West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada storm history

Placer County Sheriff reported the missing hikers entered the water on June 18th and did not surface. Their bodies were recovered on June 22nd. Air temperatures at the time were in the mid 70s to 80s at the time of the report with water temperatures in the 40s to 50s.

A 22-year-old woman drowned in the Clavey River on May 29th, with her body found downstream of Clavey Bridge on June 3rd. Warm weather was occurring with highs in the region in the lower 70s, while area waterways were cold with strong currents from mountain snowmelt.

Ski resorts reported storm total snow amounts of 23 inches at Kirkwood, 19 inches at Sugar Bowl, and 17 inches at Sierra at Tahoe. Caltrans District 3 reported storm total snow amounts of 23.5 inches at Kingvale, 21 inches at Soda Springs, and 18 inches at Eagle Lakes. The Nation…

Tuolumne County Sheriff has confirmed two deaths at Gods Bath Swimming Hole along the Clavey River in Stanislaus National Forest. Originally reported as 3 victims in the search and rescue, 2 were then confirmed deceased and one is recovering. Appears to be cold-water / swift-wate…

On June 23, Nevada County Sheriff's Office received a call that a swimmer went into the water of the Emerald Pools Recreation Area, was overtaken by the current, and that the group of friends lost sight of him. A multi-agency search and rescue was started that afternoon, but the …

A mother and son died after returning from a day of skiing to their vacation condominium in Kirkwood. A chunk of snow about the size of a trailer fell from the roof of their vacation condominium, burying them under about 3 feet of snow.

An unusually early season snow storm brought slippery Sierra road conditions above 5500 feet. Snow was 6 inches deep at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. I80 was held several times due to collisions, including a major accident involving 16 vehicles. One driver was killed in this accident. A…

Kingvale shed reported a storm total of 36 inches of snow, receiving about 12 inches each day between early Saturday morning and Monday morning. They reported numerous spin outs and a few interstate holds as they cleared the snow and accidents through the event. On the evening of…

Heavy snow fell over the Sierra, with around 1 to 2 feet above 7000 feet at ski resorts, 7-12 inches between 5000-7000 feet, 1 to 7 inches between 3000-5000 feet. There were travel difficulties on highways in the Sierra, such as I-80 and Highway 50. Chain controls were in effect …

There were 70,868 acres were burned in the Butte Fire, the 7th most destructive fire in California history. There were 475 residences and 343 outbuildings destroyed, and 45 structures damaged. In the fire there were 2 civilian fatalities and 1 injury. The cause has tentatively be…

The first wave of Pacific storms started Wednesday evening, Feb. 5, and continued through Thursday afternoon, Feb. 6th. This wave only brought approximately 4-8 inches to the western slope of the Sierra. Majority of ski resorts and SNOTELs reported 4-6 inches above 7000ft, and Bl…

One fatality occurred when a male snowboarder, age 49, was caught in an avalanche at Donner Ski Ranch on Dec. 24th that occurred between 11am and noon. The man's body was found under 2-3 feet of snow at the base of the avalanche. The wind had blown snow to depths of 7 ft or more …

Criteria is lower for the first storm of the season. Snow began at approximately midnight (PST) and increased to over 4 inches of snow by 5am (PST) at levels above 5000 ft. Snow levels had dropped to approximately 4000 ft in local areas. Snowfall ended by early morning on October…

Heavy snow fell in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains, with up to 3 feet of accumulation. Thirty six inches of snow were recorded at Lake Alpine, 35 inches recorded 10 miles west of Soda Springs, and 21 inches at Pacific House. The heavy snow along with gusty winds produced haz…

A winter storm brought snow accumulations of 2 to 3 feet to elevations above 7000 feet accompanied by strong, gusty winds. Snow amounts of a foot or more fell above 6000 feet, with several inches falling at elevations between 3000 and 6000 feet. Blue Canyon received 19 inches of …

