Heat in California, May 23 to 25, 2001

Name: Heat in California, May 23 to 25, 2001
Start: 2001-05-23T09:00
End: 2001-05-25T16:00
Location: California

May 23 to 25, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Record high temperatures were reported. A 78 year old woman, who attempted to walk for help after her vehicle became stuck in sand, perished from heat exposure.

Where it happened

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.

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: 1
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 happened

The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.

Record high temperatures were reported. A 78 year old woman, who attempted to walk for help after her vehicle became stuck in sand, perished from heat exposure.

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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 23, 7:30 AM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 23, 7:30 AM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
830 AM PDT WED MAY 23 2001

                             ...SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BRING NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES TO THE
INLAND VALLEYS...MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THROUGH THURSDAY. HIGH
PRESSURE WILL WEAKEN FRIDAY AND THROUGH SUNDAY WITH COOLER
TEMPERATURES. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE AGAIN MONDAY AND
TUESDAY.

                            ...DISCUSSION...
MARINE LAYER IS LESS THAN 1.5K FEET THIS MORNING BASED ON THE 12Z
NKX SOUNDING. PILOT REPORTS OF TOPS PUT THE MARINE LAYER TOPS AROUND
1.1K FEET. AS A RESULT OF THE LOWER MARINE LAYER...STRATUS/FOG WAS
NOT AS FAR INLAND AS PREVIOUS MORNINGS WITH MORE WIDESPREAD DENSE
FOG REPORTED IN THE MESAS THIS MORNING. LATEST VISIBLE SATELLITE
IMAGERY SHOWS THE STRATUS/FOG ALREADY ERODING AWAY ALONG THE EASTERN
EDGES AND SHOULD BE GONE MOST INLAND AREAS SHORTLY.  EXPECT THE
STRATUS/FOG TO REMAIN ALONG THE COAST THROUGH THE DAY AS SATELLITE
IMAGERY SUGGEST AN EDDY HAS ALREADY DEVELOPED OVER THE COASTAL
WATERS WEST OF SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND. THE EDDY SHOULD HELP MAINTAIN
THE MARINE LAYER TODAY.

THE ETA AND NGM ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH 48 HOURS INDICATING
STRONG RIDGING ALONG THE WEST COAST THROUGH THURSDAY WITH SOME
WEAKENING AND SHIFTING EAST OF THE RIDGE ON FRIDAY. BASED ON THE
MODELS...EXPECT NEAR RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES INLAND AREAS
INCLUDING THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...AGAIN...TODAY AND THURSDAY.
WITH THE COASTAL EDDY REMAINING IN PLACE...DO NOT EXPECT MUCH
WARMING COASTAL AREAS.  INLAND TEMPERATURES SHOULD BEGIN TO DECREASE
ON FRIDAY AS THE RIDGE WEAKENS.

LONGER RANGE MODELS STILL BRING A S/WV TROUGH SLIDING BY TO THE
NORTH OVER THE WEEKEND. THE MRF HAS BACKED OFF ON THE STRENGTH THE
S/WV FOR THE WEEKEND...FALLING MORE IN LINE WITH THE ECMWF MODEL.
MAIN IMPACT FOR THE CWFA WILL BE A DEEPER MARINE LAYER AND STRONGER
ONSHORE FLOW.  OTHERWISE CONTINUED DRY.

NO CHANGES TO CURRENT FORECAST AT THIS TIME BUT MAY NEED TO UPDATE
LATER SHOULD A DENSE FOG ADVISORY BE REQUIRED FOR THE IMMEDIATE
COASTAL AREAS THIS AFTERNOON.

SAN 000

.SAN...NONE.

HORTON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Apple and Yucca Valleys

When: May 23, 9:00 AM PST to May 25, 4:00 PM PST
Where: Apple and Yucca Valleys forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

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, Apple and Yucca Valleys	2001-05-24	78	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Heat: Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in California, May 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: 5243337.