Hail in California, May 20, 2002

Name: Hail in California, May 20, 2002
Start: 2002-05-20T16:25
End: 2002-05-20T16:50
Location: California

May 20, 2002 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $200,000
Events: 2

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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 20, 2:05 PM PST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 2:05 PM PST, 2 hours 20 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
305 PM PDT MON MAY 20 2002

WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOW A LARGE CUTOFF UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTER OFF
THE NORTH CALIFORNIA COAST. COLDER MORE UNSTABLE AIR OVER
NORTHWESTERN CA. A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTED THE
CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND YOSEMITE OVERNIGHT. THE THREAT OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE HIGH TODAY AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES
EAST ACROSS CALIFORNIA. THE COLDER AIR ALOFT WILL FURTHER
DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY WILL BE UNDER
THE FAVORABLE LEFT FRONT QUAD OF A STRONG 130 KNOT JET. HODOGRAPH
SHOWS STRONG STRAIGHT LINE SHEAR FAVORABLE FOR RIGHT SPLITTING
CELLS. LOW WETBULB ZERO TEMPERATURE INDICATES STORMS MAY BE
ACCOMPANIED WITH SMALL HAIL. SOUTHWEST MID LEVEL WIND AT 40-50 MPH
WILL PROVIDE FAVORABLE OROGRAPHIC LIFT OVER THE SIERRA. WILL POST A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SIERRA NORTH OF KINGS CANYON FOR
POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6-12 INCHES...AND A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS FOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF
3-8 INCHES. ALSO WILL HOIST A WIND ADVISORY FOR KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH UPPER JET
MOVING OVER THE TEHACHAPI MNTS AND MODELS PROG LOCAL PRESSURE
GRADIENTS TO INCREASE 10-12MB. BEST DYNAMICS WILL BE ACROSS THE
CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND SIERRA AND WILL CARRY
LIKELY-CATEGORICAL POPS AND CHANCE IN THE SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN AND
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. WIND FLOW TURNS NORTHWEST AS THROUGH AXIS
MOVES THROUGH AROUND 06Z MONDAY NIGHT. EXPECT LOTS OF LOW LEVEL
CLOUDINESS TUESDAY MORNING WITH SOME LINGERING SHOWERS ALONG THE
MOUNTAINS WITH NW LOW LEVEL FLOW MAY BANKING MOISTURE ALONG
FOOTHILLS AND SOUTH SIDE OF THE VALLEY. 500MB HEIGHTS RISE BY 50M
AND TEMPERATURES SHOULD RECOVER WEDNESDAY. A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE
BUILDS OVER THE AREA FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD AND WARM DRY WEATHER
SHOULD RETURN CA.

.HNX...WINTER STORM WATCH MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT FOR THE SOUTHERN
       SIERRA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON.
    ...WIND ADVISORY FOR KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND
       DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH 9:00 PM...

MV

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:26 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Fresno

When: May 20, 4:25 PM PST to 4:30 PM PST
Where: Fresno County, Navelencia
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.683, -119.383

Hail size as reported by a storm spotter ranged from 1/2" to 3/4".

Hail, Merced

When: May 20, 4:40 PM PST to 4:50 PM PST
Where: Merced County, Planada
Measured: 0.5 in hail
Crop damage: $200,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.192, -120.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Locally heavy rain and small hail led to spotty damage within Merced County. More substantial agricultural damage occurred in neighboring Central Valley counties to the south (see other reports).

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

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, May 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: 5290964, 5290965.