Discover the Biggest November Snowstorm to Ever Hit California

Those unfamiliar with California usually associate it with warm weather and sunny skies. Yet, snow is not uncommon in California. The northern parts of the state and its mountains are especially used to cold weather.

Despite that, the biggest November snowstorm to ever hit California occurred in the Big Bear Mountain Resort in Southern California. While the area’s residents are used to huge amounts of snow, they aren’t used to getting so much all at once.

November 2004 also produced a notable snowstorm in other parts of Southern California, where the residents are far less familiar with severe cold weather.

Learn more about California’s major snowstorms by discovering the worst storms of March and April.

The Storm of November 2019

Big Bear Mountain saw its biggest snowstorm on record in 2019. The storm occurred over the Thanksgiving Weekend.

The mountain resort saw a staggering 54 inches of snow. That amount far exceeded the region’s previous record of 38 inches from 1964.

Big Bear Mountain Resort sees an average of 100-110 inches of snowfall an entire season.

48 of the 54 inches occurred in just two days on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. That amount of snowfall set another record as the most the area has seen in only two days.

The Wednesday after the holiday weekend welcomed another 2-3 inches of snow. So, the resort was now up to 57 inches of snow, though it was now the first week of December.

Big Bear Mountain Resort’s Typical Snowfall

The region’s average annual snowfall makes November 2019’s snowstorm seem even crazier.

According to Big Bear Mountain Resort’s website, the area rarely sees over 18 inches of snow in November. Most years, they don’t see any snow in November at all.

The December following the November 2019 blizzard saw another 48 inches of snow.

December, January, and February seem to be the worst months for snow in the region. Yet, in 2019, Big Bear Mountain Resort only saw 1 inch of snow in January and 12 inches in February.

Their March accumulation seemed average. But, then they saw 28 inches of snowfall in April when, in most years, they see no snowfall at all.

Impacts to Big Bear Mountain Resort

Fortunately, Big Bear Mountain Resort is used to large amounts of snow. The residents weren’t very bothered by the heavy accumulation.

In fact, many skiers and snowboarders flocked to the area in preparation for the snow. The heavy snowfall provided ideal conditions for their adventures.

However, those who didn’t get to the resort early were mostly out of luck. The staggering amounts of snow made the roadways to the resort dangerous. Officials shut down most of the roads over the weekend. Non-residents weren’t allowed through the area.

Many unlucky skiers and snowboarders found themselves stuck in hours of horrendous traffic. Some refused to turn back since they already spent so much time trying to get to the resort. Others could not turn back — although they wanted to — because the local stores ran out of gas.

Highway 330 reopened Saturday night. Still, drivers needed heavy chains on their tires to pass through the area. Even those with four-wheel drive were required to have heavy chains for their wheels.

About 8,000 people in the area found themselves without power until Saturday evening.

Other impacts of the storm

There weren’t any reports of death or injury near Big Bear Moutain Resort. Still, the storm caused disaster elsewhere.

The snowstorm continued traveling eastward, passing through Arizona and South Dakota. An Arizona family tried to cross a “runoff-swollen creek,” leading to the death of a 5-year-old boy. Two other children in the car were missing for a time.

Still, the storm did some good as well. Before the storm, California had been experiencing an abnormally dry period. It was in the first stages of drought. Earlier in the week, many California residents were fleeing wildfires. The snowstorm helped relieve some of the dryness in the state.

The Southern California Mountains — Another Notable Snowstorm

The non-mountainous areas of Southern California are far less accustomed to snowstorms than the Big Bear area.

So, the residents east of Los Angeles were much less prepared when they saw over 3 feet of snow in November of 2004. The mounds of snow accumulated in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountain areas.

The area surrounding the mountains received so much snow that even the deserts were coated in thick white powder. The deserts of San Bernardino County saw about 1 foot of snow. The Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms got about 6 inches.

Why this Storm was Unique

The storm began in British Columbia, California. Then, it made its way through Nevada and on to Northern California. Lastly, it traveled down toward Southern California.

The storm earned the nickname “inside slider” because of its rare weather patterns. Usually, when snowstorms enter Northern California, they move westward out of the state and into the Pacific Ocean. Rather than trekking out to the Pacific Ocean, this storm moved into the southern part of the state.

Ivory Small is the Chief Science Officer of the National Weather Service in San Diego. They say these kinds of storms happen about once every ten years and are hard to predict.

How Residents Responded

The children of the surrounding lowland areas were ecstatic at seeing the snow. Yet, many adults were unhappy.

One man remarked that he thought he’d never have to deal with snow when moving to California from Chicago. Meanwhile, many children were outside building snowmen and having snowball fights.

Parts of Interstate 15 were closed for about five hours during the worst of the snowfall. Many roads in San Bernardino County were also closed due to large amounts of snow and ice.