California, 2002

Hail in California, April 3, 2002

April 3, 2002 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 3, 2:40 PM PST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 2:40 PM PST, 25 minutes before
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
240 PM PST WED APR 3 2002

CONVECTION HAS BEGUN OVER THE CENTRAL SIERRA THIS AFTERNOON. NO
LIGHTNING HAS BEEN OBSERVED YET BUT SOME MODERATE CUMULUS WAS PRESENT
AND THERE REMAINS ANOTHER HOUR OR TWO OF HEATING. WILL LEAVE A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF EVENING THUNDERSTORMS FROM TAHOE SOUTH IN THE SIERRA AND
INTO MINERAL COUNTY. THE CONVECTION HAS DEVELOPED AHEAD OF A WEAK
UPPER LOW OFF THE SOUTHERN CA COAST THAT IS SPREADING SOME MID LEVEL
MOISTURE NORTH INTO THE AREA. THIS LOW OPENS UP AND LIFTS NORTHEAST
THURSDAY WITH THE ENTIRE CWA IN A RELATIVELY FAVORABLE POSITION FOR
SOME AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION. THE LATEST MODELS SHOW GOOD
OMEGA ALONG THE SIERRA IN THE AFTENOON WHILE THE MM5 SHOWS A BAND OF
HIGH CAPE FROM MONO COUNTY TO WESTEN LASSEN COUNTY IN THE LATE
AFTERNOON. SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST CONVECTION OF THE SEASON WILL
BROADBRUSH ALL ZONES WITH SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING
SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS.

THE TROUGH EARLIER EXPECTED INTO THE AREA ON FRIDAY APPEARS TO HAVE
SLOWED DOWN AND THE FORECASTS HAVE REFLECTED THE SLOWER TIMING BY
BEGINNING PRECIPITATION IN THE AFTERNOON AND WITH THE HIGHER CHANCES
FRIDAY NIGHT. WILL LINGER PRECIPITATION SATURDAY MORNING AS RIDGING
BUILDS IN BEHIND THE TROUGH. RC

IN THE EXTENDED...MODELS STILL SHOWING WEAK RIDGING OVER THE GREAT
BASIN FOR THE SUNDAY AND MONDAY PERIOD...WITH SOME MOISTURE MAINLY
AT HIGH LEVELS...HENCE THE PARTLY CLOUDIES.  TEMPERATURES WILL
REMAIN NEAR NORMALS.  MRF AND CANADIAN IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH
144H...OR MONDAY EVENING. TUESDAY MRF MOVES ANOTHER SYSTEM INTO THE
AREA WHICH WILL BRING A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW...AND SOME COOLER AIR
WITH IT.  MOST OF THE QPF APPEARS TO BE WESTERN SIERRA SO DO NOT
EXPECT MUCH AT THIS TIME IN OUR CWA.  WED SYSTEM IS ON THE WAY OUT
OF THE AREA BUT EXPECT LINGERING SHOWERS ALL AREAS...ESPECIALLY WITH
THE TREND FOR THE MRF TO SLOW DOWN WITH EACH MODEL RUN.  WEDNESDAY
HAVE DECREASED TEMPERATURES AS SOME COLDER AIR MOVES IN FROM THE
NORTH WITH THE SHORT WAVE. CAIRNS

.REV...NONE.

The radar

The Reno radar (KRGX), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:02 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Plumas

When
April 3, 3:05 PM PST
Where
Plumas County, Portola
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.800, -120.467

One inch diameter hail was reported by two storm spotters in Portola, CA.

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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2002

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: 5289619.