Winter Storm — S Sierra Foothills, California

2019-02-18 · S Sierra Foothills, California

Event narrative

Overnight refreezing of rain and snow resulted in the formation of black ice on State Route 49 which caused a two vehicle accident involving a Dodge Ram pickup truck which will towing an empty flatbed trailer and a Chevrolet Silverado truck. The Silverado, which was travelling southbound, hit a patch of black ice just after 930 am PST on February 18 and slid sideways into the northbound lane and collided with the Ram. The force of the collision caused the Ram to overturn and block traffic on State Route 49. While the occupants of the Ram were apparently not injured in the collision, the female driver and only occupant of the Silverado sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Wider weather episode

Showers and winds diminished across the area during the evening of February 17 as skies cleared out. This resulted in the freezing of leftover rain and melted snow on several roads which resulted in several roads in the Kern County Mountains being closed for several hours overnight and into the morning hours of February 18. Black ice also resulted in a fatal two vehicle accident near Oakhurst on State Route 49 during the morning of February 18.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 798141. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.