Strong Wind — S Sierra Mtns, California

2017-03-05 · S Sierra Mtns, California

Event narrative

Yosemite National Park reported that a tree fell on a woman and killed her in the park. A heavy snow shower and gusty winds were occurring at the time.

Wider weather episode

A cold and moist upper trough pushed through the region between the evening of March 4 through the evening of March 5. This system produced widespread precipitation with several locations in the Southern Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills measuring between 0.75 inches to 1.50 inches of rainfall. In addition, 6 to 12 inches of snow was measured at several locations above 6000 feet. Rain shadowing kept rainfall totals below a quarter of an inch across most of the San Joaquin Valley. Gusty post-frontal winds were observed across the Kern County Mountains and Deserts during the afternoon and evening hours of March 5 with several locations measuring gusts above 45 mph.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 685298. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.