Two hikers, overcome by heat, were rescued at the 3000 foot elevation level. One was taken to the hospital and treated for dehydration.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
Two hikers, overcome by heat, were rescued at the 3000 foot elevation level. One was taken to the hospital and treated for dehydration. Another hiker, who also failed to take any provisions along, failed to return. Dogs were unable to find his scent due to the extreme heat in the area, which continued through the following week. He is presumed dead.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 22, 12:40 PM PST, 20 minutes earlier.
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 PM PDT FRI JUN 22 2001
...SYNOPSIS...
MOISTURE IN SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING PERIODIC CLOUDS
THROUGH SUNDAY WITH A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS IN
THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. WEAK UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE WILL BRING
DRIER SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AND CAUSE A DEEPENING MARINE LAYER AND SOME
COOLING EARLY NEXT WEEK. OTHERWISE...FAIR.
...DISCUSSION...
ANOTHER AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS FLARED UP OVER NW MEX LAST NIGHT AND
SOUTHEAST WINDS ALOFT BROUGHT DEBRIS MID AND HI CLOUDS OVER SOUTHWEST
CA. THERE WAS NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF LOW CLOUDS/FOG NEAR COAST THIS AM.
12Z NKX SOUNDING HAD A SURFACE BASED INVERSION AND SHOWED THE MOISTURE
AND SOUTHEAST WINDS ALOFT. LITTLE CHANGE IN WEAK ONSHORE GRADIENTS WITH
3-4 MB SAN-IPL.
MODELS IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH UPPER HI OVER SW CONTINUING SE FLOW
ALOFT THROUGH SAT. THIS SHOULD CONTINUE TO BRING IN SOME HI LEVEL
MOISTURE...BUT THE EXACT AMOUNT OF CLOUDINESS WILL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH
NOCTURNAL CONVECTION DEVELOPS OF NW MEX. THE AMOUNT OF HI CLOUD COVER
WILL ALSO INFLUENCE HOW MUCH COASTAL LOW CLOUDINESS DEVELOPS. UPPER
TROUGH MOVES INTO PAC NW SUNDAY AND SHIFTS THE UPPER HI TO THE E. THIS
TURNS THE FLOW ALOFT MORE SLY AND BOTH NGM/ETA INDICATE A GREATER INFLUX
OF MID/HI LEVEL MOISTURE. AVN DRIER SUNDAY AND WILL GO WITH ETA
SOLUTION. PARTLY CLOUDY WORDING LOOKS GOOD WITH SOME MENTION OF NIGHT
AND MORNING COASTAL FOG. AFTERNOON/EVE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT OUT OF THE
QUESTION AND SINCE THERE IS AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE WILL INCLUDE IN
FORECAST. HOWEVER...AMOUNT OF MID/HI CLOUDINESS MAY ACTUALLY SUPPRESS
BUILDUPS...AND WILL HAVE TO WATCH CLOSELY. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO GET
A FEW SPRINKLES W OF MOUNTAINS. LITTLE TEMP CHANGE OR JUST SLIGHT
COOLING SAT AND THEN A LITTLE MORE COOLER SUNDAY WITH LOWERING HEIGHTS/
THICKNESS/850 MB TEMPS.
LONGER RANGE PROGS INDICATE UPPER TROUGH DIGGING FAR ENOUGH S TO BRING
DRIER SW FLOW ALOFT. THIS SHOULD ALSO DEEPEN MARINE LAYER FOR MORE
NIGHT/MORNING LOW CLOUDS/FOG W OF MOUNTAINS AND CONTINUED COOLING TREND
IN ALL AREAS. HI REBUILD TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK FOR WARMING AGAIN.
.SAN...NONE.
ATKIN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, P W Riverside | 2001-06-22 | 65 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 2001
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: 5252053.