A strong area of low pressure brought a wide swatch of precipitation into the Central California Interior. The precipitation arrived during the early morning hours of December 7th. Up to a half inch of rain fell on the San Joaquin Valley floor; a few flurries were mixed with the rain, but did not stick to the ground. Due to the very cold nature of the airmass behind the cold front, snow levels plummeted. A few inches of snow was reported in Oakhurst and Springville, at elevations between 2200 and 2400 feet. Yosemite Valley received 8 inches of new snow, and a foot of snow fell on the Grapevine, closing Interstate 5 through Tejon Pass. Highway 58, through the Tehachapi Pass at a similar elevation, also was closed by the snow.
Strong wind gusts developed over the Kern County desert portion of the Mojave Desert behind the cold front, and gusts approaching 80 mph were recorded during the evening of the 7th. At the Mojave Spaceport, severe wind gusts up to 80 mph caused extensive property damage at a festival. Local officials were able to evacuate attendees 36 minutes before the severe wind hit the area. Thankfully there were no injuries or fatalities reported. Several large temporary structures failed at the Mojave Spaceport. Local officials estimated the property damage around 1 million dollars. After the peak winds occurred, winds continued to gust over 60 mph for about 3 hours.
A short-wave ridge moved over the state on December 8th, bringing clear skies and light winds. Moring low temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley fell into the lower to mid 20s at the coldest locations during the early morning hours of the 8th, and only a few places had lows near 32 degrees. Similar lows were reported the following morning, and central and south Valley highs struggled to reach 50 on both December 8th and 9th.

Frost/Freeze in E CENTRAL S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 09-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 09-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SE S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 09-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 09-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SW S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 09-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 09-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Weather in S SIERRA FOOTHILLS, CALIFORNIA
From 07-DEC-09 04:00:00 to 07-DEC-09 19:54:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Frost/Freeze in E CENTRAL S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 08-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 08-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind in INDIAN WELLS VLY, CALIFORNIA
From 07-DEC-09 20:00:00 to 08-DEC-09 00:00:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 40.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SW S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 08-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 08-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind in SE KERN CTY DESERT, CALIFORNIA
From 06-DEC-09 15:00:00 to 07-DEC-09 00:00:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 40.00 EG
Property damage: 1.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind in INDIAN WELLS VLY, CALIFORNIA
From 06-DEC-09 15:00:00 to 07-DEC-09 00:00:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 40.00 EG
Property damage: 1.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in W CENTRAL S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 09-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 09-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Frost/Freeze in SE S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 08-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 08-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Storm in KERN CTY MTNS, CALIFORNIA
From 07-DEC-09 04:00:00 to 08-DEC-09 00:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in TULARE CTY MTNS, CALIFORNIA
From 07-DEC-09 04:00:00 to 07-DEC-09 19:54:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in S SIERRA MTNS, CALIFORNIA
From 07-DEC-09 04:00:00 to 07-DEC-09 19:54:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Frost/Freeze in W CENTRAL S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 08-DEC-09 00:00:00 to 08-DEC-09 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in SE KERN CTY DESERT, CALIFORNIA
From 07-DEC-09 18:17:00 to 08-DEC-09 00:00:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 70.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet