Weather in the Central California Interior in 2002
The following is account of significant weather by month that I have observed or worked through in 2002.
January 2002 - The year began with a big surprise as the office homepage changed over to a new format. I spent the 2nd taking calls about the changes (mostly complaints) as another southwester nailed Central California with heavy rains. Snow was mainly confined to areas above 8000 feet. This storm provided much of the valley with a half inch of rain or so. A dry period with heavy fog at times followed. Forecasters from one neighboring office took me on during one conference call early in this period only to look horrible in the end as anyone who takes me on does. What really offended me were the personal attacks on some of my co-workers. I am mentioning this because I find this to be offensive. As for the fog, it caused two nasty accidents on the 3rd. The 11th and 12th were just plain nasty as visibility was near zero. The fog and low clouds finally broke up on the 16th as a welcome arctic plunge (fist significant arctic of the season) came in. I didn't mind the sub freezing mornings at all. A winter storm that was supposed to bring heavy rains to the valley on the 26th crapped out and just brought some light rains on the morning of the 27th. Some higher mountain locations received some heavy snows. Another arctic accompanied a cold winter storm on the 28th and 29th. This system actually brought some light snow to the valley, but it did not stick to the ground. It was nice to see some flakes in the area (a first for me). The month ended up slightly cooler than normal and significantly drier than normal with only three significant winter storms.
February 2002 - The first week of the month definitely reminded me of my time in Montana with subfreezing mornings. As temperatures warmed, the fog came back. An close to 100 car accident near Selma on the morning of the 5th made national news. This event had media coverage all over. My co-workers had numerous interviews with the big newspapers and networks. The rest of the month was fairly mild, and temperatures averaged slightly above normal. The only significant winter storm hit on the morning of the 17th. This brought about a quarter inch of rain to the valley and heavy snows to the mountains. The month was much drier than average.
March 2002 - Winter held it's grip on the area this year as temperatures were below normal this month. Precipitation was also below normal. Fog was not much of a problem as the sun angle increased. Just some light fog in the morning which quickly burned off. The pattern was similar to that of February. Split zonal with occasional arctic plunges down the coast. A well advertised winter storm hit on the 6th and 7th. This system produced a round of heavy snowfall in the mountains and brought welcome rains (half an inch in most areas) to the valley. On the 7th some thunderstorms broke out. While the large hail and tornadoes remained north of our area I had to make a decision on a cell near Sanger. It had no tilt or rotation to it at all so I held off. It did produce heavy rain, but little else. Arctic air spilled into the valley behind this storm which produced two nights of near freezing temperatures. A strong cold front blasted through on the 13th producing high winds on across eastern Kern County. I had a watch out for it over a day in advance of the event. After the winds died down, there were several nights of near or below freezing temperatures. On the 17th a winter storm brought snow down to the foothills and a quarter of an inch of rain to much of the valley. Following a brief warm-up, a strong cold front crossed the area on the 23rd. Conditional Symmetric Instability behind the front produced widespread thunderstorms across the valley that afternoon. I was on the radar during the event in which we struggled to get extra people to come in. I came close to warning on two different cells which both crapped out before I could consider warning on them. Both produced small hail. One tripped a TVS on the radar for one scan. Only snow advisories for the mountains had to be issued. Temperatures warmed up to above normal levels for the last week of the month. Most of the valley had highs in the 80s on the last three days.
April 2002 - The first two weeks of the month were more like late spring with no precipitation and above normal temperatures. Maximum temperatures reached the 90s in the valley by the 14th. A late season arctic front blasted through the area the following morning which brought strong winds and lowered temperatures by 30 degrees. A winter storm followed on the 17th; however, this storm was a fastball and only brought minimal precipitation to most of the area. Temperatures moderated after that as high pressure arrived. On the afternoon of the 25th another cold front crossed the area. Thunderstorms broke out in the Yosemite area and across southwestern Kern County. I worked overtime to cover the radar for the first 30 minutes of the event. No warnings were issued, but one storm did produced localized flooding in western Kern County. High pressure then returned afterwards. The month ended slightly warmer then normal and much drier than normal. A far cry from last year in April which was more like January.
May 2002 - The month began with a chilly day then temperatures moderated by the 3rd. Dry weather and seasonable temperatures continued for several days. Strong winds hit eastern Kern County on the 7th, 9th, 10th and 19th. We had a heavy spot load during this period as the forest service and BLM were getting their prescribed burning done before the fire season begins. A cold front produced a dust storm in the valley on the 19th that reminded me of some good ones in Lubbock and Billings. Behind the front on the 20th, showers and thunderstorms broke out. High shear and lapse rates helped for a severe storms environment, and a super outbreak hit central California. Three offices combined to issue 23 warnings (17 for severe thunderstorms and six for tornadoes) that day. My office issued seven of them. I sent out the first four. I layed the smackdown on a cell near Fresno that produced one inch hail then a follow up warning for the cell when it hit Clovis. I received a HAM report of a tornado near Madera from a weaker cell when I smacked out the second warning then went for the tornado warning on it. By the time the warning was out the tornado was gone, but the cell intensified and produced two inch hail. After smacking down a warning for a cell which produced dime size hail near Sanger I took off as three extras were called into the office so the tired day shift could go home. Three more warnings went out in the next hour. The tornado was an F1 and was the strongest tornado in the area since my arrival. The radar did not pick it up, and I actually put that cell aside to follow a much stronger cell near a heavily populated area. While all of the heavy rains and severe weather was going in the valley, the higher mountains picked up 1 to 2 feet on new snow. Flooding ended up being minimal as this was a cold storm. Temperatures rebounded a few days later as high temperatures soared into the 90s in the valley late in the month. Triple digit heat prevailed for the last two days of the month then moisture from what was hurricane Alma hit the area on the evening of the 31st. This allowed for thunderstorms with 45000 foot tops to form and dump heavy rains and large hail on the area. These storms produced an incredible lightning show and my neighborhood flooded for the first time. Three warnings and a flood advisory were issued during this rare nocturnal event. I was on annual leave that day, and just got back form a short vacation so I got to stay at home and follow the event with my family. The month ended up wet and close to normal on temperatures.
