Winter Weather — South End of the Upper Sierra, California

2025-04-25 to 2025-04-26 · South End of the Upper Sierra, California

Event narrative

Several SNOTELs above 6000 feet picked up an estimated 2 to 6 inches of new snowfall.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low pressure system approached the Central California coast on April 25 which spread brought increased cloud cover and cooler temperatures across the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada with a light few showers being observed over the Sierra Nevada. The low moved into and across central California on April 26 bringing rain, higher elevation snow and increased winds to the desert areas. Much of the San Joaquin Valley, West Side Hills and the Tehachapi Mountains picked up between a tenth and a quarter inch of rainfall although a few locations which were impacted by thunderstorms picked up more. The Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills picked up between a quarter and three quarters of an inch of liquid precipitation with much of it in the form of snow above 5000 feet with many SNOTELS above 6000 feet picking up between 2 and 5 inches of new snowfall. Yosemite Park picked up a bit more snowfall with an estimated 3 to 8 inches indicated by SNOTELS. This system also produced wind gusts between 40 and 55 mph across the Kern County Desert areas and some thunderstorms with pea sized hail in the San Joaquin Valley and lower Sierra Foothills.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1238315. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.