A weak pacific front moved through Southern California on the evening of April 7 through early morning on April 8th, producing light snowfall in the higher elevations of the San Bernardino County Mountains. 50 inches occurred in northern Orange County and across the slopes of the mountains in the Cajon Pass.
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.
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 SGX wrote it up.
A weak pacific front moved through Southern California on the evening of April 7 through early morning on April 8th, producing light snowfall in the higher elevations of the San Bernardino County Mountains. Rainfall of 0.25 to 0.50 inches occurred in northern Orange County and across the slopes of the mountains in the Cajon Pass.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 7, 1:00 PM PST, 5 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
200 PM PDT TUE APR 7 2015
.SYNOPSIS...
COOL WITH INCREASING CLOUDS THROUGH TONIGHT...AND GUSTY WEST WINDS
IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. A WEAKENING COLD FRONT WILL BRING A
FEW HOURS OF LIGHT PRECIPITATION SPREADING SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA
FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. DRY WITH A WARMING TREND FOR
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. SLIGHT COOLING FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FROM
A WEAK TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE...THEN WARMING TO LITTLE ABOVE AVERAGE
FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY UNDER WEAK HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO MOVE
INLAND ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT
EXTENDING TO THE SW.
INCREASING CLOUDS THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD
FRONT. THE FRONT IS CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH SANTA BARBARA AND
VENTURA COUNTIES WITH A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS AHEAD OF THE MAIN BAND OF
FRONTAL CONVECTION. A FEW LOCATIONS IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY HAVE
RECEIVED AS MUCH AS HALF AN INCH OF RAIN. AS THE FRONT PROGRESSES TO
THE SE...LIGHT PRE-FRONTAL SHOWERS COULD BEGIN IN THE WESTERN SAN
BERNARDINO MTNS AS EARLY AS 3 PM. SHOWERS WILL STRENGTHEN AND
INCREASE IN COVERAGE AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE
REGION...DISSIPATING ONCE THE FRONT HAS MOVED EAST. MOST OF THE
PRECIPITATION SHOULD FALL BETWEEN 8 PM TONIGHT AND 2 AM WED...WITH
MOST OF THE SHOWERS HAVING MOVED TO THE EAST BY 8 AM WED.
PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM A FEW HUNDREDTHS IN THE
COASTAL AREAS TO NEAR ONE QUARTER INCH ALONG THE SLOPES OF THE SAN
BERNARDINO MTNS BELOW 5000 FT. ABOVE 5000 FT...A COUPLE OF INCHES OF
SNOW IS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER...THE SNOW WILL MELT FAIRLY QUICKLY WED
MORNING. STRONG WEST WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT...AND GUSTY
WINDS IN THE MTNS AND DESERTS WILL CONTINUE INTO WED MORNING...WITH
LOCAL GUSTS TO 55 MPH IN THE MOST WIND-PRONE LOCATIONS. DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES WILL BE MOSTLY IN THE LOW TO MID 60S WEST OF THE MTNS
AND IN THE HIGH DESERTS...THE 40S IN THE MTNS...AND THE 70S IN THE
LOWER DESERTS.
DRY WITH A WARMING TREND FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS THE LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES EAST AND A WEAK HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BUILDS IN
FROM THE WEST. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL INCREASE TO AROUND SEASONAL
AVERAGES.
FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY...A WEAK TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE
THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY BRINGING A LITTLE
STRONGER ONSHORE FLOW...COASTAL LOW CLOUDS AND FOG...AND SLIGHTLY
LOWER TEMPERATURES. DRY AND WARMER FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY UNDER WEAK
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WITH DAYTIME TEMPERATURES RETURNING TO SLIGHTLY
ABOVE AVERAGE.
&&
.AVIATION...
072050Z...THROUGH 08/0100Z SCT CLOUDS BASED AROUND 4000-5000 FEET
MSL OVER THE COASTAL WATERS AND OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF SAN DIEGO
COUNTY WITH HIGHER TERRAIN LOCALLY OBSCURED...OTHERWISE MOSTLY CLEAR
WITH UNRESTRICTED VISIBILITIES.
08/0100Z-08/1200Z A COLD FRONT WILL BRING BKN-OVC CLOUDS BASED
AROUND 3500 FEET MSL...WITH LAYERED CLOUDS ABOVE TO NEAR 8000 FEET
MSL WITH SHOWERS DEVELOPING...AND FREQUENT MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION.
WESTERLY MOUNTAIN AND DESERT WINDS 20-30 KNOTS
...LOCALLY GUSTING TO AROUND 40 KNOTS...ALONG WITH LOCAL WIND SHEAR
WITH MODERATE-STRONG UP AND DOWNDRAFTS OVERNIGHT. LOCAL CLOUD BASES
DOWN TO 2000 FEET MSL WITH VISIBILITIES LOCALLY REDUCED TO NEAR 3SM
IN SHOWERS. CONFIDENCE IN TAF TIMING OF THE LOWERED CLOUD BASES IS
GOOD. IMPROVING CONDITIONS FROM THE WEST AFTER 08/1200Z.
&&
.MARINE...
130 PM...BRISK NORTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP BEHIND A COLD FRONT THIS
EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...WHICH WILL CAUSE CHOPPY
CONDITIONS THAT MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO SMALL CRAFT. OTHERWISE...NO
HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 3 AM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR APPLE AND LUCERNE
VALLEYS-COACHELLA VALLEY-RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN
BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-SAN
DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN GORGONIO PASS NEAR BANNING.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...PG
AVIATION/MARINE...SMALLThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The public reported (via social media) 2 to 3 inches of snowfall in 12 hours in the Upper Moonridge area of Big Bear.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2015
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: 572454.