Name: Damaging Wind in California, April 20, 2001
Start: 2001-04-20T19:55
End: 2001-04-20T20:00
Location: California

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $350,000
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 20, 3:38 PM PST, 4 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 20, 3:38 PM PST, 4 hours 17 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
400 PM PDT FRI APR 20 2001

DELAYED FROM TECHNICAL PROBLEMS. POTENT LATE SEASON STORM WILL BEAR
DOWN ON THE CWA LATER THIS AFTN AND TONIGHT...BRINGING LOTS OF SNOW
INTO THE SIERRA AND A DECENT SHOT OF RAFL ACROSS THE VALLEY. MODELS
ARE SIMILAR WITH TIMING DYNAMIC COLD LOW OVER THE BAY AREA THIS
EVENING...OVER THE VALLEY LATE TONIGHT AND INTO EAST KERN COUNTY
EARLY SAT.

VERY IMPRESSIVE OROGRAPHICS AND DEEP UVM...EXPECT TOTALS OF 1 TO 2+
FEET+ IN HIER ELEVS OF SIERRA WITH ABOUT 3-6 INCHES POSSIBLE NEAR
3000 FEET. RAFL IN SJ VALLEY AVERAGE ABOUT .5 WITH UP TO AN INCH OR
MORE POSSIBLE. SNOW LEVELS TO DROP QUITE LOW FOR APRIL...BASED ON
LOW LEVELS ALREADY REPORTED TO NORTH IN HEAVIER SHOWERS WILL INDICATE
DOWN TO 2000-2500 FEET WITH LOWER SNOW LEVELS IN HEAVIER SHOWERS.
ISSUANCE OF WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW/WINDS COMBINATION IN
KERN MTNS LATER TONITE/SAT MORN. STILL CONCERNED FOR POSSIBILITY OF
SNOW ACCUMULATION EVEN TO KERN DESERT FLOOR ABT 2500 FT WITH UPPER
LOW CORE AND COLDER AIR POOL PASSING CLOSE BY. EXPECT DESERT WINDS
TO BE NEAR ADVISORY CRITERIA AS WELL.

PRECIPITATION WILL DIMINISH QUICKLY ON SAT AS SYSTEM REMAINS
PROGRESSIVE. UPPER RIDGE BUILDS RAPIDLY INTO REGION FOR SUNDAY AND
EARLY NEXT WEEK BRINGING A CONSIDERABLE WARMUP IN A RELATIVELY SHORT
TIME. WITH STRONG SNOWMELT WILL LOOK FOR HEAVIER FLOW ALONG SOME
RIVERS NEXT WEEK.

RIDGE TO DOMINATE THRU WED THEN SHIFT FURTHER EAST AS ANOTHER TROUGH
THREATENS BY FRI/LATE WEEK. ALTHOUGH MRF SOLUTION WOULD TRANSLATE TO
CHC SHOWERS IN NORTH SECTIONS OF SIERRA BY FRI...AT THIS TIME IN
COORD WITH ADJACENT OFFICES WILL KEEP DRY AND JUST INDICATE COOLER
AND BREEZY.

.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY MORNING FROM
       YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE.
    ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS TONIGHT
       AND SATURDAY MORNING.

LAVIS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 20, 3:50 PM PST, 4 hours 5 minutes before

CAZ098-099-211100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
450 PM PDT FRI APR 20 2001

...WINDY WITH SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE BY SATURDAY MORNING...

A STRONG LATE SEASON STORM WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA TONIGHT
AND PASS NEAR THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS EARLY SATURDAY. THIS STORM WILL
BRING SOME SHOWERS INTO THE DESERT...MAINLY LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY
SATURDAY MORNING. AS COLDER AIR ARRIVES BY EARLY SATURDAY...SNOW LEVELS
COULD DROP AS LOW AS 2500 FEET WITH LOCALLY HEAVY WET SNOW SHOWERS.
LOCAL SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY MORNING...
ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN.

IN ADDITION...WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.
WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 40 MPH WITH LOCALLY
STRONGER GUSTS.

PERSONS TRAVELING INTO THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS SHOULD PREPARE
FOR GUSTY WINDS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SLIPPERY ROAD SURFACES.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE FOR
THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS STORM.

LAVIS

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:53 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fresno

When: April 20, 7:55 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where: Fresno County, 6 mi N of Fresno
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $350,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.867, -119.767

Storm analysis and survey concluded that two straight line wind events occurred within a few minutes of each other in and around the California State University Campus in North Fresno. An initial gust from the southwest was followed closely by another from the west-northwest. Large trees and roof damage was noted in clearly distinct damage areas. Some evidence existed for rotation by debris but the likely culprit was some gustnado action on the leading edge of the outflows. Convection was noted on radar immediately to the south and west at the time of the event but note overhead. The largest damage track was close to 0.75 miles and up to 1/8 mile wide.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5240956.