Alert archive / California / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Hanford, CA

September 2, 2003Kern County, California

NWS Hanford, CA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 2, 2003, 5:33 PM PDT for Kern County, California. It was in force for 42 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Sep 2, 2003, 5:33 PM PDT (00:33 UTC)
Expired: Sep 2, 2003, 6:15 PM PDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Hanford, CA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Kern County, CA

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Vandenberg AFB, CA (KVBG), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 222 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 972 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 32 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WUUS56 KHNX 030033
SVRHNX
CAC029-030115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
531 PM PDT TUE SEP 2 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD CA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

* UNTIL 615 PM PDT

* AT 521 PM PDT...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
  EDWARDS AFB...OR ABOUT 53 MILES SOUTH OF RIDGECREST...MOVING
  NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR MOJAVE AROUND 600 PM PDT.

LARGE HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR 
IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

INTENSE LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. IF OUTDOORS...STAY
AWAY FROM ISOLATED HIGH OBJECTS SUCH AS TREES. MOVE INDOORS IF
POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID
USING TELEPHONES UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY. TRY TO UNPLUG UNNECESSARY
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES BEFORE THE THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN HANFORD CA.

LAT...LON 3482 11805 3493 11788 3521 11811 3507 11833

MV/JD

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Sep 2, 2:22 PM PDT, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 2:22 PM PDT, 3 hours 11 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
222 PM PDT TUE SEP 2 2003

UPPER RIDGE CENTERED NEAR NEW MEXICO HAS TURNED FLOW ACROSS CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST...BRINGING ANOTHER SURGE OF
MONSOONAL MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA. ISOLATED CONVECTION IS BEGINNING
TO DEVELOP OVER THE SIERRA. MODELS INDICATE DEEPENING
MOISTURE...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER INCREASING TO 1.3-1.5 INCHES
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SHORTWAVE ENERGY
TRACKING NORTH OVER THE AREA SHOULD AID IN CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR
CONTINUATION OF FFA FOR KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THROUGH
TONIGHT. LOW CHANCE POPS THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE AREA THROUGH
TOMORROW CONTINUES TO LOOK GOOD...WITH THE FOCUS SHIFTING TO THE
NORTHERN SIERRA BY THURSDAY AS FLOW BEGINS TO TURN MORE SOUTHWEST
AND MOISTURE IS SHUNTED TO THE EAST OF THE AREA. APPROACHING PACIFIC
TROUGH WILL PROVIDE DRIER SOUTHWEST TO WEST FLOW BY
FRIDAY...BRINGING AN END TO RAIN CHANCES. TEMPERATURES TOMORROW
SHOULD BE SIMILAR TO TODAY...A BIT LOWER DUE TO INCREASED CLOUD
COVER. INFLUENCES FROM THE APPROACHING PACIFIC TROUGH SHOULD BEGIN
TO BE FELT FRIDAY...WITH SOME MARINE AIR BEGINNING TO BRING
SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES INTO THE VALLEY.

FOR SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...PROGS CONTINUE TO INDICATE A STRONG
PACIFIC LOW APPROACHING THE PAC NW THIS WEEKEND. THE ASSOCIATED
TROUGH WILL CROSS THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. ALTHOUGH THE
MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN WELL TO THE NORTH OF
CENTRAL CA...THE SYSTEM WILL BRING SOME SYNOPTIC COOLING TO THE
CWA...AS WELL AS SOME COOLER MARINE AIR TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY.
EXPECT THE COOLING TO DROP TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL BY MONDAY.

.HNX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
       THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

JEB/BEAN

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 2, 5:15 AM PDT, 12 hours 18 minutes before

CAZ089>099-031230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
515 AM PDT TUE SEP 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...MAINLY IN THE SOUTHERN
SIERRA NEVADA...THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...AND THE KERN COUNTY
DESERTS. THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL OVERSPREAD ALL OF THE
CENTRAL INTERIOR TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO
PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

STRONGEST STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...AND RUNOFF FROM THESE
STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING. THEREFORE
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND
DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. REFER TO FFAHNX /WGUS66 KHNX/
FOR DETAILS.

DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY OVER MUCH OF THE
CENTRAL INTERIOR...MAINLY NORTH OF KERN COUNTY. THUNDERSTORMS MAY
CONTAIN GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY RAINFALL.

A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS
OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA ON THURSDAY...OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS EXPECTED THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

JSN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hanford, CA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 3, 3:53 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HNX	Fresno	22 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in California, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

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.