California Readers Share Photos of Their Winter Wonderland

By Soumya Karlamangla – March 8, 2023

The Owens River Gorge in eastern California.
The Owens River Gorge in eastern California. Credit…Stephen Cunha
So much snow has transformed the landscape across the state.

Winter weather in the Golden State, of all places, continues to draw national attention this year.

First, atmospheric rivers flooded towns and swallowed cars. Then, snow fell in Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz, Oakland and a whole host of places unaccustomed to it. Graupel, an ice-snow combo, dusted the Hollywood sign. Yosemite National Park closed indefinitely after record snowfall buried cabins and blanketed roads.

And starting Thursday, another set of heavy storms is expected to hit much of the state, which could bring more flooding and rain damage. I don’t need to tell you — it’s been a wild winter.

Late last month I was driving in Paso Robles, a city on the Central Coast known for its wineries and olive groves, when I noticed the tops of the gently sloping green hills sprinkled with snow. I’d never seen anything like it.

The small town of Shandon in San Luis Obispo County last month.
The small town of Shandon in San Luis Obispo County last month. Credit…Soumya Karlamangla/The New York Times

Twenty miles east in Shandon, a small community also in San Luis Obispo County, the skies were mostly blue — but the roofs of cars, small homes and wooden barns were all blanketed in snow. I watched as a father and daughter, bundled in scarves and jackets, assembled a wobbly snowman from what had fallen on a grassy field in the city’s park.

Today we’re sharing photos you emailed us of what this winter has looked like in your neck of the woods. Leslie Bates, a reader who lives in Gualala on the Mendocino Coast, said that she had been sending snow pictures to her brother who lives in the Catskills in New York: “The world turned upside down!”

Craig Whichard’s cabin in Arnold.
Craig Whichard’s cabin in Arnold. Credit…Craig Whichard

Sandra Sincek, who lives in Julian, a small mountain town northeast of San Diego, described her child’s first sled run of the year.

“Occasionally we will get a few inches of snow, but this was a glorious winter event,” she wrote. “When the clouds finally parted, our son carried his wooden snow sled to the top of the hill, carefully positioned it, climbed in, and let go.”

Craig Whichard wrote to us from his cabin in Arnold, on the western side of the Sierra Nevada and about 70 miles east of Stockton. He said that the five feet of snow that fell late last month was more than he’d seen in his 14 years there.

  • Struggling to Recover: Weeks after a brutal set of atmospheric rivers unleashed a disaster, the residents of Planada in Merced County are only beginning to rebuild.
  • Exploring Los Angeles: Walking down Rosecrans Avenue is not necessarily a pleasure. But it does offer a 27-mile canvas of the city’s vastness and its diverse communities coexisting.
  • A Bridge Goes Dark: A light installation across part of San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, had to be turned off because of the region’s harsh weather. They hope to raise $11 million to refurbish it.
  • California’s Heavy Snows: Back-to-back storms left many people stuck as snow piled high. More is still in the forecast.

“It is truly a winter wonderland,” he wrote.

In Cloverdale in Sonoma County.
In Cloverdale in Sonoma County. Credit…Star Carpenter
A geodesic dome in the Santa Cruz mountains.
A geodesic dome in the Santa Cruz mountains. Credit…Karrie Gaylord
The view from Hollister in San Benito County.
The view from Hollister in San Benito County. Credit…Susan Heck
Snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains, seen from Glassell Park in Los Angeles.
Snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains, seen from Glassell Park in Los Angeles. Credit…Emily Zuzik Holmes

Snow-covered mountains behind the Hollywood sign.
Snow-covered mountains behind the Hollywood sign. Credit…Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Author: John Hanno

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Bogan High School. Worked in Alaska after the earthquake. Joined U.S. Army at 17. Sergeant, B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 84th Artillery, 7th Army. Member of 12 different unions, including 4 different locals of the I.B.E.W. Worked for fortune 50, 100 and 200 companies as an industrial electrician, electrical/electronic technician.