Dense Fog in California, December 1 to 9, 2002

Despite indications of much above normal rainfall for the month of November 2002, the rainfall only occurred in a single 3-day rain event from the 7th through the 9th of November. Strong, blocking high pressure then kept any further significant late Fall accumulation of rain/snow for Interior Central California into mid-December. With the large rainfall amounts on the San Joaquin Valley floor by November 9th, haze and fog prevailed subsequently for a 30+-day period while the adjacent foothills, mountains, and Kern Desert dried again in rainless conditions. Widespread dense fog from mid to late-November ceased by the morning of the 1st of December on the Valley floor. But patchy dense fog and haze prevailed from the 1st of the month through the 9th before the major precipitation in December began on the 13th. The morning of the 5th had some very dense, but again patchy fog. A 9-vehicle pile-up occurred near Los Banos in Merced County (CAZ89) on Highway 152 around 8:35 AM PST that killed one and injured 3 others.