A series of pacific storms tracked across Northern California Thursday through the weekend bringing periods of moderate to heavy snow in the mountains and gusty winds. Low snow levels brought snow as low as 500 ft before snow levels rose to 3000 to 4500 ft by the weekend. Significant rainfall was brought to the lower elevations. Winds gusted up to 40-55 mph in the Northern, Central, and Southern Sacramento Valley, as well as the northeast foothills and northern Sierra Mountains, on December 23rd. These winds caused an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 power outages, and also resulted in downed trees and tree branches. Power outages were located near the Redding vicinity, mountain valleys such as Quincy and Chester, near the Chico/Paradise/Oroville area, and also the Sacramento metropolitan. Two fatalities occurred with this episode: one fatality due to a fallen tree, and one fatality due to an avalanche.

Winter Storm in SHASTA LAKE/NORTH SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
From 20-DEC-12 12:00:00 to 23-DEC-12 14:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A series of waves passed through Northern California bringing moderate to heavy snowfall. Snowfall began approximately mid-day on December 20th, and continued through mid-day December 23th. Stouts Meadow (near McCloud 12 ESE), elevation 5400 ft, received approximately 3.5 feet of snow during this time. Pit River locations, approximate elevations between 1500-2500 ft, received between 2-3 feet of snowfall. Locations at Sims, elevations approximately 1600-2500 ft, reported amounts between 1.5 to 2.5 feet of snowfall. Lower elevations such as Whiskeytown Reservoir, elevation approximately 1350 ft, reported approximately 3-5 inches of snow depth. One fatality occurred on Gregory Creek Road in Lakehead (noted by broadcast media), caused by a tree that had fallen on a trailer home from the weight of heavy snow and breezy winds. The victim, a male in his early 60s, was found the morning of Dec. 22, and the tree was approximately 2 feet in diameter.

Winter Storm in BURNEY BASIN/EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
From 20-DEC-12 15:00:00 to 23-DEC-12 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A series of waves passed through Northern California bringing moderate to heavy snowfall. Snowfall began approximately during the afternoon on December 20th, and continued through mid-day December 23th. An observer in Burney, elevation approximately 3100 ft, reported a snow total of 34.5 inches. Fall River Mills, elevation approximately 3200 ft, reported about 2 feet of snow. Snow levels rose by December 22nd to above 2500-3000 ft, so snow amounts tapered off toward the end of the event.

Winter Storm in MOUNTAINS SOUTHWEST SHASTA COUNTY TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
From 20-DEC-12 12:00:00 to 23-DEC-12 19:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A series of waves passed through Northern California bringing moderate to heavy snowfall, with some breaks between snowfall amounts. Snowfall began approximately mid-day on December 20th, and continued through the evening December 23th. Snow levels rose to above 2500 ft on December 22nd, and above 3500 feet December 23rd. Alder springs, elevation 4555 ft, reported approximately 20-22 inches of snowfall during this time.

Winter Storm in WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA
From 21-DEC-12 07:00:00 to 23-DEC-12 22:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

A series of waves passed through Northern California bringing moderate to heavy snowfall. Snowfall began in the morning hours of Dec 21st, and continued through the night of Dec. 23rd. Various ski resorts between 6500 ft to 8500 ft reported between 4 to 7 ft total of snowfall during this event. Majority of the ski resorts ranged between 4.5 and 5.5 ft. The highest values for these ski resorts were reported in Alpine, Nevada, and Placer Counties. Kingvale (6000 ft) received a storm total of 2 feet. Snow levels were overall above 3500 ft during the event for this zone. Two fatalities  resulted from avalanches at ski resorts on Dec. 24th (see Avalanche report).

Winter Storm in MT SHASTA/WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
From 20-DEC-12 18:00:00 to 23-DEC-12 20:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A series of waves passed through Northern California bringing moderate to heavy snowfall. Snowfall began approximately the evening of December 20th, and continued through the evening of December 23rd. Spotters reported heavy snowfall beginning during the early hours of Dec 21st at Feather River Canyon (3200 ft), Meadow Valley (3800 ft), Greenville (3560 ft), and near Lake Almanor (4565 ft). Snow rates were 1 to 3 inches per hour for these locations. Lake Almanor/Chester area estimated about 3-3.5 ft of snowfall total. Lower Lassen Peak (8250 ft) received snow beginning as early as 6pm on Dec. 20th and reported over 5 ft (62 inches) of total snowfall during this event.

Winter Weather in NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 21-DEC-12 06:00:00 to 21-DEC-12 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A series of waves passed through Northern California bringing snowfall that reached the lower elevations. Snowfall began approximately 6am on December 21st and continued through late morning December 21st for the Northern Sacramento Valley. A COOP spotter in Redding (500 ft) reported a snow accumulation of 1 inch on the ground. A spotter in Palo Cedro just east of Redding also reported accumulating snow on the ground in the morning. This event was significant since low elevation snow is rare in northern California. In addition, this winter episode caused winds to gust up to 55 mph in the Central Valley on Dec. 23rd, which caused an estimated 10k to 30k people to lose power.

Avalanche in WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA
From 24-DEC-12 11:00:00 to 24-DEC-12 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Broadcast Media

One fatality occurred when a male snowboarder, age 49, was caught in an avalanche at Donner Ski Ranch on Dec. 24th that occurred between 11am and noon. The man's body was found under 2-3 feet of snow at the base of the avalanche. The wind had blown snow to depths of 7 ft or more where the man was snowboarding.