Snow was reported as low as 3600 feet where up to 2 inches of snow fell. Otherwise snow amounts ranged from about 8 inches to as much as 20 inches in the Sierra Nevada. NOHRSC analysis showed average snow water equivalent (SWE) in the Sierra increased from 0.4 to 1.1 and area covered by snow was up to 55.7% from 16.3%. A few inches of snow also fell across parts of Kern county.

As the storm departed, there areas of dense fog developed in the San Joaquin Valley, becoming widespread on December 13 and 14. Another storm system moved into the region on Monday, December 15. Although much weaker than the previous storm, it produced gusty winds in the Kern county mountains and light snow in the Sierra Nevada.

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 Dec 11, 4:33 AM PST, 5 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 11, 4:33 AM PST, 5 hours 27 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
433 AM PST THU DEC 11 2014

.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO AND ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY BRINGING
WIND...RAIN...AND MOUNTAIN SNOW TO THE ENTIRE REGION. HIGH
PRESSURE RIDGING WILL RETURN THIS WEEKEND. HOWEVER...ANOTHER STORM
WILL AFFECT THE AREA ON MONDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...IR IMAGERY INDICATING MID/HIGH CLOUDS HAVE SPREAD
SOUTHWARD INTO CENTRAL CA. SOME DENSE FOG FORMED LAST EVENING IN
THE SOUTH END OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...BUT HAS SINCE DISSIPATED
SO THE DENSE FOG ADVISORY THAT WAS ISSUED LAST EVENING FOR THE
SOUTH END OF THE VALLEY WAS CANCELED AS VISIBILITIES HAVE
IMPROVED. GENERALLY MILD NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA
THIS MORNING AS A RESULT OF THE INCREASED MID/HIGH CLOUDS.

MEANWHILE...A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CURRENTLY CENTERED NEAR
41N/129W REMAINS ON TRACK TO PROVIDE OUR AREA WITH STRONG WINDS
ALONG WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION BETWEEN THIS AFTERNOON
AND FRIDAY. STRONG WINDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED IN THE
NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY THIS MORNING AND AS THE LOW CONTINUES
TO PUSH EASTWARD...THE STRONG WINDS WILL AFFECT THE SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS BY THIS AFTERNOON AS STRONG
SUBSIDENCE FROM THE RIGHT FRONT QUAD OF THE 140KT 250 MB JET MAX
MOVES INTO CENTRAL CA. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE IN THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND FAR SOUTH AND OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NEAR
THE GRAPEVINE AREA WHERE GUSTS UP TO 80 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING WHILE GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH WILL BE
POSSIBLE ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF THE VALLEY AND IN THE SIERRA
FOOTHILLS AS WELL AS IN THE MERCED AREA AS A LOW LEVEL BARRIER JET
DEVELOPS LATER TODAY. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THESE
AREAS BEGINNING LATE THIS MORNING.

IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG WINDS...MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL AND
HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW WILL IMPACT THE AREA BY TONIGHT. THE
PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN OVER MERCED AND MARIPOSA COUNTIES AS OVER
THE YOSEMITE PARK AREA BY THIS AFTERNOON AND SPREAD SOUTHWARD
THIS EVENING. THE PRECIPITATION WILL BECOME MODERATE TO HEAVY AT
TIMES OVERNIGHT AS OUR AREA WILL BE UNDER THE FAVORABLE LFQ OF A
CYCLONICALLY CURVED 120KT 250 MB JET MAX. THE PRECIPITATION WILL
THEN BECOME MORE SHOWERY IN NATURE ON FRIDAY FOLLOWING THE COLD
FRONTAL PASSAGE ON FRIDAY MORNING. RFC PROGGED QPF AMOUNTS
INDICATE THE VALLEY WILL PICK UP BETWEEN HALF AND INCH AND AN INCH
AND A HALF OF RAINFALL BETWEEN THIS AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY WHILE THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA FOOTHILLS PICK UP 1 TO 2.5 INCHES. SNOW LEVELS
WILL BE AROUND 8000 TO 9000 FEET AT THE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION
THIS AFTERNOON...BUT LOWER TO 5500 TO 6000 FEET BEHIND THE COLD
FRONT ON FRIDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 1
TO 2 FEET IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA ABOVE 6000 FEET BY THE
TIME SHOWERS TAPER OFF ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A WINTER STORM
WARNING IN IN EFFECT FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 6000 FEET IN THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY
AFTERNOON WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE
TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING.

IN ADDITION...THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY PRECIPITATION OVER THE RIM
FIRE BURN AREA IN MARIPOSA COUNTY AND YOSEMITE PARK RAISES CONCERN
FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING. PER COORDINATION WITH WFO
SACRAMENTO...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE RIM FIRE
BURN AREA FROM LATE THIS MORNING UNTIL FRIDAY EVENING.

BEHIND THE COLD FRONT ON FRIDAY...THERE EXISTS THE POTENTIAL FOR
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF OUR AREA AS THE 06Z WRF LIKE IT/S
PREVIOUS RUNS CONTINUES TO SHOW SURFACE CAPES BETWEEN 300 AND 500
J/KG ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON AS WELL AS STRONG INSTABILITY WITH LI/S
BETWEEN -3 AND -1 DEG C. THE SHOWERY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE PUSHES INLAND
ON SATURDAY AND PROVIDE OUR AREA WITH A WARMING AND DRYING TREND
THROUGH SUNDAY.

THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH A MOIST
UPPER TROUGH IMPACTING OUR AREA MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WHICH
WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE OUR AREA WITH ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL...MOUNTAIN SNOW AS WELL AS INCREASED WINDS DURING THIS
TIME FRAME.

