California, 2001

Hail in California, February 10, 2001

February 10, 2001 · NWS HNX · 5 events in 2 counties and zones

While hail size was not consistently at 3/4", a spotter reported a hail swath from the Fresno Metropolitan area eastward about 25 miles and up to 3 miles wide. Abridged agricultural damage was reported at $120,000 to vegetables just east of Clovis.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
$120,000
Events
5

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.

While hail size was not consistently at 3/4", a spotter reported a hail swath from the Fresno Metropolitan area eastward about 25 miles and up to 3 miles wide. Abridged agricultural damage was reported at $120,000 to vegetables just east of Clovis.

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 Feb 10, 3:50 PM PST, 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 10, 3:50 PM PST, 26 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
350 PM PST SAT FEB 10 2001

DELAYED DUE TO SEVERE WX IN PROGRESS. FIRST STORM SYSTEM IS WINDING
DOWN LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVE OVER CNTRL CA WHILE THE
INITIAL TROUGH AXIS SHIFTS EAST OF SIERRA CREST. STILL MONITORING A
FEW HEAVIER SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TSTMS WITH HAIL AT THIS TIME...
WHICH WILL DIMINISH EARLY THIS EVENING.

NEXT SYSTEM VERY QUICK ON ITS HEELS PROMISES TO BE AN EVEN BIGGER
SNOW MAKER FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND KERN COUNTY MTNS BY
VIRTUE OF SLOW MOVEMENT/LONG DURATION...WITH NEARLY IDEAL STRONG
OROGRAPHIC FLOW AND LOTS OF DEEP MOIST LIFT DURING SUN TO SUN NIGHT.
ETA/AVN SOLUTIONS NOT FAR FROM EACH OTHER...A FEW INITIALIZATION
PROBLEMS ON 12Z...BUT MIDDLE OF ROAD SOLUTION ON TRACK. EXPECT SNOW
AMOUNTS UP TO 2-3 FEET OVER HIGHER ELEV SIERRA...8 TO 16 INCHES KERN
MTNS...6 TO 12 INCHES NEAR 3000 FT IN FOOTHILLS AND SEVERAL INCHES
ACCUM BELOW 3000 FT. ETA SHOWS TIGHT GRADS WITH ADVANCING STORM FOR
GUSTY LLVL SE WINDS ON SUNDAY AND STRONG SW FLOW FROM 850MB UP.

STRONG STORM SHOULD START TO WIND DOWN BY EARLY MONDAY IN NORTH
SECTIONS NEAR YOSEMITE...HOWEVER FURTHER SOUTH IF SLOWER TIMING
OCCURS THE SIGNIFICANT PRECIP COULD EXTEND MUCH OF THE DAY MONDAY IN
AND AROUND KERN COUNTY. WITH HIGH CONFIDENCE AND TO PUT IN CLOSER
COORD WITH LOX HAVE POSTED WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SUNDAY TO MONDAY
MORN. OTHER ITEM TO WATCH WILL BE LOWERING SNOW LEVELS ON MONDAY AND
TUESDAY AS UNSTABLE SHOWERY WINTER WX PERSISTS AND COLDEST CORE OF
UPPER SYSTEM MOVES NEARBY...DROPPING FRZG LEVELS EVEN LOWER. WILL BE
POSSIBLE TO SEE SIGNIFICANT SNOW NEAR FOOTHILLS ON WEST SIDE OF SAN
JOAQUIN VLLY...AND ALSO IN KERN DESERT. INSTABILITY ALSO WILL
SUPPORT CHC TSTMS MANY LOCATIONS.

IN EXTENDED...UNSTABLE SHOWERY CONDS TUE WITH CONTINUED CHC TSTMS.
GRADUALLY ACTIVITY WILL DECREASE THRU WEDS AND END BY THURS. WILL
CONTINUE TO FOLLOW MED RANGE SOLUTIONS ADVERTISING A RIDGE AND
RETURN TO DRY LATE THIS WEEK.

.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT FOR
       THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NJEVADA NORTH OF KERN COUNTY.
    ...WINTER STORM WARNING SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR THE
       KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS.

LAVIS

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:18 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Madera

When
February 10, 4:16 PM PST to 4:30 PM PST
Where
Madera County, 15 mi E of Madera
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.967, -119.800

Hail, Madera

When
February 10, 4:21 PM PST to 4:30 PM PST
Where
Madera County, 10 mi S of Coarsegold
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.117, -119.700

Hail, Fresno

When
February 10, 5:15 PM PST to 5:20 PM PST
Where
Fresno County, 5 mi E of Clovis
Measured
0.75 in hail
Crop damage
$120,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.817, -119.617

Hail, Fresno

When
February 10, 5:17 PM PST to 5:22 PM PST
Where
Fresno County, 11 mi E of Fresno
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.783, -119.567

Hail, Fresno

When
February 10, 5:40 PM PST to 5:45 PM PST
Where
Fresno County, 6 mi N of Reedley
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.683, -119.450

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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, February 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: 5233137, 5233138, 5233139, 5233140, 5233141.