California, 2001Damaging Wind in California, April 26, 2001
April 26, 2001 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone
1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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- 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 26, 1:15 PM PST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 1:15 PM PST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
215 PM PDT THU APR 26 2001
SHORTWAVE TROUGH NEAR 123W WAS MOVING E-NE AROUND 20 KTS THIS
AFTERNOON AND HAS SLOWED A BIT AS IT LIFTS INTO STRONG RIDGE
CENTERED OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. EVENING MARINE PUSH INTO THE
SJ VALLEY STILL APPEARS ON TRACK AS UPPER TROUGH HAS SUSTAINED
ONSHORE GRADIENTS WITH SFO-SAC OVER 3 MB...AND MARINE INVERSION
AROUND 1500 FEET. AIRMASS REMAINS UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON AND...WITH
GOES INDICATING 500-1000 J/KG CAPE AND CU DEVELOPMENT ONGOING...
WILL INTRO LOW POPS FOR SOUTHERN SIERRA AND KERN MTNS THIS EVE.
DESPITE SOME INITIALIZATION DIFFERENCES OVER THE ERN PAC...MODELS
ARE SIMILAR AND CONSISTENT INDICATING IMPRESSIVE THICKNESS DECREASES
OVER THE CWA DURING THE NEXT 60 HOURS AS SHORTWAVES ROTATING AROUND
GULF OF ALASKA LOW DEEPEN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE WEST COAST STATES.
CWA WILL REMAIN DRY AS MOISTURE AND UPPER DYNAMICS SHIFT ONSHORE
WELL NORTH OF THE CWA. DEEPENING TROUGH...HOWEVER...WILL INCREASE
ONSHORE FLOW THEREBY REINFORCING MARINE INTRUSIONS INTO THE SJ
VALLEY...AND A PROVIDING A POSSIBLE RETURN TO UPSLOPE CLOUDS ALONG
THE EAST SIDE AND SOUTH END. WITH SFO-LAS GRAD ALSO PROGGED TO
APPROACH 12-14MB FRI/SAT...BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL
...ESPECIALLY OVER THE KERN MTNS/DESERTS. WITH ABSENCE OF UPPER
SUPPORT...HOWEVER...WINDS WILL BE DRIVEN SOLELY BY LOW LEVEL GRADS
AND WILL KEEP SPEEDS BELOW WAD THRESHOLDS AT THIS TIME.
MEDIUM RANGE PROGS OFFER SLIGHTLY DIFFERING SOLUTIONS REGARDING
STRENGTH OF ADDITIONAL SHORTWAVE TROUGHS PROGGED TO SHIFT ONSHORE
OVER THE PAC NW EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH THE MRF INDICATING
SIGNIFICANT DEEPENING BY NEXT THURS. IN THE INTERIM...UPPER PATTERN
WILL FAVOR CONTD DRY WX OVER THE CWA WITH TEMPS NOT STRAYING TOO FAR
FROM CLIMO.
.HNX...NONE.
JSN
Thunderstorm Wind, Kings
- When
- April 26, 4:05 PM PST to 4:35 PM PST
- Where
- Kings County, 10 mi S of Kettleman City
- Reported by
- STORM CHASER
- Coordinates
- 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A thunderstorm with impressive radar signatures of 63 dbz reflectivity and a VIL of 55 were observed in a remote corner of Kings and ultimately Kern Counties of Central California. No reports of damage were received from the lone tower thunderstorm during the late afternoon of the 26th.
- 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.
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: 5241070.