&&

.AVIATION...MVFR AND IFR IN HAZE AND MIST THROUGH THE FORECAST
PERIOD AND PRECIPITATION BEGINNING AROUND 02Z NORTH PORTIONS OF
THE AREA MOVING SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST
PERIOD. GUSTY CONDITIONS WILL BEGIN AROUND 14Z THROUGHOUT THE
AREA. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS DUE TO CLOUDS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...NONE.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH.
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS MEDIUM.

THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED AS PART OF A TRIAL PROJECT CONDUCTED
BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD.
CERTAINTY LEVELS INCLUDE LOW...MEDIUM...AND HIGH. PLEASE VISIT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HNX/CERTAINTY.PHP /ALL LOWER CASE/ FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND/OR TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK.

&&

.CLIMATE...
             RECORDS
SITE DATE    HI_MAX:YEAR LO_MAX:YEAR HI_MIN:YEAR LO_MIN:YEAR

KFAT 12-11       69:1933     39:1932     56:1937     25:1972
KFAT 12-12       69:1969     40:1932     55:1929     18:1932
KFAT 12-13       72:1929     32:1972     54:1929     23:1940

KBFL 12-11       81:1912     35:1932     58:1937     24:1923
KBFL 12-12       75:1913     43:1932     53:1893     20:1901
KBFL 12-13       79:1998     41:1972     54:1933     20:1901
&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 4 PM PST FRIDAY
ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR THE CAZ096-097.

FLOOD WATCH FROM 10 AM PST THIS MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING
CAZ093-096.

HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM PST THIS
EVENING CAZ089-090-093-094.

HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 4 AM PST FRIDAY
CAZ091-092-095.

&&

PUBLIC...DS
AVN/FW...ANDERSEN
SYNOPSIS...DS

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 dense fog, 6 heavy rain, 2 heavy snow, 2 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, S Sierra Mtns

When: December 11, 10:00 AM PST to December 12, 4:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Snowfall amounts of 7 to 14 inches in 24 hours.

Heavy Snow, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: December 11, 10:00 AM PST to December 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Snowfall amounts of 8 to 20 inches in 24 hours.

Strong Wind, W Central S.J. Valley

When: December 11, 2:00 PM PST to December 12, 2:00 AM PST
Where: W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph) measured gust
Crop damage: $500,000
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Strong south winds developed ahead of a strong cold front on December 11. This resulted in sustained winds of 20 to 35 mph with widespread gusts over 35 mph. Strongest gusts were recorded and the Bakersfield ASOS with a gust to 55 mph at 1140 pm on December 11. There were numerous reports of trees down in and around Bakersfield, McFarland, and Shafter. In Shafter, around 2000 almond trees were downed. Power was also lost in parts of Bakersfield due to downed power lines.

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: December 11, 3:00 PM PST to December 12, 3:00 AM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 91 kt (105 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong south winds occurred ahead of a strong cold front on December 11, 2014. The strongest winds occurred at the Grapevine Peak RAWS where sustained winds were measured 50 to 76 mph with frequent gusts over 75 mph. Peak wind gust was 105 mph. Elsewhere across the mountains of Kern County, sustained winds were generally 30 to 45 mph with gusts of 50 to 60 mph with a few places gusting over 70 mph.

Heavy Rain, Merced

When: December 11, 6:00 PM PST to December 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Merced County, Gustine
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 37.250, -121.000

Widespread reports of 1 to 2 inches of rain across Merced county with locally 2.5 inches of rain near Gustine. Reports of nuisance flooding included one lane closed on Highway 165 near Livingston, roadway flooding approximately 1.5 feet deep 6 mile southwest of Gustine and minor street flooding in the town of Gustine.

Heavy Rain, Madera

When: December 11, 9:00 PM PST to December 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Madera County, Madera
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.970, -120.070

Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches reported across the San Joaquin Valley portion Madera county with up to 2.5 inches in the foothills. Nuisance flooding of roadways.

Heavy Rain, Fresno

When: December 11, 9:00 PM PST to December 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Fresno County, (Fat) Air Terminal
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.770, -119.720

Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches across the San Joaquin Valley portion of Fresno county with up to 2.5 inches in the foothills. Nuisance roadway flooding reported in Fresno and Clovis.

Heavy Rain, Tulare

When: December 11, 9:00 PM PST to December 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare County, Tulare
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.220, -119.350

Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches across the San Joaquin Valley portion of Tulare county with up to 2.6 inches in the foothills. Nuisance roadway flooding reported near the city of Tulare.

Heavy Rain, Kings

When: December 11, 9:00 PM PST to December 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Kings County, Hanford
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.330, -119.650

Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches across the Kings county. Nuisance roadway flooding.

Heavy Rain, Kern

When: December 11, 11:00 PM PST to December 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Kern County, (Bfl)meadows Field Ap
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.430, -119.050

Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches were reported across Kern County. Roadway flooding was reported along Interstate 5 at Copus Road. Flooding was also reported along Highway 99 west of Lamont, closing the highway for a few hours. Along highway 178, the heavy rain resulted in debris flow from a recent burn area and closed the east bound lane of the highway at the mouth of the Kern Canyon, east of Bakersfield.

Dense Fog, W Central S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 12:55 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog, E Central S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 12:55 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog, Sw S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 2:03 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 2:03 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog, Sw S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 6:50 PM PST to December 15, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 7:45 PM PST to December 15, 3:00 AM PST
Where: Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog, W Central S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 10:00 PM PST to December 15, 2:00 AM PST
Where: W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog, E Central S.J. Valley

When: December 14, 10:00 PM PST to December 15, 2:00 AM PST
Where: E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: December 15, 4:45 PM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Dense Fog: Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 2014

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: 550557, 550558, 550550, 550530, 550551, 550552, 550553, 550554, 550555, 550556, 550709, 550710, 550711, 550712, 550715, 550716, 550713, 550714, 550684.