Heavy Snow — South End of the Upper Sierra, California

2025-03-12 to 2025-03-14 · South End of the Upper Sierra, California

Event narrative

The Pascoes SNOTEL (9153 feet) picked up an estimated 21 inches of new snow.

The Wet Meadows SNOTEL (9019 feet) picked up an estimated 19 inches of new snow.

The Beach Meadows SNOTEL (7650 feet) picked up an estimated 20 inches of new snow.

The Quaking Aspen SNOTEL (7200 feet) picked up an estimated 22 inches of new snow.

Wider weather episode

A large upper trough approached the California coast on March 12 and moved across the state on March 13. This system picked up a surge of deep moisture which streamed into central California by the evening of March 12 producing a period of moderate to locally heavy precipitation across the area along with increased winds which continued through the evening of March 13. Much of the San Joaquin Valley picked up between a half inch and an inch and a half of rainfall with some locations in the Fresno area picking up close to 2 inches and much of the Sierra Nevada picked up between and inch and a half and two and a half inches of liquid precipitation. The precipitation mainly fell as snow above 4000 feet with many stations in the Sierra Nevada picking up between one and a half and three feet of new snowfall. The higher elevations of the Tehachapi Mountains picked up between 6 and 12 inches of new snowfall and travel along Interstate 5 and SR 58 were interrupted by road closures. The precipitation finally ended by the morning of March 14 as the trough moved to the east of California.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1232532. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.