A strong low pressure system brought strong winds to the Sierra Nevada, the foothills, and the Valley. Butte County received significant wind damage, with 2 fatalities caused by falling trees.
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 STO wrote it up.
A strong low pressure system brought strong winds to the Sierra Nevada, the foothills, and the Valley. Butte County received significant wind damage, with 2 fatalities caused by falling trees. A fallen tree also caused a fatality and several injuries in Shasta County. Multiple fallen trees caused damage to homes in the Motherlode foothills and in the Sacramento metro area. Fallen trees and branches also caused power outages, with 344,000 customers across northern California impacted. The storm dropped several inches of snow at higher elevations, causing traffic slowdowns and chain controls over the Sierra passes. Strong winds and cold temperatures also combined to bring wind chill temperatures well below zero for the higher Sierra, impacting outdoor recreation.
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 Dec 29, 10:16 PM PST, 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 1016 PM PST Mon Dec 29 2014 .Synopsis... Cold upper trough will bring a threat of snow showers over the mountains tonight into Tuesday. Strong gusty north winds develop Tuesday with breezy conditions continuing Wednesday. Decreasing wind Thursday with dry weather into the weekend. Cold overnight low temperatures continue with very low wind chills Tuesday night. && .Discussion... Low pressure area is moving south through the region this evening. Some light showers have been reported but no significant totals are expected. Plenty of cold air will be advecting into the region over the next day. Along with the cold air there will be windy conditions. Winds will be increasing through the morning hours peaking anywhere from the late morning through the afternoon hours. The west side of the valley and coastal foothills should see the strongest winds where isolated 50 mph plus gusts may be possible. The winds will ease up a bit for many valley location Tuesday evening but remain locally strong along the west side of the valley. Winds will remain breezy on Wednesday but lighten up Wednesday night into the Thursday. The New Year will be very cold with many valley temperatures dipping into the mid 20s. The colder foothill locations will likely dip into the upper teens to mid 20s and mountain valley locations will likely dip into the single digits for a couple of nights. Expect a couple of really cold nights followed by slow improvement in the overnight lows but still dipping below freezing for most valley areas likely through the weekend. The coldest valley lows look to occur Thursday and Friday. .Extended Discussion (Friday through Monday) High pressure ridging will bring a dry start to the new year. In contrast to New Years Day, the rest of the week and into next week will have light and variable winds. Friday and Saturday mornings are expected to be quite cool and there could be patchy frost. A weak system flattens the ridge somewhat Sunday to Monday, but it won't bring much of an impact to our CWA except for some increased upper level cloudiness. EK && .Aviation... Mainly VFR conditions in the valley with isold -shra. Isold -shsn over the mountains with areas MVFR and lcl IFR conditions due to cigs vsbys and -sn. Skies becoming VFR aft 15z. Valley winds will start getting strong gusts of 25 to 45 kt in the Valley after 16z with over 60 kt in the higher Sierra. && .STO Watches/Warnings/Advisories... wind advisory from 6 am tuesday to 5 pm pst wednesday west slope northern sierra nevada...western plumas county/lassen park. wind advisory from 6 am tuesday to noon pst wednesday carquinez strait and delta...central sacramento valley...clear lake/southern lake county...mountains southwestern shasta county to northern lake county...northern sacramento valley...northern san joaquin valley...shasta lake area / northern shasta county... southern sacramento valley. &&
5 strong wind, 5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement reported a number of trees down on Marysville Rd in Dobbins.
Northeast winds behind a cold front brought down large trees in Paradise, Butte County. At 7:19 am PST, 2 large trees fell on a residence on Lofty Lane, which resulted in the death of an adult male.
A cold front brought strong winds. A tree fell on a vehicle on Elliot Road in the city of Paradise at 7:48 am. This caused an adult female fatality. Elliott Road was closed from Ingalls Road to Copeland Road for a time, while crews responded to the scene.
Numerous trees and powerlines were knocked down in Paradise and Magalia. There were over 3000 customers without power. Winds gusted to 66 mph at Jarbo Gap at 11:13 PST.
A 2 foot diameter tree was reported down on road 4 miles west of Red Bluff.
At least 2 homes badly damaged by falling trees in Grass Valley and Nevada City.
At least 2 homes badly damaged by falling trees in Grass Valley and Nevada City.
Numerous trees reported down in the Sacramento area. Trees were reported falling on homes and business in Sacramento, Elk Grove, and Folsom. Power lines were downed in multiple locations, causing power outages.
A strong wind storm brought down trees and power lines, damaging 3 homes in Kyburz.
An 8 ft diameter, 30-40 ft tall grey pine tree fell onto a home in Redding. This home was located on Wyatt Lane, off Churn Creek Road, north of South Bonnyview Road. An adult female was killed, and an male adult and a female toddler(3 yrs of age) were injured in the incident. The Redding Municipal Airport reported NNE winds sustained at 29 mph with gusts to 38 mph at 2 am. The airport is 3.82 mile SSE of the incident. Strong wind duration estimated at about 30 minutes.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley | 2014-12-30 | 29 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| High Wind, Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley | 2014-12-30 | 79 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| High Wind, Northern Sacramento Valley | 2014-12-31 | 29 | Female | Unknown | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2014
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: 553916, 546944, 546941, 553909, 553912, 554039, 554040, 554041, 554038, 553908.