Winter Weather in California, September 21 to 22, 2017

Name: Winter Weather in California, September 21 to 22, 2017
Start: 2017-09-21T09:00
End: 2017-09-22T00:00
Location: California

September 21 to 22, 2017 · NWS STO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An unusually cold storm system brought accumulating snow to the Sierra, impacting travel and closing seasonal passes.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

An unusually cold storm system brought accumulating snow to the Sierra, impacting travel and closing seasonal passes.

Event by event

1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada

When: September 21, 9:00 AM PST to September 22, 12:00 AM PST
Where: West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Department of Highways

An unusually early season snow storm brought slippery Sierra road conditions above 5500 feet. Snow was 6 inches deep at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. I80 was held several times due to collisions, including a major accident involving 16 vehicles. One driver was killed in this accident. At Ebbetts Pass there were 6 ill-prepared hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail who were rescued by a deputy sheriff.

The people who died

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
Winter Weather, West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada	2017-09-21		Male	Unknown	Direct

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in California, September 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 715218.