Wildfire in California, August 21 to 31, 2003

Name: Wildfire in California, August 21 to 31, 2003
Start: 2003-08-21T13:00
End: 2003-08-31T23:59
Location: California

August 21 to 31, 2003 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The West Kern Fire was lightning-ignited during the afternoon of the 21st. It reached a size of 120 acres by the end of the month but it was managed as a resource burn.

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: $2,000
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 HNX wrote it up.

The West Kern Fire was lightning-ignited during the afternoon of the 21st. It reached a size of 120 acres by the end of the month but it was managed as a resource burn. There were no injuries as the result of this fire.

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 Aug 21, 8:25 AM PST, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 8:25 AM PST, 4 hours 35 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
925 AM PDT THU AUG 21 2003

MONSOONAL MOISTURE WHICH BROUGHT SOME THUNDERSTORMS AND FLOODING TO
THE AREA YDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING IS THE MAIN CONCERN TODAY.
MOIST SOUTH-SOUTHEAST FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES ACROSS CENTRAL CA AT
THIS TIME AND VISIBLE LOOP INDICATING SCATTERED TO BROKEN ACC
ACROSS THE CWFA THIS MORNING. WITH DEEP MOISTURE PRESENT AND MESO
INDICATING CAPES BETWEEN 200 AND 500 J/KG ACROSS MUCH OF THE CWFA
AND LI/S BETWEEN -2 AND -4 THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...EXPECT
ANOTHER ROUND OF T-STORMS TO DEVELOP...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN
POSSIBLE ONCE AGAIN ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS AS MESO IS
INDICATING PROJECTED PW/S NEAR 1.5 INCHES AND STEERING CURRENTS
ARE RATHER WEAK. FLASH FLOOD WATCH ISSUED FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND
DESERTS BY THE PREVIOUS SHIFT LOOKS LIKE A GOOD CALL AND WILL KEEP
IT GOING. MEANWHILE...WV LOOP INDICATING THE OFFSHORE CUTOFF LOW IS
NOW TRACKING SLOWLY TOWARD THE CENTRAL CA COAST AFTER RETROGRADING
WEST YDAY. AS AN UPPER TROUGH BEHIND THE LOW CONTINUES TO DIG SOUTH
TODAY AND TONIGHT...IT WILL ABSORB THE LOW AND PULL IT NORTHEAST. 12Z
MESO INDICATING A SLIGHTLY SLOWER TIMING WITH IT/S NORTHEAST
PROGRESSION TOWARD THE COAST TODAY AND TONIGHT BUT PROGS ARE STILL
INDICATING EXCELLENT CONSISTENCY IN BRINGING AN OPEN WAVE TROUGH
ACROSS NORCAL FRIDAY WHICH WILL TURN THE UPPER FLOW TO THE SOUTHWEST.
ALTHOUGH PROGS ARE INDICATING PLENTY OF RESIDUAL MOISTURE...SYNOPTIC
COOLING ALOFT WILL STABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE TONIGHT AND INHIBIT
CONVECTION ACROSS MOST AREAS FRIDAY. SOME INSTABILITY IS PROGGED TO
LINGER ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SIERRAS NORTH OF KINGS CANYON. MAY NEED TO
INTRODUCE SOME LOW POPS FOR FRIDAY IN ZONE 96 IN THE AFTERNOON
PACKAGE. RIDGING IS THEN EXPECTED TO BUILD INTO CENTRAL CA WITH A
VENGEANCE OVER THE WEEKEND. 12Z MESO HINTING THAT SOME MONSOONAL
MOISTURE MIGHT TRY TO PUSH UNDER THE RIDGE INTO SOUTHEASTERN CA OVER
THE WEEKEND...BUT DON/T EXPECT THIS TO HAVE MUCH OF AN IMPACT ACROSS
OUR CWFA.

TEMPERATURES TODAY ARE GENERALLY RUNNING SEVERAL DEG F HIGHER THAN
YDAY AT LOWER ELEVATIONS AS CLOUD COVER INHIBITED RADIATIONAL COOLING
OVERNIGHT. TEMPERATURES TODAY ARE TRICKY BECAUSE OF CLOUD COVER.
WILL LET THE GOING FORECAST RIDE THIS MORNING. WILL FRESHEN UP THE
FLASH FLOOD WATCH WITH A FLOOD STATEMENT...OTHERWISE NO UPDATES ARE
PLANNED.

.HNX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 900 PM FOR ZONES 95>99 (KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...AND THE SIERRA FROM YOSEMITE TO THE
KERN COUNTY LINE).

DS

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 21, 5:03 AM PST, 7 hours 57 minutes before

CAZ089>099-221230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
530 AM PDT THU AUG 21 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING
FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...AND THE
KERN COUNTY DESERTS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE
AREAS UNTIL 900 PM TONIGHT. REFER TO (WGUS66 KHNX - FFAHNX) FOR
FURTHER DETAILS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 21, 10:18 AM PST, 2 hours 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
1118 AM PDT THU AUG 21 2003

TIME(PDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0645 PM    6 ENE LAKE ISABELLA       CA   FLASH FLOOD
08/20/03   KERN                           TREES AND POWER POLES OVER
                                          HWY 178 CARRIED IN WATER
                                          FLOW

0630 PM    17 SSE LAKE ISABELLA      CA   FLASH FLOOD
08/20/03   KERN                           MUD AND WATER OVER ROAD

0640 PM    2 SSW LAKE ISABELLA       CA   FLASH FLOOD
08/20/03   KERN                           WATER SURROUNDING HOMES

GUDGEL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Tulare

When: August 21, 1:00 PM PST to August 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Tulare County, 10 mi ESE of Mineral King
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in California, August 2003

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: 5333796.