Heavy Snow — Southern San Joaquin Valley, California

1999-01-24 to 1999-01-25 · Southern San Joaquin Valley, California

Wider weather episode

Associated with very cold air aloft and the trapping of lower level cold air, snow occurred over many of the Central California zones late in the evening of Sunday of 24th, Monday the 25th; even on the Southern San Joaquin Valley floor! Meadows Field Airport at Bakersfield, CA, (having received measureable snow only one time since 1932) received 3 inches of snow at the airport climatological station but northeast portions of the city received up to 6 inches of snow around dawn. Snow plows were needed to clear 2-4 inches of snow from Highway 99 near Tulare and Visalia in Tulare County. Snow fall ranged from a dusting in the city of Fresno to 2 inches at Sanger and Parlier, on through Tulare County southward through Bakersfield along the eastside of the Valley to Taft and Lost Hills (2 inches) in Western Kern County. Hanford appeared to be the western edge of the snow with 1/2 inch reported. Up to 18,000 customers lost power in Tulare County...and 57,000 customers in Kern County due to weighted tree limbs breaking into power lines. Pine Mountain Club in the Tehachapi Mountains received 19 inches of snow overnight; 10" of snow fell at Fish Camp and 9 inches at Granite Station in the Southern Sierra Nevada. Highways 58 and 166 along with Interstate-5 in the Kern County Mountains were closed by 2055 PST on 1/24/99 due significant amounts of snow on the roadways. (Written up as Storm-of-the-Month).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5689062. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.