A closed upper low from the north brought gusty Santa Ana winds, rain, thunderstorms, and mountain snowfall to Southern California from February 19th through 23rd. Weak Santa Ana winds occurred February 19th through 20th.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 closed upper low from the north brought gusty Santa Ana winds, rain, thunderstorms, and mountain snowfall to Southern California from February 19th through 23rd. Weak Santa Ana winds occurred February 19th through 20th. Rainfall amounts ranged from 0.25 to 1.00 across the region. The coastal slopes locally saw over 1 inch of rainfall. Elevated convection formed along the coast on the evening of the 21st, with lightning observed in Huntington Beach and Encinitas. Another secondary area of heavier showers and thunderstorms impacted Orange and San Diego counties on February 22nd. Pea-sized hail occurred in San Diego and Orange counties. Snow occurred in the mountains, mainly on the evening of the 22nd, where up to 5 inches of snow fell.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 22, 1:44 PM PST, 2 hours 16 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotters reported up to 5 inches of snow in Big Bear and Snow Valley. Most of the snow fell overnight on the 22nd into the 23rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2020
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 879099.