During the winter of 1861-1862 , in the Owens Valley , the storms that produced the Great Flood of 1862 resulted in snow and flooding conditions in the surrounding mountains and as far to the east as the Mono County seat at Aurora . There had been light snowfall in November , then mild weather until Christmas Eve when it began a heavy and rapid snowfall for days , the temperature dropped below zero and the passes over the Sierra were closed . During the second week of January it warmed slightly and the snow became a torrential rain . Creeks overflowed their banks , flooding low-lying areas . After a week it cooled again and snow began to fall . Within a few days the snow was deeper than it had been before the rains had begun to fall . Samuel Young of Aurora , recorded in his diary that the snow and rain had fallen for twenty six days out of thirty since December 24 , 1861
Great Flood of 1862
Great Flood of 1862
Owens Valley Indian War