Multiple troughs embedded within a broader upper-level low brought rain and snow showers, scattered thunderstorms with small hail, minor coastal flooding and gusty winds between the 6th and 8th. 5 inches of rain in the coast and valleys to isolated 3 inch amounts in the mountains.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
Multiple troughs embedded within a broader upper-level low brought rain and snow showers, scattered thunderstorms with small hail, minor coastal flooding and gusty winds between the 6th and 8th. Precipitation totals ranged from 1.5 inches of rain in the coast and valleys to isolated 3 inch amounts in the mountains. Snow accumulated down to 3500 ft with up to 9 inches above 7000 ft. Considerable wind damage occurred with 2 lines of thunderstorms that moved through Orange and San Diego Counties on the 7th, with numerous trees down blocking roadways and damage to roofs, windows, and cars.
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 Mar 6, 8:42 AM PST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
842 AM PST SUN MAR 6 2016
.SYNOPSIS...
LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE INLAND ACROSS CALIFORNIA TODAY GENERATING
STRONG WESTERLY WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...AND SHOWERS
THIS MORNING. SOME LIGHT RAIN WILL LINGER ON THE COASTAL SLOPES INTO
THE AFTERNOON...THEN END OVERNIGHT. A SECOND...COLDER STORM WILL
BRING MORE SHOWERS AND A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ON MONDAY...ALONG
WITH SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. THE PRECIPITATION WILL
END LATE MONDAY NIGHT. HIGH SURF WILL ALSO POUND AREA BEACHES THROUGH
TUESDAY. DRY AND WARMER MIDWEEK...THEN COOLER INTO THE WEEKEND WITH
ANOTHER CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
RADAR SHOWED NUMEROUS SHOWERS...SOME HEAVY MOVING EAST ACROSS THE
CWA THIS MORNING. RAINFALL AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN MODERATE THROUGH 8 AM
RANGING FROM LESS THAN ONE-TENTH OF AN INCH IN THE DESERTS AND....
TO 1.5 INCHES ON THE WETTER COASTAL SLOPES OF THE MTS. THE 12Z
MIRAMAR SOUNDING HAD A 3 DEGREE C INVERSION BASED NEAR 4150 FT MSL
WITH SOUTH WINDS 10-15 KT BELOW TO THE SFC. THE SOUNDING INDICATED
LITTLE INSTABILITY AND A PW OF 0.72 INCH...HOWEVER TPW IMAGERY
SHOWED A NARROW PLUME INTO O.C. WITH VALUES OF 1.3 INCH.
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS SHOWED STRONG ONSHORE TRENDS TO NV. AT 8
AM PST...THE GRADIENT FROM KSAN TO SW NV WAS 13 MBS. THIS WAS FUELING
STRONGER WESTERLY WINDS OVER THE MTS AND DESERTS. STRONGEST WINDS OF
35 MPH WITH GUSTS 45-50 MPH WERE OCCURRING NEAR THE SAN GORGONIO PASS
AND ON THE WINDIER RIDGES OF OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY MTS.
SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THIS MORNING WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...THEN
DECREASE THIS AFTERNOON BEHIND THE WEAKENING COLD FRONT. SNOWFALL...
IF ANY...IS EXPECTED ABOVE 7000 FT IN THE SAN BERNARDINO MTS..CLOUDS
WILL DECREASE FROM THE NW LATE MORNING THROUGH AFTERNOON...EXCEPT
OVER THE FOOTHILLS AND MTS WHERE UPSLOPE FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO
CONDENSE ANY MOISTURE IN THE ATMOSPHERE INTO CLOUDS AND POSSIBLE
LIGHT RAIN AT TIMES.
PARTLY CLOUDY...COOLER...AND MOSTLY DRY OVERNIGHT AHEAD OF A STRONG
DIGGING SHORTWAVE FROM THE NW ON MONDAY.
FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
A SECOND COLDER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS
FAR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONDAY BRINGING SHOWERS AND A CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN PERIOD OF PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED FOR
LATE MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE SHOWERS WILL DECREASE
MONDAY NIGHT.
