Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, March 31, 2025

Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, March 31, 2025
Start: 2025-03-31T01:00
End: 2025-03-31T23:59
Location: California

March 31, 2025 · NWS HNX · 10 events in 9 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Wind
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Winter weather
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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 HNX wrote it up.

A broad upper trough slowly moved through California between the evening of March 30 and the early morning of April 2. This system brough widespread precipitation to the area between the early morning of March 31 and the evening of April 1. Much of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills picked up between three quarters on an inch to 2 inches of precipitation with several higher elevation SNOTEL stations picking up an estimated 10 to 20 inches of snowfall during the extent of the event. The snow level lowered from around 6000 feet on the onset of the event lowering to near 4500 feet by the evening of April 1. Meanwhile, much of the central San Joaquin Valley picked up between a quarter to a half inch of rainfall while the south valley picked up between a tenth and a quarter inch. The Tehachapi Mountains picked up between a quarter to a half inch of precipitation while the deserts were rain shadowed and picked up a tenth of an inch or less. Strong wind gusts also accompanied this system and several station in the Kern County Mountains and Deserts measured peak wind gusts between 50 and 70 mph on March 31 and April 1 before wind diminished on April 2 as the trough moved east of the area.

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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 30, 10:07 AM PST, 14 hours 53 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

* Precipitation will continue to move through the forecast area through midweek, with only eastern Kern County not seeing 100% probability of measurable rainfall. Eastern Kern County probabilities range from 75% over the mountains to 25% along the county line. * Moderate to heavy snow expected in the Sierra through midweek, with 1-2 feet of snow in Mariposa, Madera, and Fresno (north of the Kings River) Counties and up to 9 inches in Fresno, south of the Kings River, and Tulare Counties. * Winter Storm Warning in effect for Sierra north of the Kings River and a Winter Weather Advisory south of the river. * Snow levels will drop on Tuesday from 6kft to 4kft, though the majority of the snowfall will occur on before the snow levels drop. Light snow accumulations down to 4kft will be possible. * Strong winds expected Monday through Wednesday across the Sierra Crest, the lee slopes of Kern County Mountains and the Kern Desert. 85% probability of greater than 60 mph gust along the lee slopes and Walker Pass each day, with highly probs on Tuesday. * High Wind Watch in effect for the lee slopes and a Wind Advisory for the Kern Desert.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 30, 10:07 AM PST, 14 hours 53 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hanford CA
1107 AM PDT Sun Mar 30 2025

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...

* Precipitation will continue to move through the forecast area
  through midweek, with only eastern Kern County not seeing 100%
  probability of measurable rainfall. Eastern Kern County
  probabilities range from 75% over the mountains to 25% along
  the county line.

* Moderate to heavy snow expected in the Sierra through midweek,
  with 1-2 feet of snow in Mariposa, Madera, and Fresno (north
  of the Kings River) Counties and up to 9 inches in Fresno,
  south of the Kings River, and Tulare Counties.

* Winter Storm Warning in effect for Sierra north of the Kings
  River and a Winter Weather Advisory south of the river.

* Snow levels will drop on Tuesday from 6kft to 4kft, though the
  majority of the snowfall will occur on before the snow levels
  drop. Light snow accumulations down to 4kft will be possible.

* Strong winds expected Monday through Wednesday across the
  Sierra Crest, the lee slopes of Kern County Mountains and the
  Kern Desert. 85% probability of greater than 60 mph gust along
  the lee slopes and Walker Pass each day, with highly probs on
  Tuesday.

* High Wind Watch in effect for the lee slopes and a Wind
  Advisory for the Kern Desert.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Light showers will continue today, with increasing
precipitation chances over the next few days thanks to a broad
trough off the Pacific NW coast. That low will works its way
onshore opening the long wave trough over the western states.

Multiple waves will work through the flow this week keeping
temperatures moderated for most of the work week. Late week, a
cutoff low is progged to setup over Arizona with a ridge
building on the West Coast. Uncertainty remains as to which
feature will win out for our area. The low could keep precip and
cooler temps, while the ridge will allow for a warm up next
week.

