California, 2015

Heavy Snow in California, December 10 to 11, 2015

December 10 to 11, 2015 · NWS REV · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Cold low pressure from the North Pacific brought heavy snow to the northern Sierra and down to the lower valleys of northeast California on the 10th and 11th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 REV wrote it up.

Cold low pressure from the North Pacific brought heavy snow to the northern Sierra and down to the lower valleys of northeast California on the 10th and 11th.

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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 9, 10:22 PM PST, 2 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 9, 10:22 PM PST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Lassen/Eastern Plumas/Eastern Sierra

When
December 10, 1:00 AM PST to December 11, 2:00 AM PST
Where
Lassen/Eastern Plumas/Eastern Sierra forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.086, -120.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy snow fell mainly south and west of Susanville on the 10th and early on the 11th, with valleys below 5000 feet starting as rain or a mix of rain and snow before changing over to all snow. Six and a half to 8 inches of snow fell between Sierraville and Lake Davis, including Portola. Ten inches of snow was estimated from the Independence Creek SNOTEL.

Heavy Snow, Greater Lake Tahoe Area

When
December 10, 4:00 AM PST to December 11, 9:00 AM PST
Where
Greater Lake Tahoe Area forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A widespread 9 to 16 inches of snow fell around the Tahoe Basin on the 10th and 11th, including 12 to 13 inches in the Tahoe City area and 11 inches about 5 miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2015

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: 615357, 615358.