Frost/Freeze — Northern Sacramento Valley, California

2022-02-24 to 2022-02-25 · Northern Sacramento Valley, California

Event narrative

Temperatures dropped below the critical threshold of 28 degrees for several days in late February. The region saw temperatures as low as 22 degrees during the event with subfreezing conditions lasting for several hours each day. The Redding and Red Bluff airports in the northern Sacramento Valley recorded new daily minimum temperatures on the 25th and tied records on the 24th of February. On the 24th, the Redding airport reported a low of 25 degrees and the Red Bluff airport reported a low of 26 degrees both tying the old records for that day. Onn the 25th, the Redding airport reported a low of 25 degrees and the Red Bluff airport reported a low of 28 degrees both setting new records for that day. Farmers anticipate total damage to their orchards to be determined when crops are harvested.

Wider weather episode

A cold spell brought subfreezing temperatures to Northern California for several days. Regional agriculture was severely impacted with temperatures dipping below critical thresholds for spring buds, specifically on fruit and nut trees. Blooms were also about 10 days sooner than average leading to greater impacts to farmers. Mitigation efforts were used to save crops, however the Colusa County Agricultural Commissioner reported as many as 5 counties were severely impacted.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1010511. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.