Winter Weather — San Diego County Mountains, California

2001-04-07 to 2001-04-10 · San Diego County Mountains, California

Wider weather episode

Two cold fronts moved across Southwest California during this period. On 4/7/01, the first front brought between one and two and a half inches of rain. Record cold temperatures followed that night and into 4/09/01. On the afternoon of 4/09/01, the second cold front arrived bringing thunderstorms with snow and hail. During that night and the morning of 04/10/01, two to six inches of snow fell between 3000 and 6000 feet with light to moderate snow at the 2250 feet level. In the Laguna Mountains, four separate groups of people, consisting of 52 men and 13 women, were rescued by the U. S. Border Patrol. They had been walking north from the United States/Mexico border and were found to be suffering the first stages of hypothermia. Spring Break campers and bikers in the Palomar Mountains had to abandon these outdoor activities. One man was injured when he drove off the road due to dense fog and snow. In the Tenaja Falls area of the Santa Ana Mountains a group of nine lightly-clad hikers became lost on the afternoon of 04/08, but were able to ward off the freezing overnight temperatures by huddling together. They were rescued the morning of 04/09.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5237551. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.