Heavy Rain, Fresno
- When
- May 15, 4:00 PM PST to May 16, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Fresno County, 2 mi E of Orange Cove
- Crop damage
- $300,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow and Heavy Rain in California, May 15 to 16, 2000
An upper low overnight supported rain along with some embedded convective activity. Locally heavy rain showers occurred on some agricultural areas in the San Joaquin Valley; especially in a band southeast of Merced and another area in the southeast portion of the Valley in Fresno County and northeast portion in Tulare County.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- $400,000
- 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 upper low overnight supported rain along with some embedded convective activity. Locally heavy rain showers occurred on some agricultural areas in the San Joaquin Valley; especially in a band southeast of Merced and another area in the southeast portion of the Valley in Fresno County and northeast portion in Tulare County. One report from a grower indicated that 1.25 inches of rain fell near Orange Cove at the Fresno/Tulare County Line. Among the regular reporting locations, Merced received 0.63 inches from the storm although radar indicated a band of 1.0 to 1.4 inches to the southeast near the Merced/Madera County Line. Associated with the rain in the San Joaquin Valley, snow occurred at elevations at or above above 5000 feet in the nearby Southern Sierra Nevada with Lodgepole reporting 10 inches of new snow.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heavy rain, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Merced
- When
- May 15, 4:00 PM PST
- Where
- Merced County, 10 mi SE of Merced
- Crop damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.192, -120.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Tulare
- When
- May 15, 8:00 PM PST to May 16, 9:00 AM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, Lodgepole
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, May 15, 2000
- Hail in South Dakota, May 15, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 15, 2000
- Drought in Georgia, May 15 to 31, 2000
- Hail in South Dakota, May 15, 2000
- Hail in Florida, May 15, 2000
- Hail in Oregon, May 15, 2000
- Flood and Heavy Rain in California, May 15 to 16, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Dakota, May 15, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 15, 2000
- Hail in Iowa, May 15, 2000
- Flood in New York, May 15 to 16, 2000
More
Every storm in California in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2000
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: 5144596, 5144597, 5144598.