1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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 Apr 4, 9:22 AM PST, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
922 AM PST FRI APR 4 2003
UPPER LEVEL LOW MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA WITH A COLD FRONT
PUSHING THROUGH THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AT THE MOMENT. RADAR
IMAGERY SHOWS MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW OCCURRING OVER THE SIERRA IN
FRESNO COUNTY. COOPERATIVE OBSERVERS REPORTING SNOW LEVELS AS LOW
3200 FEET. HENCE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE SNOW ADVISORY NORTH OF KINGS
CANYON INTO THE AFTERNOON. CONCERNED ABOUT CONVECTIVE THREAT IN THE
CENTRAL SAN VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. WITH SFO RADAR SHOWING HIGHER
REFLECTIVITIES WITH THE SHOWERS MOVING ONSHORE. LAPSE RATES SHOULD
STEEPEN FURTHER IN THE AFTERNOON WITH COLD AIR ADVECTION AROUND
500MB AND WARMING AT THE SURFACE DUE LACK OF CLOUD COVER BEHIND THE
FRONT. MAIN THREAT WITH THE STORMS SHOULD BE LIGHTNING AND SMALL
HAIL WITH LOW WET BULB ZERO NEAR 4000 FEET. EXPECT WINDS TO INCREASE
INTO ADVISORY LEVEL EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON ACROSS THE PASSES OF THE
TEHACHAPIS AND MOJAVE DESERTS. THE ETA MODEL SHOW SURFACE PRESSURE
GRADIENTS STRENGTHENING TO AROUND 12MB FROM THE NV BORDER TO THE
COAST. WILL ISSUE WIND ADVISORY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND
DESERTS UNTIL EARLY THIS EVENING AND UPDATE THE MORNING ZONES.
.HNX...SNOW ADVISORY TODAY FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO
KINGS CANYON.
...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL THIS EVENING FOR THE KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS.
MVCAZ089>099-041345- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 530 AM PST FRI APR 4 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY ...A SNOW ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON(WWUS46 KHNX)... A COLD PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW INTO THE SIERRA NEVADA LATER THIS MORNING...WITH THE SNOW CONTINUING FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. SNOW WILL BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY IN AND NEAR YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK...WHERE TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY LATE IN THE DAY. TO THE SOUTH...SNOW AMOUNTS SHOULD BE LIGHTER...WITH JUST A FEW INCHES EXPECTED IN THE KINGS CANYON AREA. THE SNOW WILL TAPER TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS BY THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:20 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail varying from pea-size to 5/8" fell on Highway 99 from northwest of Madera southeastward into the Fresno metropolitan area. Traffic was brought to a standstill due to the heavy rain and small hail due to this cell. Several traffic accidents were attributed to the event.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2003
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: 5349685.