From March 11th through 13th a winter storm brought heavy mountain snow, strong southerly winds and moderate to heavy rain to interior northern California. Snow amounts of 1 to over 3 feet were observed in the mountains.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 STO wrote it up.
From March 11th through 13th a winter storm brought heavy mountain snow, strong southerly winds and moderate to heavy rain to interior northern California. Snow amounts of 1 to over 3 feet were observed in the mountains. Roadway flooding was observed in the Valley and foothills, with downed trees and powerlines from strong southerly winds. On March 12th a line of non-severe storms moved through portions of the Sacramento Valley producing wind gusts over 50 mph. This resulted in a large oak tree to fall and damage an apartment building in Sacramento County. As the line of storms moved through the foothills, numerous trees and powerlines came down leading to power outages in the area. Traffic was being turned on Interstate 80 at Alta for a period due to spinouts and heavy snow.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 11, 1:17 PM PST, 9 hours 43 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sacramento CA 217 PM PDT Tue Mar 11 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Dry and seasonable weather prevails again today, with south- southwest winds becoming breezy throughout the day. A pattern change toward a prolonged period of active weather is then on tap from the middle of this week into early next week as a series of systems affect the region. Periods of moderate to heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms, heavy snowfall, and gusty winds are expected to bring major travel impacts to the region at times. && .DISCUSSION... Dry and seasonable weather continues today as split flow aloft prevails across interior Northern California. This has allowed for mostly clear skies, near calm surface winds, and near-normal temperatures. A robust trough is forecast to dig southward from the Gulf of Alaska later this evening and as it does so, south- southwesterly winds are breezy this afternoon with observed gusts 15 to 20 mph. Winds will continue to increase heading into the early evening hours with gusts 15 to 30 mph in the Valley, Delta, and foothills. Gusts up to 35 mph will be possible across the Sierra foothills and wind- prone areas in the Valley as well. As that system approaches Northern California, a robust mid level jet will bring strong southerly winds Wednesday afternoon and into the evening. Forecast gusts are between 25 to 35 mph to the Delta and Valley from Interstate 80 southward. Due to the orientation of the jet, winds over the Sierra foothills and northern/central Sacramento Valley are forecast to gust 45 to 55 mph. As such, the Wind Advisory has been expanded to include the Motherlode and portions of the southern Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys. Additional gusts to 65 mph will remain possible across the higher terrain as well. Thunderstorm chances continue to trend down for Wednesday as persistent cloud cover will likely limit instability. However, breaks in cloud cover over the northern Sacramento Valley may lead to isolated thunderstorms. Current probabilities are 5 to 10%, especially over Shasta County. Thunderstorm development is more favorable on Thursday, as subsequent clearing aim to provide a better environment for isolated thunderstorms. Current probabilities of isolated thunderstorm development sit around 20 to 30 percent for the central Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills southward on Thursday afternoon and evening, with a 15-20% chance for the remaining areas in the Valley. Any thunderstorms that do develop will be capable of brief heavy rain, gusty winds, small hail, lightning, and possibly a brief funnel cloud. Heaviest precipitation is expected to occur on Wednesday, particularly along the Sierra/southern Cascades. Current probabilities of precipitation exceeding 1.0 inches for most Valley locations outside of the far northern Sacramento Valley, sit around 20 to 50 percent, jumping to 60 to 80 percent for the foothills and northern Sacramento Valley. Probabilities of precipitation exceeding 2.0 inches sit around 70 to 95 percent for locations above 3000 feet. Snow levels are still expected to vary through the event, starting around 4500 to 5500 feet at precipitation onset during the overnight hours into Wednesday, then rapidly falling to 3000 to 4000 feet Wednesday afternoon and evening, before settling around 2500 to 3500 feet by Thursday. With heaviest precipitation expected Wednesday afternoon and evening along the Sierra/southern Cascades, the timing of dropping snow levels will have a significant bearing on what lower elevation snowfall accumulation potential looks like. At this time, most accumulations are expected above 3000 feet across the Coast Range/Shasta County mountains and above 4000 feet along the Sierra/southern Cascades, although some nonzero probabilities do exist for light accumulating snowfall as low as 3500 feet. Forecast snowfall totals from Wednesday through Thursday remain largely unchanged at this time, with 4 to 12 inches possible above 3000 feet across the Coast Range and Shasta County mountains and up to 2 feet over peaks, with 1 to 3 feet possible above 4000 feet along the Sierra/southern Cascades and up to 4 feet over peaks. Probabilities of snowfall rates exceeding 3 inches per hour are around peak around 30 to 50% over the Shasta County mountains and Coastal Range, and 50 to 80% along the Sierra/southern Cascades Wednesday afternoon and evening. Precipitation chances from this initial system are then expected to taper late Thursday into the overnight hours. Ensemble