Heavy Rain — Sierra, California

2018-03-20 to 2018-03-22 · near Sattley, Sierra, California

Event narrative

Trained weather spotter 1 mile south of Sattley reported 5.80 inches of rainfall from 20 March 1630PST to 22 March 1630PST. Before the 48-hour period, there was a foot of snow on the ground, which almost completely melted.

Wider weather episode

The first part of this storm consisted of warm air advection precipitation that spread through the northern Sierra. Moist upslope flow brought precipitation into Mono County at the same time. The second part of this storm moved into the Sierra Nevada on the 21st and 22nd in the form of a fairly significant atmospheric river, tapping a deep plume of moisture moving in from the Eastern Pacific.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.6055, -120.4300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 748957. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.