It has been toasty warm around these parts in July. It should be noted the summer of 1931 was of Susanville’s hottest and driest on record. A heat wave lasted nearly two months, with little respite. In July and August, only eight times did the high temperature dip below 90. In July there were nine consecutive days when the high was over 100. On July 19 and 20 was it ever hot, both days registered 106. It was also dry. On June 16th .03 inches of precipitation fell. Not another raindrop fell on the town for the next four months, until October 17th when .30 inches was recorded.

In cae you were wondering the first week of July 1876, incidentally witnessed Susanville’s hottest ever recorded temperature–108 degrees–and it was reached on three different days.

Tim

Late spring snowfalls are not unusual. Just like their counterparts of early fall snowfalls, they share a common trait—the snow melts quickly.

On March 25,1924 the Susanville area received anywhere between 18 inches to two feet of snowfall. Within twenty-four hours there was not a trace of snow. The local farmers rejoiced over their short-lived bounty, it being the driest winter on record to date. Spring rains were practically non-existent. It was a prelude of thigs to come. California would experience its worst forest fire to season to date.An interesting tidbit, the region did receive any measureable precipitation until September 15.

Tim

Personally, this latest storm was over-hyped for the region. Some forecasts called for feet of snow, but in reality it was inches. Anyhow, lets examine some big storms that occurred several years apart.

1911- On January 13 there was three foot of snow in Susanville, but the big snow still had not hit. Then it really began to snow. Six days later the storm finally ceased, five feet of snow had fallen and the depth on the ground now reached eight feet! In January 116 inches of snow had fell in Susanville, with a total precipitation of 11.59 inches.

1914 – In January was another repeat of 1911. Susanville once again had eight feet of snowfall. This, of course, did not stop the railroad construction crew between Susanville and Westwood.

1916 – On New Year’s Day a snowstorm hit Susanville and dropped four feet of snow in two days.  For the month Susanville received nine and a half feet of snow for the month of January. When it was not snowing it was bitter cold. On January 30 the temperature dropped to minus fourteen below zero.

Eagle Lake was a beneficiary of these wet winters. In 1917, the lake reached its highest recorded water level.

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Some years these cloudbursts are more frequent than others, just like every winter is different. A particular cloudburst of July 16, 1963 was recorded by Susanville resident George Farris. On that afternoon, as Farris duly noted three inches of rain fell upon Susanville in a one hour period. Thankfully, George was a good record keeper. Up until 1969, weather records were duly noted, high, low and precipitation at the Lassen County Courthouse. When George’s son, Calvin, sent me the scanned photograph, I went to those weather county weather logs, only to find that whoever was on duty to record the same, there was a two week gap. However, on July 28, 1963, the Lassen Advocate newspaper reported George’s findings and published the above photogaph.

Tim