Weather in the Central California Interior in 2006
The following is account of significant weather by month that I have observed or worked through in 2006.
January 2006 - The year began with another bang as an intense winter storm hit the area on the afternoon of the 1st just after I came home from my shift. The storm brought 2 to 4 inches of rain fall to much of the valley and 3 to 6 inches of rainfall to the higher elevations. Snow was mainly confined to elevations above 7000 feet, but several feet of new snow fell in the higher Sierras. By the afternoon of the 2nd there was urban and street flooding all over the area. Some thunderstorms broke out over the valley and my co-workers issued two warnings that afternoon. I was next in line to get called in, but I was not needed as the convection was quick to dissipate. Dry high pressure moved in on the 3rd and was the main player for several days as a warm and dry airmass dominated the area. Areas of dense fog were common in the valley, but sunny skies in the afternoon was the rule. A cold upper trough moved in on the 14th and brought a round of afternoon thunderstorms to the valley along with a small tornado to the Lake McClure area. My co-workers issued five warnings as I sat at home watching football since I was on midnights. A fast moving winter storm brought some light rainfall to the valley on the 18th. It did bring some locally heavy snows to the Yosemite area. High pressure then returned to the area and kept incoming storms well to the north of our area. Fog persisted into the afternoon across portions of the valley, but otherwise the period was dry and mild. A fast moving storm brought a tenth to a quarter of an inch to the northern areas on the 30th, but left the areas south of Fresno County dry. The month was much warmer than normal and also wetter, but only because of the big storm on the first two days.
February 2006 - Persistent high pressure kept the first two weeks of the month mostly clear and dry with temperatures running warmer than normal as highs in the valley frequently eclipsed 70. A cold front finally pushed through California on the 15th which brought some light snow showers to the Yosemite area and much cooler temperatures to the entire area. A well advertised hard freeze hit the valley on the morning of the 16th. Minor storms affected the area on the 17th and 19th, but these generally only brought one to two tenths of an inch of rainfall to the valley and a few inches of snow to the mountains. High pressure then returned for a week and the airmass moderated. The month ended with a warm storm on the 27th and 28th which brought heavy precipitation to much of the area although the valley south of Merced County and the Kern Mountains and Deserts were mostly spared only only picked up a few hundredths. The storm also brought strong winds to the higher elevations as well. Post-frontal thunderstorms didn't amount to much though. This was the biggest storm to hit the area since the one that began the year, and resulted in the month not being totally dry. Precipitation was below normal for February while temperatures ran close to normal.
March 2006 - March began quietly in the wake of the big wind and rain event that ended February. A cold upper trough pushed into California on the 3rd and brought a quarter to half an inch of rain to the San Joaquin Valley. This system also brought snow down to 2000 feet and over 3 feet of snow to the parts of higher Sierras. A violent thunderstorm produced large hail over Tipton that afternoon. My co-workers smacked out two tornado warnings, but there were no tornadoes. A frigid morning with temperatures below freezing followed on the 4th then another storm hit on the 6th and 7th, bringing another quarter to half an inch of rain to the valley as well as 1 to 2 feet of new snow to the higher mountains. I nearly issued a severe thunderstorm warning on the afternoon of the 7th when post-frontal thunderstorms broke out, but was glad not to have as there was no verification. On the 10th another cold morning was followed by a day of snow showers on the valley floor. I was cleaning out one of my cars and getting snowed on. When I came into the office that afternoon, violent thunderstorms fired up near Lemoore and four warnings were issued for large hail in the south valley. Two more severe thunderstorm warnings were issued the following afternoon for the Bakersfield area as the cold and unstable airmass did not modify. Skies finally cleared out on the 13th, but later than anticipated which spared the valley of an anticipated hard freeze. Another cold storm moved through on the 14th resulting in more rains and mountain snow. This was followed by two quiet and cool days. On the morning of the 15th a patch of dense fog formed right over Hanford which made my drive home from my midnight shift take forever. On the 17th I had one of my better shifts with nearly perfect timing with a cold front which brought another quarter to half inch of rain to the valley and locally heavy snow to the Yosemite Area. The next storm blew through quickly on the 20th and brought some snow down to 4000 feet and 12 to 18 inches across the higher elevations. The valley was spared and amounts were generally under a quarter of an inch. A storm on the 25th brought around a quarter of an inch to the central valley and a few hundredths south. The main impact from this storm were strong winds over much of the area. I was kept bust that day because of a plane crash near McKittrick which occurred in bad weather with reports of icing and turbulence around the area. The strongest storm since the January 1 and 2 storm hit on the 28th and 29th bringing widespread heavy rains with 1 to 2 inches common in the central valley and 2 to 4 feet of snow above 6000 feet. A small tornado hit Merced during post frontal convection on the 29th. It still wasn't over after this storm as another hit on the 31st, bringing another quarter to half an inch of rain to the central valley. The month ended up being one of the ten wettest March's of all time and the coldest on the west coast since 1897. The history making spring was still far from being over too.
