California, 1998

Flooding and Lightning Strike in California, May 5, 1998

May 5, 1998 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 1 county or zone

and flooding again in northeast Bakersfield by 1525 PDT. Pea-size hail piled 2-3 inches deep in SW Bakersfield by 1515PDT.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
$120,000
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 HNX wrote it up.

An active thunderstorm band moved from southwest to northeast through west Kern County with 1/2-inch hail reported at Buena Vista Lake at 1403 PDT...torrential rain in southwest Bakersfield by 1515 PDT leading to widespread urban flooding...and flooding again in northeast Bakersfield by 1525 PDT. Pea-size hail piled 2-3 inches deep in SW Bakersfield by 1515PDT. Radar estimates placed numerous rainfall rate areas of 1.25-1.75" per hour southwest and west of Bakersfield. Downtown Bakersfield had several streets flooded including Chester Avenue just south of Highway 178...and the rail undercrossing on 'H' Street where one car was trapped. Two severe thunderstorm warnings (SVR) and one flash flood warning (FFW) were issued by NWSO HNX in response to this convective activity. While no severe threshold criteria were evidently met...torrential rain for the area was experienced and quotes such as "never seen it rain this hard" were common. The flooding was not classified as "flash flood" due to lack of movement in the deeply ponded water in the urban areas of Bakersfield. Radar estimates of precipitation for the period of 5/2/98 through 5/5/98 showed that primarily the west and south side of the HNX CWFA were affected by the convective activity...many areas had in excess of 1.5-2.5" of accumulated rainfall. The west edge of the Kings-Fresno County Line had radar estimates of 4-5" over the period. By the morning of the 5th...Porterville in Tulare County received another 0.22" of rain bringing the season total to 20.51"...second only to the 1968-69 record of 21.22".

The radar

The Edwards AFB radar (KEYX), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:02 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Kern

When
May 5, 1:03 PM PST to 3:11 PM PST
Where
Kern County, 15 mi SW of Bakersfield
Property damage
$100,000
Coordinates
35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Kern

When
May 5, 2:30 PM PST
Where
Kern County, Bakersfield
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

While on the phone an office manager was mildly electrocuted due to a nearby lightning strike and the resulting electrical surge through the phone line.

Flood, Kern

When
May 5, 5:00 PM PST to 6:15 PM PST
Where
Kern County, Taft
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An evening deluge brought substantial sheet flow through the City of Taft resulting in basement flooding of one home and other minor flooding problems.

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 1998

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: 5637740, 5637741, 5637742.