Thunderstorm Wind — Placer, California

2025-03-12 · near Bowman, Placer, California

Event narrative

Strong winds brought down a tree that was blocking Old Foresthill Road and State Route 49.

Wider weather episode

From March 11th through 13th a winter storm brought heavy mountain snow, strong southerly winds and moderate to heavy rain to interior northern California. Snow amounts of 1 to over 3 feet were observed in the mountains. Roadway flooding was observed in the Valley and foothills, with downed trees and powerlines from strong southerly winds. On March 12th a line of non-severe storms moved through portions of the Sacramento Valley producing wind gusts over 50 mph. This resulted in a large oak tree to fall and damage an apartment building in Sacramento County. As the line of storms moved through the foothills, numerous trees and powerlines came down leading to power outages in the area. Traffic was being turned on Interstate 80 at Alta for a period due to spinouts and heavy snow.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.9200, -121.0400)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1238596. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.