April 2006 - April began with a pleasant dry and cool day then the action resumed. On the evening of the second a large southwester type storm moved in on the area. My swing shift totally thrusted the forecast (which was too cold and had winds which were too strong for heavy precipitation). I was then off for two days while the valley was hit by 2 to 4 inches of rain and 5 to 8 inches of rain over the mountains which had almost all rain below 8500 feet. Flooding occurred in Merced as several houses were inundated and severe thunderstorms on the afternoon of the 4th produced large hail at several locations in the valley. By the time I returned on the 5th the storm was over. I did what I needed to do ahead of the storm and that was that. The models had terrible agreement with the situation for the following week while I was scheduled to be off for bonding time with my son. A weak storm brought minimal precipitation on the 7th, but the models were clueless on a cutoff low situation which was to follow. Forecasters fought it out ECW style, but I was correct of course as it hung offshore after sending energy north of our area. Only minimal precipitation was picked up until a stronger low moved through on the 14th and brought locally heavy rains and flash flooding to Shaver Lake and Springville as a result of more afternoon thunderstorms. An outbreak on the 21st resulted in six warnings and numerous reports of large hail and flash flooding near Mendota. I went chasing, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I came back in time to work through an ugly day on the 23rd in which a slow moving storm brought half an inch to an inch of rain to much of the area. This was followed by a weak storm which brought some light rainfall on the 26th and 27th. The month ended with three dry and warm days with highs in the 80s across the valley. April ended much wetter than usual thanks to the monster which hit early in the month. It was also slightly cooler than usual.
May 2006 - The warm and spell that ended April continued into early May until a cold front crossed on the 3rd, but the rain from this system remained north of our area. I had an excellent shift on the 4th and realized a change in the long wave pattern a week ahead which would lead to the first heat wave of the year. The next week had the expected warm-up while the office was going through a major equipment overhaul and upgrade. The rapid warm-up after the unusually cold and wet early spring led to several rivers rising to near or above flood stage. The hot spell continued for several days as highs exceeded 100 across most of the valley by the 18th. That day also featured the first severe weather outbreak since the big event on April 21st with two warnings being issued over the Kern Mountains. I cancelled the second one after being called on to help out during the event. A cooling trend then followed and a late season storm hit the area on the 21st. We actually used extra staff for the weekend to help out with this unusual event which brought rain to just about the entire area with the heaviest amounts in the Sierras. The valley picked up a quarter to half an inch on the 21st and early morning on the 22nd. Snow was confined above 9500 feet. The next week was unusually cool and dry with near record lows in the valley and highs barely reaching 70 on Memorial day weekend. Temperatures did creep back up to normal by the end of the month which ended slightly warmer than normal with near normal precipitation thanks to the storm on the 21st.
