California, 2017

Heavy Snow and Hail in California, April 7 to 8, 2017

April 7 to 8, 2017 · NWS STO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A storm system brought wind damage to trees, thunderstorms with hail, and snow accumulating down into the foothills of the Sierra and Coastal Range.

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

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 STO wrote it up.

A storm system brought wind damage to trees, thunderstorms with hail, and snow accumulating down into the foothills of the Sierra and Coastal Range.

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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 6, 2:37 PM PST, 16 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 6, 2:37 PM PST, 16 hours 53 minutes before
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The radar

The Sacramento radar (KDAX), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada

When
April 7, 7:30 AM PST to April 8, 4:00 PM PST
Where
West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter

At Kingvale, there was a 24 hour total of 12.0 of snow by 7:30 am on the 8th, storm total of 17 by 4:00 pm. Northstar Ski Resort reported 13.0 of snow and Squaw Valley reported 12.0. Wet snow was also reported at elevations as low as Placerville (1800 ft), with around an inch at Pollock Pines (3700 ft). Major travel problems were caused on I80 by the extensive snow covered area, with chain controls and long delays reported. Caltrans closed off eastbound I80 for several hours the night of the 8th following a collision.

Hail, Placer

When
April 7, 6:13 PM PST to 6:18 PM PST
Where
Placer County, 0.88 mi NW of Roseville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
38.760, -121.290

Photo of penny size hail in Roseville from photo on Twitter.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2017

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: 693033, 691020.