Damaging Wind in California, July 23, 2002

Name: Damaging Wind in California, July 23, 2002
Start: 2002-07-23T17:00
End: 2002-07-23T17:00
Location: California

July 23, 2002 · NWS MFR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A spotter for a local TV station reported 1 inch hail in a thunderstorm near Tulelake during the afternoon of 07/23/02. The report was received by this station several hours after the event.

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: 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 MFR wrote it up.

A spotter for a local TV station reported 1 inch hail in a thunderstorm near Tulelake during the afternoon of 07/23/02. The report was received by this station several hours after the event. No warning was issued based on radar evidence and no other spotter reports were received. The spotter reported extensive damage to her vegetable garden and minor damage to her car. She also reported that a farmer neighbor lost on 80 acre mint crop, and another neighbor has extensive damage to his potato crop.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 23, 1:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 1:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 PM PDT TUE JUL 23 2002

AFTERNOON CUMULUS FIRING UP OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND ACROSS THE
EASTSIDE WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AND
LAST INTO THE EVENING HOURS. ACTIVITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS
WIDESPREAD THAN MONDAYS COVERAGE DUE TO NO ORGANIZED FORCING.
THEREFORE...WILL STICK TO ISOLATED WORDING ACROSS THE MOUNTAINOUS
PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA FOR THIS EVENING.

WITH CONTINUED INSTABILITY...A STRONGER THETA E RIDGE...AND SOUTH TO
SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW PROVIDED BY THE APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL LOW OFF
CALIFORNIA...WILL INCREASE THE COVERAGE OF ISOLATED T-STORM ACTIVITY
FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. ALTHOUGH COVERAGE WILL BE GREATER THAN THIS
EVENINGS ACTIVITY...STILL DO NOT EXPECT A WIDESPREAD EVENT.

MODELS CONTINUE TO HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH THE HANDLING OF THIS UPPER
LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AS THEY TRY TO BRING IT INLAND ON THURSDAY.
LATEST CONSENSUS TRACKS THE LOW ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ON
THURSDAY AND DIVES IT SOUTH ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA ON FRIDAY.
CONSIDERING THE APPROACHING SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED IN NORTHWESTERLY
EXPECTED TO REACH THE REGION ON FRIDAY...THE LATEST SOLUTION SEEMS
REASONABLE. THEREFORE...WITH CONTINUED INSTABILITY AND UPPER FORCING
PROVIDED BY THE PASSING LOW ON THURSDAY...EXPECT ONE FINAL DAY OF
ISOLATED CONVECTION ACROSS CA AND EASTSIDE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND
EVENING.

IN THE EXTENDED...A DRY UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE DIVING ACROSS THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON FRIDAY WILL BRING BREEZY CONDITIONS TO AREAS
EAST OF THE CASCADES FRIDAY AFTERNOON. FROM THAT POINT ON...BUILDING
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL ALLOW A THERMAL TROUGH TO DEVELOP NEAR THE
SURFACE WHICH WILL LEAD BREEZY AFTERNOON CONDITIONS ALONG THE
COASTLINE AND OFFSHORE FLOW ACROSS THE RIDGES AT NIGHT. AWAY FROM THE
COAST...THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL ENJOY
STABLE...DRY...AND SEASONABLE CONDITIONS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.

.MFR...NONE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Siskiyou

When: July 23, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Siskiyou County, Tulelake
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 41.593, -122.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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, 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: 5304240.