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Snowstorm of November 21, 2004
During the night of November 20, 2004, a closed low pressure system which had formed over
Nevada began moving southwest into California. Thunderstorms formed over the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mtns as the vigorous vorticity moved
south through the Mojave Desert. The area of storms expanded into the coastal side of the mtns delivering a barrage of lightning, thunder, hail,
and heavy rain. Temperatures begain dropping rapidly after midnight and so did the snow level! By sunrise on the morning of November 21 the snow
level had dropped to as low as 1000 feet in a wide area of Riverside County between the Santa Ana Mtns to the west, and the San Bernardino/San
Jacinto Mtns to the east/northeast. Snow fell almost everywhere within an area between Lake Elsinore, Temecula, Hemet, Banning, and Yucaipa. The most
accumulations occured in Lake Elsinore, Menifee, and Murrieta where as much as 3 inches of snow had accumulated, and Yucaipa, which received between 8
and 14 inches.
The following pictures were taken that morning in and around Horsethief Canyon Ranch (where snow
flurries began falling around sunrise and a light dusting of snow had stuck to the ground at the top of HCR), and along Bundy Canyon Road
southeast of Lake Elsinore. Snow had stuck to the ground the entire length of the road between I-15 and I-215, with more than 3 inches of
accumulation through most of the way.
More snow pictures from Murrieta and Temecula
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