FOR MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM
AROUND ONE HALF INCH NEAR THE COAST TO AROUND ONE INCH IN THE
MOUNTAINS...WITH AROUND ONE THIRD INCH IN THE UPPER DESERTS AND
ONE TENTH INCH OR LESS IN THE LOWER DESERTS. DUE TO THE CONVECTIVE
NATURE OF THE PRECIPITATION...AMOUNTS WILL BE MORE VARIABLE THAN
FOR TODAY.
THE SNOW LEVEL WILL LOWER FROM ABOVE 8000 FEET...TO AROUND 6500
FEET THIS AFTERNOON...6000 FEET LATE TONIGHT...4500 TO 5000 FEET
MONDAY...AND 4000 TO 4500 FEET MONDAY NIGHT. A FEW INCHES OF SNOW
IS POSSIBLE ABOVE 7500 TO 8000 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT. FOR MONDAY
AND MONDAY NIGHT...SNOWFALL OF 4 TO 8 INCHES IS POSSIBLE...MOSTLY
ABOVE 5500 FEET.
FOR LATE MONDAY MORNING INTO EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON...THE HIGHER
RESOLUTION MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME WHERE
GREATER INSTABILITY...A SURFACE CONVERGENCE BOUNDARY...AND
SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL SHEAR EXIST OVER THE INNER COASTAL WATERS
INTO THE ADJACENT COASTAL AREAS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATERSPOUTS
AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.
FOR LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY...STRONG NORTH WINDS ALOFT
BEHIND THE DEPARTING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING GUSTY NORTH
WINDS...STRONGEST ALONG THE COASTAL SLOPES OF THE SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND BELOW THE CAJON PASS...AND NEAR AND ALONG THE
COASTAL SLOPES OF THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL
WARM TO NEAR AVERAGE ON TUESDAY FOLLOWING HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 10
TO 15 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE ON MONDAY.
&&
.LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY)...
WARMER AND DRY FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH HIGH PRESSURE
ALOFT. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL WARM TO NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE
AVERAGE ON WEDNESDAY AND AROUND 10 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE ON
THURSDAY.
FOR LATE IN THE WEEK...THE FORECAST CONTINUES TO FAVOR THE MORE
CONSISTENT ECMWF WITH A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT WOULD BRING A
PERIOD OF MAINLY LIGHTER PRECIPITATION WITH THE MAIN PERIOD OF
PRECIPITATION LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING. THE ECMWF
TIMING CONTINUES TO BE SUPPORTED BY THE GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN AND IS
NOW SUPPORTED BY THE CANADIAN MODEL. THE GFS REMAINS MORE
AMPLIFIED THAN THE OTHER MODEL SOLUTIONS WITH FASTER TIMING FOR
THE 00Z RUN AND TIMING SIMILAR TO THE OTHER MODELS FOR THE 06Z
RUN.
&&
.AVIATION...
061630Z...COAST/VALLEYS...RAIN SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE REGION
THIS MORNING...ENDING FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST BY 21Z. THROUGH
21Z...CLOUD BASES WILL BE MAINLY 1500-2500 FT MSL...LOCALLY LOWERING
TO 700-1000 FT MSL WITH VIS 1-4 SM IN HEAVIER SHOWERS. THE TOP OF
THE LOW CLOUDS WILL BE AOB 5000 FT MSL WITH A SECOND CLOUD LAYER
BETWEEN FL100 AND FL250. CLOUDS WILL BECOME FEW-SCT BETWEEN 2500-
3500 FT MSL THIS AFTERNOON...WITH WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 KTS AT THE
COASTAL TAF SITES. FLOW ALONG THE COAST. BKN-OVC CLOUDS WITH BASES
AROUND 2500 FT MSL AND -SHRA WILL REDEVELOP MONDAY MORNING AHEAD OF
THE NEXT COLD FRONT.
MOUNTAINS/DESERTS....THE COASTAL MTN SLOPES WILL SEE REDUCED VIS OF
1 SM OR LESS DUE TO FOG...LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS THROUGH ABOUT 00Z.
ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS POSSIBLE IN THE HIGH DESERT THROUGH 20Z.
