Cold in California, January 21, 2002

Name: Cold in California, January 21, 2002
Start: 2002-01-21T01:30
End: 2002-01-21T09:00
Location: California

January 21, 2002 · NWS HNX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Although some isolated readings less than 28 degrees F. occurred in the Central and South San Joaquin Valley on the morning of the 21st, overnight low temperatures were in the 28-32 degree F.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

Although some isolated readings less than 28 degrees F. occurred in the Central and South San Joaquin Valley on the morning of the 21st, overnight low temperatures were in the 28-32 degree F. range. As mentioned, in combination with dense fog, roadways were made slick with the combination of moisture and freezing temperatures in CA Zones 89-91.

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 Jan 20, 10:33 PM PST, 2 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 10:33 PM PST, 2 hours 57 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1000 PM PST SUN JAN 20 2002

DENSE FOG HAS QUICKLY REDEVELOPED WHERE IT WAS SLOW TO DISSIPATE
TODAY...ALONG THE EAST SIDE NEAR HIGHWAY 99 CORRIDOR MERCED AND
MADERA COUNTIES. HAVE JUST UPDATED TO POST A DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR
THE EAST CENTRAL ZONE...MERCED SOUTH TO FRESNO COUNTIES. FOG WILL
LIKELY EXTEND AT LEAST DOWN INTO HANFORD AND VISALIA AREAS...AND
WILL LET MID CREW EVALUATE THE SOUTHERN EXTENT OF FOG COVERAGE THRU
EARLY MORNING HRS OF MONDAY. ALSO NEEDED TO EDGE THE SJ VLLY MIN
TEMPERATURES DOWN BY ABOUT 1-2 DEGF FOR TONIGHT GIVEN THE LATEST
TRENDS THIS EVE.

OTHERWISE CURRENT PACKAGE LOOKS ON TRACK...PARTICULARLY FOR THE
IMPENDING COLD AND WINDY SYSTEM APPROACHING FOR LATE MON AND TUES.
00Z MODELS CONTINUE TO SUGGEST THAT BEST AREA OF LIFT WILL PASS JUST
OUTSIDE OUR DISTRICT...HOWEVER A QUICK SHOT OF PRECIP LOOKS EVIDENT
WITH THE STRONG COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE TIMEFRAME. STILL EXPECT QPF TO
BE RELATIVELY LOW...POSSIBLY NEEDING SNOW ADVISORY...WITH LOW SNOW
LEVELS AND SOME STRONG GUSTY WINDS THE MAIN FCST CONCERNS.

THE COLD AIR SURGE INTO CA WILL RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS FOR
GROWERS REGARDING FREEZING TEMPS TUES NITE/WED MORN AND WED NITE/THU
MORN. AN EARLY LOOK AT THIS SUGGESTS POTENTIAL FOR A HARD FREEZE IN
THE MID 20S IN THAT PERIOD...WITH SLOW MODERATION IN MIN TEMPS BY
FRI/SAT.

.HNX...DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THE EAST-CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
       UNTIL 10:00 AM MONDAY.
       FROST WARNING FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
       VALLEY TONIGHT.

LAVIS

Event by event

4 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Se Sj Valley

When: January 21, 1:30 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
Where: Se Sj Valley forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, W Central Sj Valley

When: January 21, 2:00 AM PST to 8:30 AM PST
Where: W Central Sj Valley forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, E Central Sj Valley

When: January 21, 2:45 AM PST to 9:00 AM PST
Where: E Central Sj Valley forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Sw Sj Valley

When: January 21, 3:30 AM PST to 8:30 AM PST
Where: Sw Sj Valley forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, January 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: 5279352, 5279349, 5279350, 5279351.