On October 10 a prescribed burn, which was started on September 30, was declared a wild fire incident. Extreme fire weather conditions were forecast which led to the growth of the prescribed burn. In total 3435 acres were burned across the month of October. The Forest Service not…

The Donnell Fire began on August 1, 2018, along Highway 108 in Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County. The cause of the fire is unknown. The fire burned 36,450 acres, 54 structures destroyed and 81 minor structures destroyed. of them homes. Among the destroyed buildings wa…

There were 2304 acres burned, with a total of 6 firefighters injured. Two firefighters from the US Forest Service and 2 from CAL Fire suffered burns while fighting the fire. One of the firefighters had serious burns and required further hospitalization. There were 2 structures de…

The King Fire destroyed 12 residences and 68 other buildings. There were 10 firefighters injured, and 97,099 acres burned by the end of the month. Hundreds of residents were evacuated. The fire was caused by arson and was estimated to have cost more than 90 million dollars for fi…

Lightning strikes resulted in the development of the American River Fire Complex (located 11 miles northeast of Foresthill) and the Yuba River Complex (located 15 miles northeast of Grass Valley). Combined, the fires burned 7,142 acres, injured 12 firefighters, destroyed 1 reside…

Caltrans District 3 measured 1 to 2 feet of heavy snow above 5000 ft, with 3 to 5 feet above 6000 feet. Ski resorts in the Sierra measured 2 to 5 feet above 6500 feet. Numerous road closures, chain controls, and travel delays were observed from heavy snow over the holiday between…

Caltrans measured snow amounts of 7 to 12 inches above 6500 feet, with 2 to 3 inches down to around 5000 feet. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 6 to 18 inches of snow above 6500 feet. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 7.3 inches of sn…

A weather system brought a brief period of moderate snow showers that led to multiple spinouts and a jackknifed big rig. These accidents resulted in the closure of I-80 westbound at Truckee. Traffic was initially stopped at 4:46 PM PDT but was then closed from 4:56 PM PDT through…

Caltrans District 3 measured 8 to 14 inches of snow above 5000 feet in 24 hours. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 13.2 inches over the same timeframe. Ski resorts in the Sierra measured 7 to 18 inches of snow above 6500 feet. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote…

CalTrans reported 8-38 inches of snow from 5000 to 7000 feet along Interstate 80 with ski resorts reporting 20-44 inches of snow from 6000 to 8500 feet from March 30 to morning of April 2nd. NOHRSC estimates 6 to 30 inches across the Northern Sierra across March 30-March 31st wit…

CalTrans reported 11-22 inches from March 16th to March 18th from 5000 to 7200 feet with ski resorts reporting 10-23 inches for the same time frame. The California Highway Patrol closed I-80 Westbound from Blue Canyon to Truckee due to low visibility and multiple spinouts and cra…

Caltrans District 3 measured 7 to 15 inches of snow along Interstate 80 above 5000 feet. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 10.6 inches of snow. Ski resorts in the Sierra measured 4 to 12 inches of snow above 6000 feet.

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 …

The Sierra Snow Lab reported 11.8 inches in around 8 to 12 hours at 6894 feet. NOHRSC estimates a 48-Hour Total of 8 to 36 inches above 4500 feet with 2-4 feet along the highest peaks. CalTrans reported 2 to 3 feet at sites between 5000 to 7000 feet and ski resorts reporting 2 to…

Caltrans District 3 measured 1 to 5 inches of snow above 5000 feet along Interstate 80 from February 6th through February 7th. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 4 to 10 inches above 5000 feet with 12 to 18 inches up at the higher peaks. UC Berkel…

Caltrans District 3 measured 15 to 20 inches of snow along Interstate 80 from February 3rd through February 5th above 5500 feet. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 25 inches of heavy snow over the same timeframe. Ski resorts in the area measured 1 to 3 feet of snow. The…

