A combination of Arctic air, weak offshore flow, cold air advection, low humidity, and mostly clear nights resulted in bitterly cold mornings, huge crop losses, and extensive property damage. Numerous long standing records were broken as temperatures dipped into the 20s and 30s along the coast, the teens in the valleys, the single digits to below zero in the mountains, and into the single digits to teens in the deserts. Except for right along the immediate coastline, the freeze lasted for up to a week or longer. Local farmers were hit the hardest by the freeze. Crop damage was estimated at $114.7 million in San Diego County, $86 million in Riverside County, and 11.1 million in San Bernardino County. All three of these counties were eventually declared Disaster Areas. Plumbing pipes froze and burst in many valley, mountain, and desert locations. For example, more than $600,000 in damage from broken pipes was reported just in the San Bernardino County mountains and deserts. The famed golf courses of the Palm Springs area didn't escape the freeze either. It will cost an estimated $20,000 just to repair one golf course in Indian Wells alone.
At the onset of the freeze, snow was reported in the valleys of San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego Counties at elevations as low as 500 ft. Gusty winds at times made it feel much colder. During the freeze, the air temperature dropped to 7 degrees below zero at Fawnskin, 2 degrees below zero at Big Bear Lake and Wrightwood, 5 degrees in the high desert city of Hesperia, 6 degrees at Mount Laguna in San Diego County, 8 degrees in Apple Valley, 10 degrees at the Anza-Borrego Valley Airport, 11 degrees at Idyllwild, 12 degrees near the Mexico border at Campo, 13 degrees at the top of the Palm Springs Tramway, 16 degrees at Ramona, Pine Cove, Angelus Oaks, Potrero, and Twentynine Palms, 18 degrees at Thermal, Julian, and Palomar, 19 degrees at Hemet and Moreno Valley, and 20 degrees at Chino and Camp Pendleton. Closer to the coast, low temperatures were generally in the mid to upper 20s.

Frost/Freeze in SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS, CALIFORNIA
From 14-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 15.00K
Crop damage: 40.15M
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS, CALIFORNIA
From 13-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 73.10M
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS, CALIFORNIA
From 13-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS, CALIFORNIA
From 14-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 4.45M
Reported by: COOP Observer

Frost/Freeze in COACHELLA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 14-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 68.85M
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS - THE INLAND EMPIRE, CALIFORNIA
From 14-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 28.32M
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS, CALIFORNIA
From 13-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Frost/Freeze in SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS, CALIFORNIA
From 13-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS, CALIFORNIA
From 12-JAN-07 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-07 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 350.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer