California, 2002

Hail in California, May 31, 2002

May 31, 2002 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

One inch hail reported from a thunderstorm by a spotter in northern Lassen County, near Beiber.

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

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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 REV wrote it up.

One inch hail reported from a thunderstorm by a spotter in northern Lassen County, near Beiber.

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 May 31, 2:30 PM PST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 2:30 PM PST, 4 hours before
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
330 PM PDT FRI MAY 31 2002

EJECTING UPPER LOW OFF NRN BAJA BRINGING INCREASING CLOUDS TO
AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LIGHT SHOWERS REPORTED AT
HAWTHORNE THIS AFTERNOON WITH CONVECTION POPPING UP MAINLY OVER
MOUNTAINS AND ALONG THE USUAL MONO LAKE-BATTLE MOUNTAIN CONVERGENCE
ZONE. EXPECT CLOUDS AND SHOWERS TO INCREASE THIS EVENING WITH
DYNAMICS FROM MERGING OF NRN CA TROUGH AND EJECTING SRN CA LOW. MESO
MODELS PAINT MOST QPF OVER MONO AND MINERAL COUNTIES TONIGHT AND
WILL KEEP LIKELY POPS IN THOSE AREAS. LINGERING MOISTURE AND
DYNAMICS NOTED OVER WRN NV SAT MORNING AS VORT MAX MOVES ACROSS AREA
SO WILL HOLD ONTO SHOWERS IN RENO-TAHOE AREA EARLY SAT MORNING
BEFORE WLY WINDS KICK IN AND PUSH CLOUDS AND SHOWERS EWD BY MIDDAY.
CLOUDS AND SHOWERS CHANCES WILL INCREASE AGAIN SUNDAY AS ANOTHER
WEAK TROUGH AND VORT MAX MOVES INLAND FM ERN PAC. AVN GENERATES
LIGHT QPF AND LI OF ZERO OR LESS OVER MUCH OF CWA SUNDAY AFTN. WILL
STICK WITH LOW CHC POPS ON SUNDAY AFTN. TROUGH MOVES EWD MONDAY FOR
CLEARING SKIES UNDER NWLY FLOW. CYLKE

IN THE EXTENDED...MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT EASTERN PACIFIC
RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION THROUGH FRIDAY AND BRING DRY
WEATHER WITH A WARMING TREND.  EURO NOT AS PROGRESSIVE WITH OLD
TROF...DEVELOPING A CUTOFF OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  FORECAST
TRENDS TOWARD THE AVN/MRF/UKMET.
A NE FLOW WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES A BIT COOLER TUESDAY BEFORE
TEMPERATURES WARM TO ABOVE NORMAL WEDNESDAY INTO FRIDAY. SURFACE
THERMAL TROF MOVES EAST OF THE SIERRA AS A SHORT WAVE MOVES THROUGH
THE PACIFIC NW THURSDAY...PROVIDING SOME AFTERNOON WINDS. FAVORED
CONVERGENCE AREAS SOUTH AND EAST MAY HAVE SOME AFTERNOON CUMULUS
BUILDUPS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...OTHERWISE HIGH TEMPERATURES RETURN TO
THE 90S IN MOST VALLEYS UNDER SUNNY SKIES. SG

.REV...NONE.

The radar

The Medford radar (KMAX), 169 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:28 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lassen

When
May 31, 6:30 PM PST to 6:45 PM PST
Where
Lassen County, Bieber
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.117, -121.150

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

More

Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5299747.