An upper trough and associated cold front pushed through central California on March 17 bringing rain, mountain snow mainly above 6000 feet and gusty winds across the West Side Hills and to portions of eastern Kern County. The precipitation arrived by the morning of March 17 and spread southward through the day.
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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 HNX wrote it up.
An upper trough and associated cold front pushed through central California on March 17 bringing rain, mountain snow mainly above 6000 feet and gusty winds across the West Side Hills and to portions of eastern Kern County. The precipitation arrived by the morning of March 17 and spread southward through the day. Thunderstorms broke out during the afternoon of March 17 in the cooler and unstable airmass behind the cold front. The thunderstorms produced localized nuisance flooding along with a few funnel clouds. Precipitation totals were generally a quarter to three quarters of an inch of rainfall in the San Joaquin Valley except areas on the west side of the Valley and the West Side Hills had a tenth of an inch or less due to rain shadowing. The Sierra foothills picked up between three quarters of an inch and an inch and a half of rainfall while the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada generally picked up between 1 and 2 inches of liquid precipitation and the Tehachapi Mountains picked up a half inch to an inch of liquid precipitation. The snow level was between 5500 and 6000 feet for much of this event with several higher elevation SNOTELs picking up and estimated 10 to 20 inches of new snowfall. Gusty winds prevailed along the West Side Hills and in eastern Kern County behind the cold front with several stations reporting peak gusts between 45 and 65 mph. The winds diminished and the precipitation tapered off by the morning of March 18 as the trough moved into the Great Basin Region.
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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 1:57 AM PST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 257 AM PDT Mon Mar 17 2025 && .KEY MESSAGES... 1. A storm system moves through the region today through early Tuesday. A Winter Weather Advisory in effect for the time period for the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. 2. Gusty winds redevelop in the Kern County desert and adjacent slopes Monday into Tuesday. High Wind Warning issued for the Mojave Slopes, and a Wind Advisory for the Kern County Desert. 3. Another weak low pressure system brings a chance of light precipitation to the northern areas by the middle of next week. Otherwise, a slight warming trend prevails. && .DISCUSSION... An upper wave moves through the region today through late tonight. The impacts are mountain snow, valley thunderstorms, and Kern County Desert wind. The probability of exceeding 12 inches for the elevations above 5000 feet int he Sierra ranges from 40 to 85 percent. This along with strong wind gusts creating a Winter Storm Severity Index to Major impacts level. This supports the higher end winter weather advisory through late tonight. Along the Mojave Slopes the probability of exceeding 64 mph ranges from 50 to 85 percent through late morning on Tuesday. The probability of exceeding 55 mph ranges from 15 percent to 60 percent across the Kern County Desert for the same period. A slim amount of CAPE builds in the valley this afternoon. The cold air aloft and strong lapse rates and the -20C level is down to 13kft allow for thunderstorms to develop. The probability of thunderstorms ranges from 10 percent in the Kern County Desert to 26 percent at Mariposa. The the low top nature of the thunderstorms limits the updrafts to keep hail size very small however could product accumulating hail. Gusty winds are a limited threat, but not to severe levels. Tuesday the trough moves off to the Rockies and ridging builds into the region. The region begins to dry out. Temperatures will be well below normal with PoE of 60 degrees at 35 to 95 percent but as you go up to 65 degrees the falls off to less than 5 percent. Wednesday an upper trough crashes into the PacNW and pushes off to the east. The main impact is very light precipitation over the Sierra's near Yosemite National Park and north. Otherwise, just Mojave Slope wind kicks up. The probability of wind exceeding 40 mph with a range of 50 to near 100 percent. The probability of exceeding 64 mph for the Mojave Slopes ranges from 35 to 70 percent. Thursday through next Monday the trend will be a warming and drying trend. This is caused by a fairly flat ridge for the west coast. The PoE of 70 degrees on Friday ranges from 5 to 20 percent and then slowly builds to 75 to 90 percent on Sunday. On Monday the PoE of 80 degrees ranges from 20 to 75 percent. The CPC long range forecast for 8 to 14 days out is above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. && .AVIATION... 12Z... MVFR/IFR with rain/snow/wind for the Sierra Nevada throughout the period. The Kern County Desert and Mojave Slopes have a high probability of 35 kt surface wind. A less than 10 percent chance of TS in the afternoon. VFR will dominate with only brief period of MVFR. San Joaquin Valley will have VFR dominated period. CIGS in the afternoon will fall to low VFR to high MVFR. The main impact will be isolated thunderstorms across the valley. Will PROB30 TS from 21Z-03Z for the region. Post trough AFT 08Z MVFR CIGS probability become likely. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... ISSUED: 03/16/2025 14:10 EXPIRES: 03/17/2025 23:59 None. && .CERTAINTY... The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is medium. The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is medium. Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information and/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 11 AM this morning to 11 AM PDT Tuesday for CAZ338. Wind Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 2 PM PDT Tuesday for CAZ337-339. Winter Weather Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for CAZ323-326>330. && Proton weather.gov/hanford
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 146 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:55 UTC.
7 high wind, 5 heavy snow, 3 flood, 2 winter weather, 2 funnel cloud, 1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.
The Dana Meadows SNOTEL (9800 feet) picked up an estimated 14 inches of new snow.|The White Wolf SNOTEL (7900 feet) picked up an estimated 20 inches of new snow.|The Paradise Meadow SNOTEL (7676 feet) picked up an estimated 12 inches of new snow.
The Kaiser Point SNOTEL (9131 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.|The Chilkoot Meadow SNOTEL (7150 feet) picked up an estimated 14 inches of new snow.|The Poison Ridge SNOTEL (6988 feet) picked up an estimated 19 inches of new snow.|The Graveyard Meadow SNOTEL (6897 feet) picked up an estimated 12 inches of new snow.
The Upper Burnt Corral SNOTEL (9700 feet) picked up an estimated 14 inches of new snow.
The Farewell Gap SNOTEL (9500 feet) picked up an estimated 12 inches of new snow.
The Wet Meadows SNOTEL (9019 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.
Several SNOTELs above 6000 feet picked up an estimated 5 to 10 inches of new snowfall.
Several SNOTELs above 6000 feet picked up an estimated 5 to 10 inches of new snowfall.
California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding along SR 59 northeast of Snelling.
California Highway Patrol reported a boulder fell onto a moving car on SR 41 near the Deadwood Lookout Court intersection.
California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding along SR 99 in Traver at the Merritt Dr. offramps.
Public post on Facebook with a video on a funnel cloud north of Atwater.
The PG&E station at Joaquin Ridge measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Jawbone Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 61 mph.
The Indian Wells Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
Public reports of a funnel cloud posted on Facebook near the intersection of SR 59 and Oakdale Rd.
The Bear Peak RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The Alcade RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Walker Pass RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Bird Springs Pass RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 71 mph.
California Highway Patrol reported a rock slide on SR 140 near Briceburg resulting in both lanes becoming impassible.
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: 1232587, 1232588, 1232589, 1232590, 1232591, 1232592, 1232593, 1232602, 1232604, 1232605, 1232607, 1232595, 1232596, 1232600, 1232608, 1232599, 1232594, 1232598, 1232597, 1232606.