Hail, San Bernardino
- When
- August 3, 1:20 PM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County, 10 mi N of Joshua Tree
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.280, -116.320
Flash Flood and Hail in California, August 3, 1997
An episode of severe thunderstorms in extreme southwest San Bernardino County dropped dime-sized hail and heavy rain in Landers, flooded and closed five roads around Joshua Tree and produced 50 mph sustained winds with a gust of 85 mph recorded at Twentynine Palms airport.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS VEF wrote it up.
An episode of severe thunderstorms in extreme southwest San Bernardino County dropped dime-sized hail and heavy rain in Landers, flooded and closed five roads around Joshua Tree and produced 50 mph sustained winds with a gust of 85 mph recorded at Twentynine Palms airport.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, San Bernardino
- When
- August 3, 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County, Joshua Tree
- Coordinates
- 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Thunderstorm Wind, San Bernardino
- When
- August 3, 2:28 PM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County, 8 mi E of Twenty Nine Palms
- Measured
- 74 kt (85 mph)
- Coordinates
- 34.130, -115.920
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
- 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.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Arizona, August 3 to 31, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 3, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 3, 1997
- Hail in Wisconsin, August 3, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 3, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Vermont, August 3, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, August 3, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Maine, August 3, 1997
More
Every storm in California in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 1997
Sources
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: 5619530, 5619531, 5619532.