California, 1999

Lightning Strikes and Heavy Rain in California, September 21 to 22, 1999

September 21 to 22, 1999 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Moisture from former Hurricane Hilary spread northward into Interior Central California very late on Tuesday, September 21st and over the entire area by Wednesday, September 22nd. Very light rain showers were reported as far north as Madera Ranchos in Central Madera County by midnight with some thunderstorm activity.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
$5.0 million
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.

Moisture from former Hurricane Hilary spread northward into Interior Central California very late on Tuesday, September 21st and over the entire area by Wednesday, September 22nd. Very light rain showers were reported as far north as Madera Ranchos in Central Madera County by midnight with some thunderstorm activity. In the mid-morning hours of the 22nd, locally heavy rain showers occurred with thunderstorms primarily in the Tulare County area and North Kern County. Spotters reported 0.40" of rain from these showers. Only a few hundredths occurred in other Interior Central California Valley locations. Lightning strikes throughout the San Joaquin Valley portion of Tulare County caused 9700 customers to lose power. Although rain forecasts were issued with good lead time...some growers in Tulare County were unable to get crews to roll raisins on about 1000 acres with as much as 50% loss of the crop.

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:09 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 lightning, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Madera

When
September 21, 10:09 PM PST to September 22, 12:30 AM PST
Where
Madera County, 9 mi E of Madera
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.218, -119.763 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Tulare

When
September 22, 7:10 AM PST to 1:50 PM PST
Where
Tulare County, 2 mi S of Visalia Arpt
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Southern San Joaquin Valley

When
September 22, 7:30 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where
Southern San Joaquin Valley forecast zone
Crop damage
$5.0 million
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

What these are

Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in California, September 1999

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: 5717579, 5717578, 5717577.