California, 2001

Dust Storm in California, April 12 to 13, 2001

April 12 to 13, 2001 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 dust storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 12, 7:45 AM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 7:45 AM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
845 AM PDT THU APR 12 2001

COLD UPPER TROUGH CONTS MOVING EAST THIS MORNING WITH LOW AMPLITUDE
RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC. ALTHOUGH MOST AREAS ARE RELATIVELY
CLOUD FREE...WEAK NW FLOW IN LOWER LEVELS HAS RESULTED IN
CONSIDERABLE SC BANKED ALONG THE EAST SIDE AND SOUTH END OF THE SJ
VALLEY AND ADJACENT MOUNTAINS. MODERATE MID LEVEL FLOW SHOULD AID
MIXING THIS MORNING AND COMBINE WITH SURFACE HEATING TO BREAK UP
CLOUDINESS BY EARLY AFTERNOON.

12Z UPPER AIR DATA SHOW HEIGHTS HAVE RISEN IN RESPONSE TO EXITING
TROUGH...AND FURTHER INCREASES WILL OCCUR TODAY AS RIDGE PUSHES
INLAND AND WEAKENS. DESPITE INCREASING HEIGHTS...MINIMAL TEMP CHANGE
IS EVIDENT IN LOW LEVEL SOUNDINGS AND INCOMING PROGS INDICATE BULK
OF WAA REMAINING ABOVE 600 MB WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN LOW LEVEL
THICKNESSES. ALTHOUGH LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN CU
FORMATION THROUGH THE DAY...CLOUDINESS WILL BE MUCH LESS THAN WED
AND TEMPS AT MOST LOCATIONS WILL WARM A FEW DEGREES.

WILL MONITOR RATE OF CLOUD DISSIPATION FOR POSSIBLE UPDATE LATER
THIS MORNING...BUT NO CHANGES TO ZONES ARE ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

.HNX...NONE.

JSN

Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, E Central Sj Valley

When
April 12, 12:00 PM PST to April 13, 6:00 PM PST
Where
E Central Sj Valley forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER

A dust storm that started in Mongolia and picked up industrial pollution from China spread haze across the west quarter of the United States, including the Interior Central California CWFA. Despite cloudless skies, the high level haze provided an unusual appearance to the sky.

What these are

Dust Storm
Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2001

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: 5240957.