OTHERWISE SCT-BKN CLOUDS AOA 8000 FT MSL IN THE DESERTS. NO VIS
RESTRICTIONS OR LOWERED CIGS ARE EXPECTED FOR KPSP OR KTRM. WEST
WINDS INCREASING THIS AFTERNOON WITH SFC GUSTS 35-50 KT OVER THE
RIDGES AND ADJACENT DESERT SLOPES THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. STG-SVR
UDDFS...LLWS...AND ROTORS ARE POSSIBLE OVER AND EAST THE MTNS
TONIGHT AND SUNDAY.
&&
.MARINE...
AT 830 AM...A LARGE WEST SWELL WITH A PERIOD OF 13-15 SEC WILL BUILD
OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS EVENING...PEAKING LATE MONDAY INTO
TUESDAY AT 14-18 FT. COMBINED SEAS OF OVER 10-20 FT LIKELY THIS
EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. HIGHEST SEAS WILL BE SOUTH AND
SOUTHEAST OF SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND.
A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20-25 KT
TODAY...WINDS MAY INCREASE TO 30-35 KT MONDAY EVENING...THEN WEAKEN
DURING THE DAY TUESDAY. WINDS AND SEAS WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH
WEDNESDAY. FOR MORE DETAILS SEE THE LAXMWWSGX.
SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS MORNING...THEN HEAVIER SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON.
SEE THE MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT...LAXMWSSGX...FOR MORE INFORMATION.
&&
.BEACHES...
830 AM...A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH NOON MONDAY...AND
A HIGH SURF WARNING WILL BE IN EFFECT FROM NOON MONDAY THROUGH 4 PM
TUESDAY. A 6-9 FT WEST SWELL FROM 280 DEGREES WILL GENERATE 4-7 FT
SURF WITH LOCAL SETS TO 8 FT TODAY. MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...A 12 TO
18 FT SWELL FROM 285 DEGREES WITH A PERIOD OF 13-15 SEC WILL
GENERATE SURF OF 8-15 FT LATE MONDAY AND TUESDAY. SWELL AND SURF
WILL DECREASE WEDNESDAY.
A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MONDAY THROUGH
NOON TUESDAY DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF VERY LARGE SURF...GUSTY
WINDS...AND HIGH TIDES NEAR 6 FEET MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THE GREATEST
THREAT WILL BE DURING TIMES OF HIGH TIDE.
FOR MORE DETAILS...SEE THE HIGH SURF WARNING AND THE COASTAL FLOOD
ADVISORY (LAXCFWSGX)...AND THE SURF FORECAST (LAXSRFSGX).
&&
.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 PST MONDAY 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.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL NOON PST MONDAY FOR ORANGE COUNTY
COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.
COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY FROM 6 AM MONDAY TO NOON PST TUESDAY FOR
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.
HIGH SURF WARNING FROM NOON MONDAY TO 4 PM PST TUESDAY FOR
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM PST THIS EVENING
FOR ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 8 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM PST TUESDAY
FOR COASTAL WATERS FROM SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN
BORDER AND OUT TO 30 NM-WATERS FROM SAN MATEO POINT TO THE
MEXICAN BORDER EXTENDING 30 TO 60 NM OUT INCLUDING SAN
CLEMENTE ISLAND.
&&
PUBLIC...JAD/17
AVIATION/MARINE/BEACHES...ALBRIGHTThe San Diego radar (KNKX), 134 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:29 UTC.
3 high wind, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 dust storm, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The Edom Hill mesonet reported a peak gust of 77 mph and sustained winds as high as 50 mph.
CHP reported Gene Autry Trail between Via Escuela & I-10 was closed because of blowing sand and zero visibility.
Wind gusts estimated near 60 mph removed a few clay roofing tiles from roof and reduced visibility to 0 to 1/8th mile with blowing sand.
The mesonet station at Boucher Hill recorded a peak wind gust of 72 mph between 0630-0730 PST on the 7th.
A resident in Irvine posted a youtube video of tree damage in Irvine at Kazan Street. Numerous very large tree branches down, some on top of cars. Branches look about a half foot in diameter with some branches about 20 feet in length. One tree branch broke an apartment window.
A lightning strike from a line of thunderstorms caused a roof fire at a house in Laguna Niguel.
CHP reported two downed trees from a line of storms, wind gusts were estimated to be between 45 and 50 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2016
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: 624430, 627008, 624431, 627009, 627010, 627011, 624433.