Name: Flash Flood and Hail in California, September 2, 1997
Start: 1997-09-02T06:45
End: 1997-09-02T19:30
Location: California

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $55,000
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.

What happened

The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.

Monsoonal moisture over the Southwest United States supported thunderstorm development over the desert and mountains of Kern County. Numerous instances of inclement weather were reported with this activity ... and in some cases the severity was estimated. No injuries were reported in these events.

The radar

The Edwards AFB radar (KEYX), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:28 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Kern

When: September 2, 6:45 AM PST
Where: Kern County, 2 mi SE of Tehachapi
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning strike from early morning thunderstorm activity.

Hail, Kern

When: September 2, 2:30 PM PST
Where: Kern County, Rosamond
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.870, -118.170

No damage reported from 3/4 inch hail at Rosamond.

Hail, Kern

When: September 2, 3:50 PM PST
Where: Kern County, 4 mi E of Lake Isabella
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 35.600, -118.380

Report of this severe thunderstorm was delayed until the next day but hail size was reported by long-time observers at Mountain Mesa (4 miles east of the town of Lake Isabella)

Hail, Kern

When: September 2, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Kern County, 3 mi NE of Kernville
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.780, -118.400

No damage reported and hail size estimated due to WSR-88D algorithms and public reports of coverage area.

Flash Flood, Kern

When: September 2, 7:30 PM PST
Where: Kern County, Ridgecrest
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Locally heavy rain with thunderstorms brought 1.11 inches of rain in 30 minutes. Numerous intersections in Ridgecrest were flooded with water and 2-6 inches of mud. Hail also occurred with this storm up to a size of 1/2 inch. From automated stations to the west of the town 0.90 inch of rain was reported in an 8-minute time period.

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in California, September 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: 5617521, 5617522, 5617523, 5617524, 5617525.