Winter Storm — Mono, California

2010-11-19 to 2010-11-21 · Mono, California

Event narrative

There were 2 main periods of snow with this slow moving storm, with one period from late evening on the 19th to the morning of the 20th and the second period about 24 hours later. Much more snow fell west of highway 395 than along and east, with storm totals of 2.5 to 3.5 feet near the Sierra crest and only 6 to 12 inches along and east of highway 395. In addition to snowfall, winds were gusting 35 to 50 mph on the 19th with a few gusts over 60 mph from 1400PST to 1700PST for Walker RAWS. Finally, a man was killed near Mammoth Lakes when his vehicle went off a road in low visibility conditions due to heavy snow.

Wider weather episode

Very cold low pressure dropped south along the Pacific Northwest coast and into the northern Sierra between the 18th and the 21st followed by another low on the 23rd. This brought gusty winds and periods of heavy snow to northeast California and the Sierra.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 269078. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.