A low pressure system and associated cold front moved through Southern California on January 6th. Coastal and valley areas received prefrontal rain and frontal convection, while the mountain areas received snow.
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.
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.
A low pressure system and associated cold front moved through Southern California on January 6th. Coastal and valley areas received prefrontal rain and frontal convection, while the mountain areas received snow. Coastal and valley areas generally received 0.50-1.0 of rainfall. Accumulating mountain snow was mainly above 5000 feet, where 2-5 inches fell between 5000 and 7000 ft, and 5-10 inches fell between 7000 and 8000 feet. Hourly rainfall rates at the Holy and Cranston Fire burn scars remained well below debris flow thresholds. High surf also occurred with this storm system. Huntington Beach and Mission Beach both reported surf of 8 feet.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high surf, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Huntington Beach lifeguards reported 8 foot surf at 1 pm on January 6th.
Mission Beach lifeguards reported 8 foot surf at 1 pm on January 6th.
Total rainfall along the San Diego County coastline ranged from 0.50-1.0 from January 5-7. Max hourly rainfall rates along the coast were 0.25/hr. Warmer SSTs resulted in more instability along the coast, which likely contributed to higher rainfall rates along the coast during this event.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2019
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: 800913, 800914, 800943.