California, 1995Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in California, May 13, 1995
May 13, 1995 · 5 events in 4 counties and zones
3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $255,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Tornado, Tulare
- When
- May 13, 12:00 PM PDT
- Where
- Tulare County, Porterville
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 2.5 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Eyewitness reports and subsequent interviews confirm a small F0 Tornado struck the Porterville Airport at noon. Two general aviation aircraft were destroyed, minor roof damage occurred to the airport administration buildings, fences were downed, and some minor farm structures were destroyed one-half mile east of the airport. One aircraft was tied down but was lifted from its tiedown chains. The tornado was seen one mile southwest of the field and moved northeast through the center of the airport. Heavy rain occurred on the airfield following the event.
Tornado, Fresno
- When
- May 13, 2:15 PM PDT
- Where
- Fresno County, Fresno
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 35 yd
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Spotter reports and county sheriff indicated a tornado at 1415 PDT 14 WSW of Fresno Air Terminal moving west-to-east for approximately one mile. Occurrence in a rural area of the county with crop damage unassessed and other damage limited to broken tree limbs, small objects moved such as a camper shell, some structural damage to roofs, and windows broken. The tornado was visible from 14 miles away by the observer at the Fresno Air Terminal with an United States Aviation Observation taken. This event was also captured on video. Dime to nickel-size hail also occurred with the event; a month late spotter report also indicated that three-quarters inch hail occurred with the event (A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was being issued as the tornado was observed; Tornado Warning issuance instead).
Thunderstorm Wind, Kings and Fresno
- When
- May 13, 2:59 PM PDT
- Where
- Kings and Fresno County, Fresno
- Coordinates
- 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Spotter reports of three-quarters inch hail in the city of Kerman combined with Doppler Radar reflectivity of 55-59 dBZ at this location and other locations in rural, west Kings County. Further reports of damage were not received by Fresno County Sheriff nor was crop damage assessed for these rural areas of Fresno and Kings County.
Thunderstorm Wind, Tulare
- When
- May 13, 3:59 PM PDT
- Where
- Tulare County, Visalia
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Radar reports of 55-59 dBZ from the earlier Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Kings County was due to track into Tulare County and near Visalia by 1700 PDT. No damage was reported by either Kings or Tulare County Sheriffs from either event.
Thunderstorm Wind, Santa Clara
- When
- May 13, 5:50 PM PST
- Where
- Santa Clara County
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 37.233, -121.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
In Morgan Hill, CA, a barn, horse stall, and two eight inch diameter trees were blown down by winds related to thunderstorm. Eyewitness described as a tornado where "clouds reached to the ground". No indication of circulation were apparent. Winds estimated 50 to 60 KTS.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 13, 199579 injured · $24 million · F4 · 44 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Indiana, May 13, 19953 deaths · 6 injured · $4.3 million · F2 · 11 events
- Tornado and Hail in Missouri, May 13, 19953 injured · $687,000 · F2 · 23 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kentucky, May 13, 1995$898,000 · F2 · 20 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 13, 1995$260,000 · 1.1 in hail · 11 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 13, 1995$152,000 · 2 in hail · 22 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 13, 1995$53,000 · 1.75 in hail · 27 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, May 13, 1995$6,000 · F0 · 17 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 13, 1995$3,000 · 0.75 in hail · 5 events
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 13, 19951.75 in hail · 5 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, May 13, 1995$9,000 · 1.75 in hail · 4 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 13, 199551 kt wind · 4 events
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10316598, 10316834, 10316841, 10316599, 10316719.