Winter Storm in California, December 24 to 26, 2025

Name: Winter Storm in California, December 24 to 26, 2025
Start: 2025-12-24T02:53
End: 2025-12-26T17:00
Location: California

December 24 to 26, 2025 · NWS MFR · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 MFR wrote it up.

A persistent upper level low off the west coast sent two cold fronts across northern California with gusty southerly winds. Snow levels were high, at around 5500 feet, with the first front from 12/24 . It brought moderate snow. Heavy snow then occurred at elevations above 3000 feet with the slower, colder, stronger second front on 12/25 and post-frontal snow showers on 12/26.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 23, 6:32 PM PST, 8 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 6:32 PM PST, 8 hours 21 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, South Central Siskiyou County

When: December 24, 2:53 AM PST to December 26, 4:56 PM PST
Where: South Central Siskiyou County forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.593, -122.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

National Gridded Snowfall Analysis indicated storm totals of 10 to 30 inches at elevations above 3000 feet, except up to 48 inches over the high terrain, including Mt. Shasta. Heavy snow initially fell at elevations above 5500 feet, but impacts increased with falling snow levels during the day on 12/25. Precipitation amounts in the zone included 6.05 inches at Mt. Shasta City, 4.35 inches at Ash Creek, and 4.49 inches at Upton.

Winter Storm, Western Siskiyou County

When: December 24, 3:30 AM PST to December 26, 3:45 PM PST
Where: Western Siskiyou County forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.593, -122.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

National Gridded Snowfall Analysis indicated storm totals of 8 to 20 inches at elevations above 3000 feet. Precipitation amounts in the zone included 1.14 inches at Etna, 1.39 inches at Sawyers Bar, 1.84 inches at Callahan #2, and 0.86 inches at Quartz Hill.

Winter Storm, North Central & Southeast Siskiyou County

When: December 24, 3:56 AM PST to December 26, 4:15 PM PST
Where: North Central & Southeast Siskiyou County forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.593, -122.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

National Gridded Snowfall Analysis indicated storm totals of 16 to 32 inches, with up to 48 inches over the high terrain. Precipitation amounts in the zone included 2.70 inches at Bolam, 1.74 inches at Tennant South, 2.86 inches at Long Prairie, and 4.85 inches at Medicine Lake.

Winter Storm, Northeast Siskiyou and Northwest Modoc Counties

When: December 25, 3:20 AM PST to December 26, 4:20 PM PST
Where: Northeast Siskiyou and Northwest Modoc Counties forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.592, -121.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

National Gridded Snowfall Analysis indicated storm totals of 3 to 12 inches. Precipitation amounts in the zone included 0.79 inches at Lower Klamath, 0.61 inches at Tulelake, 0.82 inches at Overland Trail, 1.07 inches at Macdoell II, and 1.46 inches at Murch Butte.

Winter Storm, Modoc County

When: December 25, 4:00 AM PST to December 26, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Modoc County forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.590, -120.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

National Gridded Snowfall Analysis indicated storm totals of 1 to 9 inches. Amounts were lowest near Alturas. Precipitation amounts in the zone included 0.52 inches at Timber Mountain, 0.78 inches at Tickner Road, 0.80 inches at Adin Mountain, and 1.00 inches at Dismal Swamp.

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2025 Every state in 2025 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 2025

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1303458, 1303457, 1303460, 1303461, 1303462.