Winter Weather in California, February 22 to 23, 2022

A cold upper trough moved across the area on February 22 and 23. This system spread precipitation across the area during the morning of February 22 with the precipitation falling as snow above 2500 feet. The snow level lowered to around 1000 feet by afternoon in post-frontal showers. A few thunderstorms were also observed in the San Joaquin Valley during the afternoon and early evening hours where most stations picked up between a few hundredths of an inch of rainfall to a quarter inch. A few stations impacted by heavier thunderstorms picked up around half an inch of rain and several reports of ice pellet showers were posted on social media. Another round of showers impacted the area overnight in the morning of February 23 as an upper shortwave system dropped southward through the area. This system brought snow to the Kern County passes which resulted in several road closures including the closure of Interstate 5 south of Grapevine and State Route 58 through Tehachapi. Most of the Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi mountain ranges above 3000 feet picked up between 3 and 9 inches of new snowfall while elevations between 1000 and 3000 feet generally picked up between 1 and 3 inches of new snow between the early morning of February 22 and the afternoon of February 23. The precipitation ended by late afternoon on February 23 and skies cleared out during the evening.