Heavy Snow — South End of the Upper Sierra, California

2025-03-05 to 2025-03-06 · South End of the Upper Sierra, California

Event narrative

The Pascoes SNOTEL (9153 feet) picked up an estimated 12 inches of new snowfall. The Wet Meadows SNOTEL (9019 feet) picked up an estimated 14 inches of new snowfall. The Quaking Aspen SNOTEL (7200 feet) picked up an estimated 15 inches of new snowfall.

Wider weather episode

A large upper trough pushed into California on March 5 and moved across the state on March 6. Rain and higher elevation snow spread southward across the area during the morning of March 5 and continued for most of the day. The precipitation continued through the evening of March 5 then showers and a few thunderstorms impacted the area on March 6. Most of the San Joaquin Valley and West Side Hills picked up between a quarter inch and three quarters of an inch of rainfall while the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills as well as most of the Kern County Mountain areas picked up between a half and and an inch and a half of precipitation. The precipitation mainly fell as snow above 5500 feet with several high elevations SNOTELs picking up an estimated 8 to 15 inches of new snowfall. As the snow level lowered on March 6 as the cooler post-frontal airmass moved in, light snowfall caused travel disruptions along the passes in Kern County with traffic being paced. Precipitation was lighter across the Kern County Desert areas with most locations picking up between a tenth and a quarter inch of rainfall.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1230644. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.