San Dimas’ Miraculous Snow Day
March 1, 2021
San Dimas and its surrounding area is known for its warm weather and lack of winter wonderland, but one day in 1994, the unthinkable happened: it miraculously snowed in San Dimas!
San Dimas High School’s math teacher Mrs. Carson is one of the few lucky San Dimas residents that got to witness this extraordinary event. Mrs. Carson recalls her experience with the snow day when she was a 10-year-old fourth-grader at Gladstone Elementary. “We had heard a ton of raindrops onto the roof. It sounded as if someone just dumped a bucket of water on the house. We ran outside to see that it was hailing and then all of a sudden I remember that hail didn’t come down as hard. It seemed like the hail started to float down instead,” says the SDHS math teacher. “It did sit on the ground long enough to gather some up in your hand or to try to catch some on your tongue.”
It lasted for a short time but San Dimas’ surprising snow surely made some very special memories. “I remember my grandmother being over at the time; she had picked my sister and I up from school that day,” reminisces Mrs. Carson. “I think my favorite part was just being outside with her, both of us in awe from what we were seeing. She had been in the area for 50+ years and had never seen anything like that before.”
A Los Angeles Times article published at the time of the snow day explains the puzzling weather. The snow and hail were created by a particularly strong spring storm system. The jet stream had been traveling south from Western Canada and infused a lot of cold air into California. With the cold air and SoCal moisture combined, snow unbelievably fell from the heavens.
The unusual winter weather has only happened very few times throughout San Dimas history, unfortunately for snow-loving San Dimas residents. However, Mrs. Carson states she prefers warm weather. “For me, I would rather be in the warm weather. I love that we live so close to the mountains where we can get to the snow or colder weather but honestly, I hate being cold!” she exclaims. “I have a heater now under my desk that is on every day during school. At home, I am always in a blanket or the new Comfy I got for Christmas. I cannot stand to be cold!”
With the world continuing to get hotter, it’s unlikely snow will ever become a regular variant in San Dimas’s climate. But, the ephemeral element of San Dimas’ remarkable April 1994 snow day is what makes the memory so special in the hearts of the San Dimas community.