Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, May 15 to 16, 2019

A cold upper low pressure center dropped southeast out of the Gulf of Alaska on May 15 and moved into northern California on May 16. A strong cold front associated with this system crossed central California during the afternoon and evening of May 16 which produced significant precipitation across the area. Several stations in the Sierra Nevada range above 6000 feet from Yosemite Park southward picked up between 6 and 12 inches of new snow. Below 6000 feet, much of the central Sierra and adjacent foothills picked up between 1 and 2 inches of rainfall while Sequoia Park area generally picked up between 0.75 and 1.5 inches of rain. Between a half inch and an inch of rain fell in the Merced and Fresno areas while several other stations in the San Joaquin Valley picked up between a quarter and a half inch of rain. In addition to the precipitation, strong winds impacted the Kern County Mountains near Tehachapi and Lake Isabella between the afternoon of May 16 and the morning of May 17. Several stations measured gusts above 45 mph and a few low impact indicator sites reported gusts above 60 mph.