guidance points to a secondary, weaker system set to bring another round of precipitation on Friday. The progressive nature of this system will keep most precipitation confined to Friday, with conditions drying out Friday evening through Sunday morning across much of the region. However a few isolated, lingering showers will be possible over the Sierra and Shasta County. Probabilities of precipitation exceeding 1.0 inches for Friday only sit around 40 to 60 percent across the mountains and foothills. While some uncertainty in snow levels and overall snow production continue at this time, additional mountain travel impacts will be possible to round out the week. With a prolonged period of active weather expected to encapsulate much of the next 7 days ahead, be sure to take time now to prepare for adverse weather impacts, monitor the forecast for additional updates, and be sure to have a reliable way to receive weather and travel alerts. && .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (Saturday THROUGH Tuesday)... Ensemble guidance and cluster analysis indicate an active weather pattern continuing for interior northern California over the extended forecast period with another trough building and moving through over the weekend and into early next week. While some uncertainty remains in exact details with this storm system regarding timing and strength, additional precipitation and gusty winds are currently favored. The National Blend of Models (NBM) currently projects the following probabilities for this timeframe: Probability of Rain > 1" Sunday-Tuesday AM: 55-95% Valley/foothills Probability of Snow > 24" Sunday-Tuesday AM: 55-95% above 5000' Probability of Wind Gusts > 40 mph Sunday: 55-90% Probability of Thunderstorms Sunday-Monday: 10-20% Latest guidance suggests scattered showers over the Shasta County and the Sierra, with the Valley mostly dry. The more widespread precipitation is currently favored to move through Sunday into Monday, with lingering showers over the mountains late Monday into early Tuesday. Be sure to monitor the latest forecast at weather.gov/sto and plan ahead for continued cool, wet and windy weather! && .AVIATION... VFR conditions continue across interior NorCal into early evening. A storm system will move through after 05Z bringing periods of MVFR/IFR ceilings in the Valley and foothills from rain and MVFR/IFR/LIFR from poor visibility in snow in the mountains (above 5000 feet) as precipitation spreads inland. Southerly winds increase tonight through Wednesday, with gusts up to 25 to 45 kts in the Valley, up to 65 kts over the Sierra crest. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning from 11 PM this evening to 11 PM PDT Thursday for Burney Basin / Eastern Shasta County-Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County-Shasta Lake Area / Northern Shasta County-West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada- Western Plumas County/Lassen Park. Wind Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 11 PM PDT Wednesday for Central Sacramento Valley-Motherlode-Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County-Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley-Northern Sacramento Valley-Northern San Joaquin Valley-Southern Sacramento Valley. &&
The Sacramento radar (KDAX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:20 UTC.
5 heavy snow, 2 strong wind, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Nearby CoCoRaHS at similar elevations measured 1 to 4 inches of snow above 3000 feet. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 1 to 6 inches of snow above 3000 feet with 6 to 12 inches at the higher peaks over the period.
Nearby CoCoRaHS at similar elevations measured 1 to 4 inches of snow above 3000 feet. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 1 to 6 inches of snow above 3000 feet with 6 to 12 inches at the higher peaks over the period.
Nearby CoCoRaHS at similar elevations measured 1 to 4 inches of snow above 3000 feet. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 1 to 6 inches of snow above 3000 feet with 6 to 18 inches at the higher peaks over the period.
The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 1 to 2 feet of snow above 4000 feet with up to 3 feet at Lassen Peak over the period. A spotter in Quincy at 3425 ft measured 4 inches of snow.
Caltrans District 3 measured 1 to 3 feet of snow along Interstate 80 above 5000 feet. Ski resorts measured snow amounts of 1 to over 3 feet above 6000 feet. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 32.5 inches over the period. Traffic was turned on Interstate 80 for a period due to heavy snow and spinouts.
California Highway Patrol reported multiple down trees and power poles in Sacramento and Placer counties leading to traffic delays and temporary road closures. A very large tree fell into an apartment complex and caused damage. Sacramento International Airport measured a max gust to 51 mph on March 12th. There was also a large tree down blocking parts of westbound Interstate 80 and Interstate 505. Vacaville Nut Tree Airport measured a max gust of 44 mph on March 12th.
Strong winds brought down a tree that was blocking Old Foresthill Road and State Route 49.
California Highway Patrol reported a large metal fence had fallen over the southbound lanes on Bell Road in Placer County. Auburn Municipal Airport measured a max gust of 44 mph on March 12th.
California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding bringing traffic to a standstill at Interstate 80 West and Northgate Boulevard due to heavy rain.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2025
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: 1238644, 1238651, 1238655, 1238657, 1238658, 1238779, 1238596, 1238778, 1238795.