Hail, Plumas
- When
- July 17, 12:45 PM PST to 1:30 PM PST
- Where
- Plumas County, 8 mi E of Beckwourth
- Measured
- 1.06 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.817, -120.233
Hail in California, July 17, 2002
, CA. A spotter near Beckwourth, CA reported 1 1/16 inch hail and nearly 1/2 inch of rain in an hour in association with the storms.
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
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 happened
The episode as NWS REV wrote it up.
A series of severe thunderstorms moved through southeastern Plumas and extereme southeast Lassen Co., CA. A spotter near Beckwourth, CA reported 1 1/16 inch hail and nearly 1/2 inch of rain in an hour in association with the storms.
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 Jul 17, 8:45 AM PST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 8:45 AM PST, 4 hours before
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 945 AM PDT WED JUL 17 2002 WEAK UPPER LOW AND VORT MAX OFF CENTRAL CA CST NEAR SFO BAY AREA NOTED ON WATER VAPOR LOOP. THIS FEATURE FORECAST TO MOVE SLOWLY ENE NEXT 36 HOURS MOVING OVER WRN NV THU AFTN. MORNING SOUNDING AT REV A LITTLE MORE MOIST AND UNSTABLE WITH PRECIP WATER NEAR THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH. TRIGGER TEMP FOR CONVECTION AROUND 81 DEG F AT 17Z WITH VIS LOOP SHOWING RAPID GROWTH OF CU ALONG MTNS. BEST FOCUSING FOR STRONGER TSTMS OVER MINERAL COUNTY WHERE CONVERGENCE/DIVERGENCE COUPLET FORECAST. WITH 15KT WINDS AT 700 MB CELL MOVEMENT SHOULD BE FAST ENOUGH KEEP FF POTENTIAL IN MODERATE RANGE. THETA-E RIDGE OVER E CENTRAL NV WITH NEG THETA-E ADVECTION FROM APPROACHING TROUGH. MICROBURST POTENTIAL ALSO MODERATE WITH LOWER CCL AND TEMPS DUE TO INCREASING CLOUDS AND MOISTURE. BETTER POTENTIAL FOR STRONGER AND WETTER TSTMS ON THURSDAY AS VORT MAX MOVES OVER AREA AND MOISTURE VALUES UP FROM TODAY CONVECTION. NO UPDATES. CYLKE .REV...NONE.
The radar
The Reno radar (KRGX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:46 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Heat in Missouri, July 17, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 17, 2002
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, July 17, 2002
- Wildfire in California, July 17, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 17, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Montana, July 17, 2002
- Hail in Nevada, July 17, 2002
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, July 17, 2002
- Hail in North Dakota, July 17, 2002
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, July 17, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Florida, July 17, 2002
- Wildfire in Utah, July 17 to 31, 2002
More
Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 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: 5314702.