Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 1995
Tornado Warning 7, NWS Hanford, CA
NWS Hanford, CA issued this tornado warning at May 13, 1995, 2:20 PM PDT for Fresno County, California. It was in force for 70 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 13, 1995, 2:20 PM PDT (21:20 UTC)
- Expired
- May 13, 1995, 3:30 PM PDT
- In force
- 70 min
- Issued by
- NWS Hanford, CA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Fresno County, CA
The nearest sounding before it
Lompoc (Awos), CA (KLPC), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 242 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 58 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 612 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 73 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -60 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 53 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAT 132128 TORFAT CAC019-131530- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FRESNO CA 220 PM PDT SAT MAY 13 1995 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FRESNO HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM PDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION....... IN CALIFORNIA ...CENTRAL FRESNO COUNTY A TORNADO HAS BEEN REPORTED BY SPOTTERS IN WEST FRESNO .. IN CENTRAL FRESNO COUNTY .. NEAR JENSEN AND WESTLAWN.. AND IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT. GUDGEL &
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 13, 10:23 AM PDT, 3 hours 57 minutes before
CAZ005-010-131930- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 1002 AM PDT THU MAY 11 1995 ...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY... A SKYWARN SPOTTER NEAR TABLETOP MOUNTAIN REPORTED A THUNDERSTORM MOVING EAST TOWARD FRIANT DAM. TABLETOP MOUNTAIN IS 15 MILES NORTH OF FRESNO. ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM WAS REPORTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT THE FRESNO AIR TERMINAL. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL VALLEY THIS MORNING AND THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON HOURS. A COLD UPPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE AREA IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SOUTHEAST DURING THE DAY INCREASING THE LIKELYHOOD OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. IF A THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES YOUR AREA MOVE INDOORS. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE DANGERS OF LIGHTNING. DO NOT USE THE TELEPHONE OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES. COLD AIR FUNNELS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. COLD AIR FUNNEL CLOUDS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THEY GENERALLY DO NOT REACH THE GROUND AND ARE USUALLY SHORT LIVED. THEY HAVE...HOWEVER...ON OCCASION... TOUCHED THE GROUND AND CAUSED DAMAGE. BECAUSE OF THIS POSSIBILITY...YOU SHOULD SEEK SHELTER WHEN COLD AIR FUNNELS ARE OBSERVED. GO TO YOUR BASEMENT OR CENTRAL PART OF YOUR HOME FOR SHELTER. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES OR STATEMENTS. NESTER
Special weather statement, May 13, 11:52 AM PDT, 2 hours 28 minutes before
CAZ005-010-132200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 1200 PM PDT SAT MAY 13 1995 ...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVER CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE CENTRAL VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. A COLD UPPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE AREA IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SOUTHEAST DURING THE DAY INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. IF A THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES YOUR AREA MOVE INDOORS. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE DANGERS OF LIGHTNING. DO NOT USE THE TELEPHONE OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES WHILE A THUNDRSTORM IS IN PROGRESS. COLD AIR FUNNELS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. COLD AIR FUNNEL CLOUDS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THEY GENERALLY DO NOT REACH THE GROUND AND ARE USUALLY SHORT LIVED. THEY HAVE...HOWEVER...ON OCCASION... TOUCHED THE GROUND AND CAUSED DAMAGE. BECAUSE OF THIS POSSIBILITY...YOU SHOULD SEEK SHELTER WHEN COLD AIR FUNNELS ARE OBSERVED. GO TO YOUR BASEMENT OR CENTRAL PART OF YOUR HOME FOR SHELTER. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES OR STATEMENTS. NESTER
Special weather statement, May 13, 1:02 PM PDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
CAZ005-010-140300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
100 PM PDT SAT MAY 13 1995
...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING FOR THE
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO BUILD AND DISSIPATE IN RAPID
CYCLES OVER THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT MOUNTAINS AND ARE
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. SMALL HAIL..LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN..AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING HAVE OCCURRED WITH THESE
THUNDERSTORMS.
IF A THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES YOUR AREA MOVE INDOORS. PROTECT YOURSELF
FROM THE DANGERS OF LIGHTNING. DO NOT USE THE TELEPHONE OR ELECTRICAL
APPLIANCES WHILE A THUNDRSTORM IS IN PROGRESS.
COLD AIR FUNNELS WERE OBSERVED EARLIER IN THE DAY. COLD AIR FUNNELS
ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS..THEY GENERALLY DO NOT
DO NOT REACH THE GROUND..AND USUALLY SHORT LIVED. THEY HAVE..
ON OCCASION..TOUCHED THE GROUND AND CAUSED DAMAGE. BECAUSE OF THIS
POSSIBILITY...YOU SHOULD SEEK SHELTER WHEN COLD AIR FUNNELS ARE
OBSERVED. GO TO YOUR BASEMENT OR CENTRAL PART OF YOUR HOME FOR
SHELTER.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES OR STAT
EMENTS.
GUDGELThe office that day
Everything else NWS Hanford, CA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 7:18 AM PDT | Tornado Warning | HNX | Fresno | 57 min |
| May 13, 3:09 PM PDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HNX | Fresno, Kings | 66 min |
| May 13, 3:59 PM PDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HNX | Tulare | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in California, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.