June 2006 - I missed the first two weeks of the month with a mystery illness that incapacitated me and a family vacation. High pressure kept the area dry and temperatures averaged near normal as the first week was on the warm side the a pleasantly cool week followed. I returned in time for an unusually strong high pressure center to become the main player. The rivers had gone down and were no longer a flood threat, but high temperatures jumped into the triple digits nearly every day the second half of the month with a heat advisory becoming necessary between the 22nd and 25th as highs in the valley approached 110. Thunderstorms broke out in the Sierras on the 24th and 26th, and 27th with a warning being issued for Yosemite Park with the last event. The remainder of the month was hot and somewhat humid. Overnight convection anticipated for the 28th did not pan out except right along the crest. A huge fire broke out near Lake Isabella on the 29th which required IMET service, but we had to cover the fire in the short term. I also nearly fought a forecaster in a neighboring office over convection possibilities that day (the airmass was way too dry over our area). This required the bosses to talk it over and settle differences. The month ended much warmer than usual and dry for the most part.
July 2006 - This had to have been the wildest month I've had in my 12 years with the NWS. July 4 had fireworks in the office with several equipment failures. Watching the radar, the Bakersfield NWR and the ASOS near the office all take a crap in one night. Then it was time to pick up our newborn daughter only that her birth mother reclaimed her the next day so I kept working. A heat wave between the 8th and 10th made my frequent time outside on these days memorable. A brief cooling followed after a marine intrusion on the 11th then came a two week heat wave between the 14th and 27th which not only had highs above 110 in the valley for most of the period, but also high humidity. On the 17th, I actually threw the El Techs off the operations floor because of the thunderstorm potential and issued NOWs for the mountains. That evening my daughter Sara was born in Fresno. I came back to work the following day because the office was critically understaffed. An MCS moving east to west moved across our area during the day and kept my shift busy. When I went to Fresno to see baby Sara that afternoon the rain came down. When I returned to the office following some time off the heat became even worse as lows were in the 90s in the parts of the valley on the 23rd. I would take working in Glasgow in January over that anytime. Thunderstorms knocked down numerous trees in Yosemite Park on the 20th and brought large hail and flooding to the Huntington Lake area on the 21st. The scorching hot day on the 23rd also had a five warning severe thunderstorm and flash flooding event with convection in the mountains and foothills. Amazingly these would be the last short fused warnings issued by my co-workers in 2006. The heat wave finally ended toward the end of the month as the flow aloft became onshore, but not after causing nearly half a billion dollars in damage in the area as crops were burned and many mistreated factory farms animals perished in the intense heat. It was the most memorable event I worked through since the January 1, 1997 flooding. The month ended up as the hottest of all time. Rainfall was generally above normal because of the convective events on the 17th and 23rd.
August 2006 - Temperatures were closer to normal for most of August and a dry airmass prevailed over the area. I was able to get a lot of the AWOC winter weather course out of the way when I was not making other forecasters look bad with their dreams of convection which never materialized. There was a pleasant mild snap on the 7th and 8th and two short hot spells with highs over 100 in most of the valley on the 10th and 11th and 23rd and 24th. I was finally able to take my paternity leave in mid August which was uneventful. Just after I returned to work a critical set of midnight shifts Angela was seriously hurt because of the irresponsibility of a large dairy in the area. As a result we took the old b----and her racist family to court. I became even edgier in the office afterward and again fought forecasters in adjoining offices on dealing with tropical moisture and was correct every time as I went along with the national centers. Bottom line is don't fight me, or you will look bad. August ended with near normal temperatures and no precipitation.
September 2006 - The first two weeks of the month were a continuation of the hot and dry weather that prevailed in August. Moisture from hurricane John was the main issue as the month began, but other than one thunderstorm which clipped Edwards AFB on the 2nd our area remained free of precipitation and hardly even had any clouds from the tropical moisture as it went east of our area. On the 12th, I noticed the heat wave was going to end with a modified arctic front on it's way. I issued a Special Weather Statement to highlight the cooling and on the 15th temperatures plummeted to well below normal. The moisture from this system remained well north of our area though. Highs in the valley were mainly in the mid 70s for two days before the airmass modified and for the 18th to the 29th it was dry and seasonable before another cold front moved through on the 30th. Temperatures averaged fairly close to normal for the month with hardly any precipitation.