On January 3rd, Caltrans District 3 measured 10 inches of snow at Kingvale, Castle Peak, and Soda Springs. Sierra ski resorts measured 5 to 13 inches of snow. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow lab measured 12.8 inches of snow. 5 to 14 inches of snow were estimated from automatic CD…

Caltrans measured snow amounts of 12 to 30 inches from December 13th through December 14th. Ski resorts measured 1 to 3 feet of snow over the same timeframe. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 28.7 inches. Chain restrictions were in place at times over the mountain pass…

Caltrans reported storm total snow amounts of 12 to 25 inches along Interstate 80. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported 19.8 inches. Ski resorts measured amounts of 12 to 31 inches over the period.

Caltrans reported snow amounts of around 10 to 20 inches. The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow lab reported 19.3 inches. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center reported snow amounts of 4 to 24 inches north of Highway 50, with the majority falling along and north…

The Crozier Fire started in the night on August 7th, 2024 and was discovered at 1:21 AM. It burned actively for the first two days in steep, rugged timber and in dry fuels. The fire burned a total of 1,960 acres and was reported 100% contained on August 20th. Evacuation orders we…

CoCoRaHS observers reported heavy snow at locations, such as, Truckee posted 15.5 inches, 10.0 inches at Tahoma, and 6.3 at Arnold 0.6 ENE. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimates 4 to 18 inches fell over the Sierra from May 4th to 5th. CalTrans report…

Caltrans reported snow amounts of 2 to 11 inches over 24 hours. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 4.1 inches over the same timeframe. Dodge Ridge Ski Resort measured a storm total of 15 inches. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 2 to 12…

Caltrans reported storm total snow amounts of 18 inches at Kingvale and 16 inches at Cabbage Patch over 48 hours. Ski resorts measured 5 to 17 inches over the same timeframe. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 18.1 inches.

Caltrans reported snow amounts of 2 to 10 inches over 24 hours. Ski resorts reported snow amounts of 6 to 12 inches over the same timeframe. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 9.8 inches.

Caltrans reported storm total snow amounts of around 1 to 2 feet, with 18 inches at Kingvale, 11 inches at Camp Connell, 16 inches at Cabbage Patch, and 23 inches at Highway 207 Summit over 48 hours. Ski resorts reported storm total snow amounts of 12 to 30 inches over the same t…

Blue Canyon-Nyack Airport measured a gust of 66 mph. Duncan RAWS measured a 78 mph gust. A station at Leek Spring Hill measured a gust of 83 mph. California Highway Patrol reported numerous downed trees and power lines across the area. Traffic was held on Highway 50 for multiple …

Caltrans reported storm total amounts of 106 inches at Kingvale, 116 inches at Soda Springs, 31 inches at Blue Canyon, and 66 inches at Eagle Lakes from February 29th through the morning of March 4th. Ski resorts measured snow amounts of 60 to 120 inches over the same timeframe. …

Caltrans reported 4 to 16 inches over 24-hours starting February 29th through the morning of March 1st. Ski resorts in the Sierra reported snow amounts of 10 to 20 inches over the same timeframe. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported 19.1 inches. On February 29th, wind gus…

A CoCoRaHS reporter in Truckee reported 18.1 inches from February 18th into February 21st. A second CoCoRaHS reporter in South Lake Tahoe reported 13.0 inches from February 18th into February 21st. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 6 to over 48 i…

A CoCoRaHS reporter in Truckee reported 8.5 inches from February 14th into February 15th. A second CoCoRaHS reporter in Tahoma reported 7.0 inches from February 14th into February 15th. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 6 to 18 inches over 48 hou…

Caltrans reported snow amounts of 13 to 22 inches over 48 hours. Ski resorts reported storm total snow amounts of 22 to 34 inches. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated storm total snow amounts of 12 to 48 inches.

Ski resorts reported snow amounts of 15 to 30 inches from February 1st through February 2nd. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported 14.6 inches of snow over the same timeframe. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated 10 to 30 inches of snow as we…