Snowfall of 1949 shocked folks in Riverside County
The snowfall in Riverside and Riverside County 75 years ago this month caused shock, deep concern and many playful opportunities, depending on which part of society a person was in at the time.
For orange growers — and there were still many in the county at that time — January 1949 was a time of great concern. Even before the snow began to fall, temperatures had dipped below freezing for a few nights. By Jan. 5, orange growers in Hemet were seriously considering whether they’d have a crop that year at all. At the same time, Mr. H. L. Paxton, who had an orange grove on Chicago Avenue in Riverside, was shown in The Press-enterprise examining fruit. At that point, it was difficult to determine whether the cold had destroyed the fruit and all Mr. Paxton and others could do was wait.
When the snow came on the night of Jan. 9, several kids wasted no time in making snowmen of various kinds, with several pictures appearing in the papers. To them, it was fun and if they were natives of Riverside, the cold stuff was probably one of their first experiences with it.
To the longtime residents, though, it meant being questioned about potential other times it snowed in the region. Most agreed the snowfall of ’49 was the largest since 1882, the only other time that it lasted at least for a while. Snow had fallen in Riverside in 1915 and 1932 also, but it was nowhere near the amount seen in 1949. Also, in previous columns, we have referenced the devastating freeze of 1913 — that resulted in very low temperatures, but no snow.
Naturally, other areas of the county were blanketed by more snow. The Pass cities of Banning and Beaumont received even more snow (6 and 4 inches, respectively) that lay on the ground for longer. This was due to the cities being at a much higher elevation than Riverside. Traffic through that area was snarled for several hours because of the snow. The mountain community of Idyllwild was snowed in for a few weeks, with temperatures dipping as low as 11 degrees Fahrenheit during some of the coldest nights.
To the south, snow that remained on the ground was reported in Elsinore, along the Ortega Highway and also Perris. In an even more difficult-to-believe scenario, snow flurries were reported in the Coachella Valley all along Highway 111 and as far south as Indio. Needless to say, the snow didn’t stick, but just the fact that snow was observed in Indio was quite a phenomenon.
In many places, the snow was deep enough and the cold lasting long enough for the snow to remain for a few days. This was particularly odd because most of the other times that snow had occurred in the area, it would not last the day.
It was evident that this would be a winter to remember.