October 2006 - The first anticipated storm of the season went north of our area on the 1st and while Merced and Mariposa Counties had a tenth to two tenths of an inch of rain, the rest of our area didn't pick up that much. A much stronger storm was expected on the 5th, but only brought light precipitation. Some light showers occurred over the crest on the afternoon of the 6th and 7th. A storm coming out of the northeast hit our area on the 10th. Leading up to it I repeatedly pulled a 180 with the midnight shift and kept the moisture from the storm confined to the northern mountains. Once I again I was on target. Some thunderstorms hit the mountains north of Kings Canyon that afternoon, but I held off on warning on two cells which looked nasty for 15 minutes then were gone 5 minutes later. Moisture from an ejecting cutoff low did affect our southern areas on the 13th and 14th bringing some rainfall mainly to Kern County. The usually dry Indian Wells Valley and the Lake Isabella areas picked up the most and were covered by a small stream flood advisory. Other areas only picked up a few hundredth of an inch. A dry storm pushed all of the moisture out of the picture on the 16th before an upper vort which the models totally missed came down from Idaho on the 17th and brought some showers to the mountains and Kern Deserts prompting three updates and three NOWs during my evening shift. This system ended up becoming a major storm which produced several destructive tornadoes as it crossed the southern states. This was followed by a period of severe clear with chilly mornings followed by warm afternoons, but a dry offshore wind event brought red flag conditions to the Kern Mountains on the 25th and the understaffed office which had several people out sick missed it as well as our neighbors. The rest of the month had uneventful weather although there were battles going on while I was off. October was slightly cooler and slightly drier than usual.
November 2006 - The month began on the mild side an remained so through the first storm on the 2nd which turned out to be a dud and only produce light precipitation from Fresno County northward. Mostly clear skies with little in the way of fog except on the 5th when dense fog slowed down my morning commute and I issued a NOW when it was breaking up. Two major storms were supposed to hit on the 11th and 13th. The first one fizzled out big time and brought hardly anything. The second one did bring a tenth to a quarter inch of precipitation to most areas, but not enough to end fire season on time. On the 14th strong post-frontal winds hit our area and I issued a wind advisory for the Kern Mountains and Deserts, but it was after warning criteria was already met before I came in. Another dry period followed although low clouds and fog became more prevalent in the valley each morning. A strong winter storm went north of our area on the 26th and 27th and brushed our northern areas with some light rainfall, and the southern Sierras with a few inches of snow. The winter storm warning actually had to be downgraded during my shift as the energy from this system shifted northward. The colder air behind this storm then settled in and the first freeze of the season in the valley resulted on the 29th. The month was slightly warmer than usual and much drier than normal as fire season rolled on into December.
December 2006 - I sat out the beginning of the month after my second daughter was born, but
I wasn't needed as temperatures were near normal with no storms in the area. The first major winter storm of the season finally did reach our area on the 9th. Ahead of it on the 8th highs in the valley soared in the 80s and broke all time December records. A healthy dose of rain fell on the 9th with the valley picking up a quarter to half an inch, the foothills and lower mountains twice that, and the higher mountains picking up 8 to 16 inches of snow above 6000 feet. As a result of the precipitation fire season finally ended. Another storm hit brought precipitation on the 10th, but amounts were much less. A cold front brought more light precipitation on the 15th with amounts generally a tenth of an inch or less. A dry arctic front crossed the area on the 18th and brought sub-freezing temperatures back to the valley for four days before a fast moving storm clipped our northern areas on the afternoon of the 21st with a quarter to half inch of precipitation. The last storm of 2006 hit on the 26th and 27th, but brought less than half of the expected snowfall, but did bring wind gusts to over 100 mph to the Indian Wells Valley. December was fairly close to normal with temperatures and precipitation with most of the rain and snow with the big storm on the 9th. Most noticeable though was the lack of fog in the valley.
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