June 2002 - Hot and dry were the only two words to describe June. The highlight of the month was a strong wind event in the valley caused by onshore pressure gradients on the 8th and 9th. Temperatures were a little above average. The only precipitation was with the tail end of tropical depression Alma on the 1st.
July 2002 - Several recent Julys turned out to be cooler than usual and a little easier on the electric bill, but not this time. Temperatures were well above normal as highs soared well into the triple digits across the valley during most of the first half of the month. The heatwave between the 9th and 15th was the worst to affect the area in several years. The second half of the month was close to normal, but still hot. A strong thunderstorm in Yosemite Park triggered a warning on the 12th, but nobody was near it. A strong cell near the crest in Tulare County produced several inches of rainfall in a short time period on the 17th. That prompted a flash flood warning that made a small number of campers move. The valley was precipitation free. Two major fires hit the mountains late in the month. One, known as the McNally fire was started by someone who was producing an illegal drug. This fire lasted about six weeks and required prolonged support from my office.
August 2002 - August was it's typical self with it's hot temperatures and prolonged dry spells. There was no precipitation in the area, and temperatures were close to normal. The month would have been livable except for a heat wave between the 9th and 16th. The main concerns for me in the office were support for the McNally fire which was extinguished late in the month, and for the Wolf fire which smoldered in Yosemite Park for several weeks as the Park service decided to let it burn with resources fighting larger fires.
September 2002 - The hot and dry summer rolled on. Temperatures were above normal for much of the month. Refreshing cool spells between the 5th and 8th and between the 27th and 30th were the only breaks from the heat. Some showers broke out on the 6th as a cold front moved through the area, but most areas did not pick up much rainfall. Precipitation was below average for the month.
October 2002 - The month was a bit cooler than usual for a change, but the month was dry as a few fall storms passed to the north of the area. A dust storm on the 1st was the only exciting event in the area all month. I actually took my wife up to Oregon for a few days to enjoy a snow storm. There was a brief heat wave between the 6th and the 9th, but otherwise temperatures were quite pleasant.
November 2002 - After a dry and mild start to the month, the drought finally ended as a monster storm hit the area between the 7th and 9th. It was actually the result of back to back southwesters (one was the remains of a Central Pacific hurricane) which brought one to two inches of rainfall to the valley and as much as 12 inches of rainfall to the mountains. Snow levels were high (above 9000 feet) for this event, and below 9000 feet the rain all ran off. The Kaweah River flooded east of Three Rivers, and there was also some flooding in the areas burned out by the Manter and McNally fires. I worked midnights through this event and took plenty of overnight spotter reports. The rest of the month was dry and mild with occasional dense fog in the morning. Fog led to a 50 car accident between Merced and Chowchilla on the 20th. On the dry and mild 22nd, one of the AWIPS workstations actually caught fire and smoked up. It was disconnected from the system before an extinguisher had to be used. A strong Mono wind event hit the Southern Sierra mountains on the 25th and 26th as we were in between a strong high to the north and a strong low to the south. Temperatures and precipitation were both well above normal for November.
December 2002 - The first nine days of the month were dry and mild with much above normal temperatures, no precipitation and a noticeable lack of persistent dense fog. That all changed during the middle of the month as several winter storms crossed the area. The first hit the 13th followed by another one late on the 14th. Both only hit the northern half of our area. Although snowfall was not generally a problem with these storms (several locations in the mountains picked up 4 to 8 inches), winds were a big problem with the second storm as several locations nearly hit warning criteria. Storm #3 hit on the morning if the 16th. This brought heavy rains and strong southeast winds to the valley and heavy snows to the mountains. My shift issued a wind advisory for the valley continued a winter storm warning for the mountains which picked up between 25 and 40 inches of fresh powder. Following the late morning cold frontal passage during the day shift, showers and thunderstorms broke out in the valley. One cell with an 18000 foot top produced an F1 tornado and an F0 tornado near Atwater which damaged some small structures. This was the first multi tornado event in the area since my 32nd birthday. Later in the day a cell near Exeter prompted a severe thunderstorm warning, but it didn't verify. The cold and unstable airmass that pushed in on the 16th remained over the area on the 17th, and more thunderstorms broke out that afternoon. Two cells actually prompted severe thunderstorm warnings in the afternoon. One barely verified for hail. The other was a close miss. A stronger storm hit on the 19th and 20th. This storm produced nuisance flooding on the valley and 12 to 24 inches of new snow in the higher mountains. Light snow even fell in the foothills on the 20th. Portions of the valley finally had subfreezing lows on the 23rd and 24th. The entire valley was below freezing when Santa Claus came to town on the 25th. That was the first day of the season that fog persisted all day across much of the valley. A major winter storm hit on the 28th and 29th pounding the Southern Sierras with another foot or more of snow. The valley was rain shadowed, but picked up a tenth to a quarter inch of rain. The sixth and final storm of December hit on the 30th and 31st and brought another 12 to 24 inches of snow to the mountains and strong winds to the Kern Deserts. The valley was rain shadowed again and picked up another tenth to a quarter inch of rain. December was warm and wet just like November was.
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