&&

.AVIATION...
Periods of -SHRA across the San Joaquin Valley with local MVFR
conditions possible.

Over the Sierra Nevada and Kern County mountains, widespread
MVFR and areas of mountain obscuring IFR conditions in clouds
and precipitation.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
ISSUED:  03/29/2025 13:11
EXPIRES: 03/30/2025 23:59
None.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is low.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is low.

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 Watch from Monday morning through late Tuesday night
for CAZ338.
Wind Advisory from 8 AM Monday to 5 AM PDT Wednesday for
CAZ337-339.
Winter Storm Warning from 11 PM this evening to 11 PM PDT
Tuesday for CAZ323-326-327.
Winter Weather Advisory from 11 PM this evening to 11 PM PDT
Tuesday for CAZ328>331.
&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow, 3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Yosemite Np Outside of the Valley

When: March 31, 1:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where: Yosemite Np Outside of the Valley forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 37.609, -119.874 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Dana Meadows SNOTEL (9800 feet) picked up an estimated 20 inches of new snow.|The Tuolumne Meadows SNOTEL (8600 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.|The Ostrander Lake SNOTEL (8200 feet) picked up an estimated 15 inches of new snow.|The Tenaya Lake SNOTEL (8150 feet) picked up an estimated 27 inches of new snow.|The White Wolf SNOTEL (7900 feet) picked up an estimated 30 inches of new snow.|The Paradise Meadow SNOTEL (7676 feet) picked up an estimated 20 inches of new snow.|The Lower Kibbie Ridge SNOTEL (6479 feet) picked up an estimated 19 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow, Upper San Joaquin River

When: March 31, 1:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where: Upper San Joaquin River forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 36.988, -119.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Kaiser Point SNOTEL (9131 feet) picked up an estimated 12 inches of new snow.|The Devil's Postpile SNOTEL (8004 feet) picked up an estimated 20 inches of new snow.|The Green Mountain SNOTEL (7900 feet) picked up an estimated 12 inches of new snow.|The Poison Ridge SNOTEL (6988 feet) picked up an estimated 17 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow, Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge

When: March 31, 1:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where: Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Blackcap Basin SNOTEL (10300 feet) picked up an estimated 14 inches of new snow.|The Upper Burnt Corral SNOTEL (9700 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.|The West Woodchuck Meadow SNOTEL (9209 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.|The Tamarack Summit SNOTEL (7613 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow, Kings Canyon Np

When: March 31, 1:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where: Kings Canyon Np forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 36.489, -119.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Charlotte Lake SNOTEL (10419 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.|The State Lakes SNOTEL (10419 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow, Grant Grove Area

When: March 31, 1:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where: Grant Grove Area forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 36.489, -119.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Big Meadows SNOTEL (7599 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow, Sequoia Np

When: March 31, 1:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where: Sequoia Np forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Upper Tyndall Creek SNOTEL (11443 feet) picked up an estimated 12 inches of new snow.|The Farewell Gap SNOTEL (9500 feet) picked up an estimated 17 inches of new snow.|The Chagoopa Plateau SNOTEL (9450 feet) picked up an estimated 14 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow, South End of the Upper Sierra

When: March 31, 1:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where: South End of the Upper Sierra forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 35.782, -118.765 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Quaking Aspen SNOTEL (7200 feet) picked up an estimated 13 inches of new snow.

High Wind, South End of the Upper Sierra

When: March 31, 1:10 PM PST
Where: South End of the Upper Sierra forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 35.782, -118.765 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Bear Peak RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 71 mph.

High Wind, Mojave Desert Slope(S)

When: March 31, 3:32 PM PST
Where: Mojave Desert Slope(S) forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Blue Max RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 66 mph.

High Wind, Tehachapi

When: March 31, 7:41 PM PST
Where: Tehachapi forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A cooperative observer in Tehachapi measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, March 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1232609, 1232610, 1232611, 1232612, 1232613, 1232614, 1232615, 1232617, 1232618, 1232616.