2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
The San Francisco radar (KMUX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:22 UTC.
2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Storm spotter videotaped a very brief touchdown of a funnel from a wall cloud in rural Merced County. No damage occurred.
Hail up to 1" hail occurred just after the storm. Several structures were damaged in downtown Firebaugh as the tornado passed. Roof damage, broken windows, trees uprooted, small structures destroyed, and moved trailers were all observed with its passage.
Spotter observed funnel to the WNW of Porterville High School. Classic 'V' shape about 1/3 of the way toward the ground. No damage occurred in the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 1998Warnings in California, February 1998
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: 5639269, 5639268, 5639270.