Heavy Rain, Shasta
- When
- March 12, 2:00 PM PST to March 13, 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- Shasta County, 2.72 mi ENE of Shingletown Arpt
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 40.530, -121.770
There was 1.91 inches of rain measured over 12 hours.
Winter Storm and Hail in California, March 12 to 17, 2018
A series of cool storms brought travel impacts in the mountains from heavy snow. Thunderstorms in the Sacramento Valley had dime sized hail.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $300,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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 series of cool storms brought travel impacts in the mountains from heavy snow. Thunderstorms in the Sacramento Valley had dime sized hail.
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 Mar 12, 8:25 AM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 8:25 AM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sacramento CA 925 AM PDT Mon Mar 12 2018 SYNOPSIS... Series of Pacific storms will move through this week bringing periods of rain and mountain snow, heavy at times, and gusty wind. && .DISCUSSION... Long wave trough in the Eastern Pacific with embedded short waves will be key weather player this week. Satellite imagery showing frontal system near 130 W approaching California. Clouds will be on the increase today with some light pre-frontal precip possible, mainly over western portions of Interior NorCal this afternoon. Pre-frontal precip and wind increase tonight as baroclinic zone draws closer. WAA ahead of front will keep snow levels above 8000 feet overnight. Front progged to move through Tuesday with widespread precipitation and a period of gusty wind, mainly in the morning hours for the Central Valley. Attm guidance showing wind speeds remaining below wind advisory criteria for most areas in the Central Valley, apart from possibly the Northern Sacramento Valley and Delta. Bulk of frontal precip moves through the Central Valley Tuesday morning. Precip ramps up in the Sierra Tuesday morning but continues moderate to heavy at times into Wednesday as post frontal troughing moves through. Snow level lower below pass levels Tuesday as front ushers in colder air. Snow levels continue to fall Tuesday night into Wednesday morning to 3500 to 4500 feet. Precip amounts with this first storm look to be around 0.5 to 1.5 inches in the Central Valley, highest in the Northern Sacramento Valley with 1 to 3 inches in the foothills and mountains. Snow amounts of 1 to 2 feet possible by Wednesday at pass levels. Showers look to taper off in the Central Valley Wednesday AM while continuing in the Sierra Nevada under moist orographic flow. Models showing next short wave impacting the area Wednesday night into Thursday with main upper low continuing unsettled weather through Friday. Additional 1 to 1.5 inches of rain expected in the Central Valley with a threat of afternoon thunderstorms which may contain small hail. Moderate to heavy snow will continue in the mountains of Western Plumas county and the Sierra Nevada. GEFS plumes are indicating an average of 2 feet of snowfall for KBLU by 12Z Saturday, and some of the higher terrain may see 7 feet or more by the weekend. Anyone planning travel across the northern Sierra this week would be advised to do so by Tuesday morning. PCH && .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (Friday THROUGH Monday) Upper level trough will continue to bring precipitation across the region Friday, and possibly into Saturday. The 00z iteration of the GFS brings the upper low southward along the California coast, then inland over Southern CA. The ECMWF conversely brings the trough inland over Northern CA, which would be a wetter scenario. Regardless, snow levels are currently projected to generally remain between 3000-4000 ft during this timeframe. Drier weather is expected for the 2nd half of the upcoming weekend, though a few showers will continue to be possible mainly over the mountains. Model differences arise early next week as the GFS brings a trough inland over the Pacific NW, then drops southward into the Great Basin in a slider solution. The ECMWF keeps the low offshore, but taps into subtropical moisture and would thus be a warmer and wetter solution than the GFS. Both solutions suggest that unsettled weather will continue through at least early next week. Dang && .AVIATION... Mainly VFR conditions today. Some light precipitation possible this afternoon becoming more widespread tonight. Deteriorating conditions tonight with widespread MVFR/IFR conditions developing overnight. Light winds generally less than 10 kts today, increasing to 15-25 kt after 06z tonight. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning from 1 PM Tuesday to 5 PM PDT Wednesday for West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada-Western Plumas County/Lassen Park. &&
The radar
The Beale AFB radar (KBBX), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:55 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail, 2 winter storm, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada
- When
- March 15, 10:00 AM PST to March 17, 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada forecast zone
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
Heavy snow fell, impacting travel on Sierra Highways with chain controls, holds, and closures for elevations above 3000'. There was 35 of new snow at Sierra at Tahoe, 32 of new snow at Kirkwood Ski Resort, 41 at Squaw Alpine Ski Resort, 42 at the Caltrans Kingvale Maintenance Yard, 16 at Echo Peak, 14 at Blue Canyon. Numerous road closures were reported, including I80 east of Applegate due to heavy snow, Carson Pass/SR-88 and Hwy 50 between Twin Bridges and Meyers for avalanche control, Hwy 89 between Truckee an d Alpine Meadows due to a collision involving 20 vehicles, Hwy 50 eastbound at Sly Park Rd, westbound of Meyers due to snow downed power lines, and Hwy 20 east of Nevada City due to heavy snow.
Winter Storm, Mt Shasta/Western Plumas County
- When
- March 15, 10:00 AM PST to March 16, 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- Mt Shasta/Western Plumas County forecast zone
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
Heavy snow fell, impacting travel on mountain roads with chain controls and delays. There was 7 of new snow at Quincy.
Hail, Tehama
- When
- March 16, 3:55 PM PST to 4:10 PM PST
- Where
- Tehama County, 0.69 mi N of Corning
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 39.930, -122.180
Dime sized hail was reported in Corning, CA.
Hail, Tehama
- When
- March 16, 5:15 PM PST to 5:25 PM PST
- Where
- Tehama County, 3.8 mi ESE of Vina
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 39.900, -121.990
Public reported accumulating hail up to 2 inches deep on roads in central Tehama County.
Hail, Tehama
- When
- March 16, 5:15 PM PST to 5:25 PM PST
- Where
- Tehama County, 3.8 mi ESE of Vina
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 39.900, -121.990
Public reported accumulating hail up to 2 inches deep on roads in central Tehama County, including Highway 99.
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
- 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
- Strong Wind in Georgia, March 12, 2018
- Heavy Snow in Virginia, March 12, 2018
- Winter Weather in Virginia, March 12 to 13, 2018
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New York, March 12 to 15, 2018
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 12, 2018
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in West Virginia, March 12 to 13, 2018
- High Surf in Hawaii, March 12 to 13, 2018
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Rhode Island, March 12 to 13, 2018
- Winter Weather in New Jersey, March 12 to 13, 2018
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New York, March 12 to 13, 2018
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Connecticut, March 12 to 13, 2018
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, March 12, 2018
More
Every storm in California in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2018
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: 747001, 747026, 747031, 746999, 747000, 747023.