Wildfire in California, August 26 to 27, 2003

Name: Wildfire in California, August 26 to 27, 2003
Start: 2003-08-26T07:00
End: 2003-08-27T15:00
Location: California

August 26 to 27, 2003 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 wildfire, 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

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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 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 26, 1:35 AM PST, 5 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 26, 1:35 AM PST, 5 hours 25 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
235 AM PDT TUE AUG 26 2003

MOUNTAIN CONVECTION HAD DIED DOWN BY MIDNIGHT...BUT THAT PROVED ONLY
A TEMPORARY LULL AS CONVECTION REDEVELOPED NEAR YOSEMITE BY 09Z AS
A STRONG +19 500-MB VORTICITY CENTER PASSED JUST NORTH OF THE
HANFORD WARNING/ FORECAST AREA. IN THE EASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT...
AN AREA OF MODERATE SHOWERS NEAR BORON HAS FINALLY DISSIPATED.

SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW THE UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE CENTERED OVER THE FOUR-
CORNERS REGION...CONTINUING TO DRAW MOISTURE FROM MEXICO NORTHWARD
INTO SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. THE OTHER SYNOPTIC FEATURE
AFFECTING THE WEST COAST IS A SHORT-WAVE TROUGH MOVING INTO BRITISH
COLUMBIA...WITH ITS LOW OFF NORTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND. THIS TROUGH
IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TONIGHT...WEAKENING
THE RIDGE AND TURNING THE FLOW ALOFT SOUTHWESTERLY. THIS WILL DRY
THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE OVER CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
AND END THE THREAT OF CONVECTION FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK.

FOR THE NEAR TERM...THE 00Z MESO-ETA KEEPS A MOIST AIRMASS OVER THE
HANFORD WARNING/FORECAST AREA THROUGH THIS MORNING...BUT BEGINS TO
DRY THE ATMOSPHERE BY 00Z WEDNESDAY AS THE RIDGE WEAKENS. HAVE SOME
CONCERN THAT THE ETA AND GFS MAY BE WEAKENING THE RIDGE TOO FAST...
AS THERE IS NO STRONG MECHANISM TO PUSH THE TROUGH THIS FAR SOUTH.
BY MIDDAY TODAY...THE MESO-ETA HAS CAPES OF 140+ JOULES/KG OVER
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. WHILE THIS NORMALLY WOULD NOT BE IMPRESSIVE
FOR CONVECTION...EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT IT DOES NOT TAKE MUCH TO
TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS IN A TROPICAL AIRMASS. ALSO...CAPES OVER THE
SIERRA NEVADA CREST INCREASE TO 420 JOULES/KG NORTH OF KINGS CANYON
BY 00Z WEDNESDAY. ALSO FAVORING CONVECTION ARE 700-MB OMEGAS OF 6
MICROBARS/SECOND CENTERED OVER THE FRESNO-MADERA COUNTY LINE...AND
LIFTED INDICES OF -2 OVER THE HIGH SIERRA NEVADA FROM FRESNO COUNTY
NORTHWARD. ALSO AT 21Z...850-MB THETA-E VALUES ARE IN EXCESS OF 340 K
FROM LAKE ISABELLA NORTH ALONG THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA THROUGH
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.

THE NEW 06Z MESO-ETA SHIFTS THE ACTION THIS EVENING TO THE WESTERN
TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...WHERE 700-MB OMEGAS ARE FORECAST TO INCREASE
TO 11+ MICROBARS/SECOND...WHILE CAPES IN EXCESS OF 400 JOULES/KG
SPREAD ALONG THE CRESTS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI
MOUNTAINS. ACCORDINGLY...WILL KEEP CHANCE POPS FOR THE MOUNTAINS
THROUGH TONIGHT.

WIDESPREAD CLOUD COVER IS KEEPING TEMPERATURES AS MUCH AS 14 DEGREES
WARMER THAN 24 HOURS EARLIER. DESPITE FORECAST 500-MB HEIGHT FALLS
OF 30 METERS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...THE HIGHER STARTING BASE THIS
MORNING WILL NOT ALLOW FOR MUCH COOLING TODAY. BOTH ETA AND GFS MOS
GUIDANCE ONLY FORECAST A FEW DEGREES LOWER TEMPERATURES TODAY...AND
WILL FOLLOW THIS TREND. THE MODELS DIVERGE FOR WEDNESDAY...WITH THE
ETA FORECASTING ADDITIONAL COOLING WHILE THE GFS LEVELS TEMPERATURES
OFF. WITH CLEARING SKIES AND THE UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE REBUILDING...WILL
GO SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES...WITH CONTINUED WARMING THURSDAY.

FOR THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD...FRI THRU MON...THE WEATHER FOR
THE 4-7 DAY PERIOD WILL BE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE TRACK OF TROPICAL
CYCLONE IGNACIO. CONSENSUS OF THE LATEST MODELS IS TO MOVE IGNACIO
NORTHWEST ACROSS THE BAJA PENINSULA AND INTO THE PACIFIC SIDE. WITH
AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE PROVIDING WEAK STEERING CURRENTS...THE CYCLONE
TRACK COULD VARY SIGNIFICANTLY. HOWEVER IF THIS TRACK VERIFIES...
TROPICAL MOISTURE WOULD BE IN A FAVORABLE POSITION TO DRAWN NE INTO
SE CA AHEAD OF AN OFFSHORE TROUGH OVER THE WEEKEND. THE GFS AND
ECMWF ARE IF FAIR AGREEMENT THROUGH SATURDAY. HOWEVER BY SUNDAY...
THE EURO CLOSES THE UPPER TROUGH OFF THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
COAST...WHEREAS THE GFS AND CANADIAN MODELS PROG MORE OF AN OPEN
TROUGH. A CLOSED LOW WOULD PROVIDE SOUTHERLY FLOW ADVECTING THE
TROPICAL MOISTURE TOWARDS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE
IN TIMING AND POSITION OF THE TROUGH AND THE TRACK OF IGNACIO COULD
CHANGE THINGS. WITH SUCH UNCERTAINTY...DO NOT HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE
IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD...HENCE WILL LEAVE THE 4-7 DAY FORECAST DRY.
THE UPPER THROUGH OFF THE WEST COAST SHOULD BRING A COOLING TREND
SUNDAY OR MONDAY.

.HNX...NONE.

SANGER/VASQUEZ

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 26, 4:30 AM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

CAZ089>099-271230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
530 AM PDT TUE AUG 26 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY.

THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR DAY AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS FOR
THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE
SIERRA FOOTHILLS...THE KERN AND TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...THE SIERRA
NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON AND THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN
COUNTY DESERT.

DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ARE IN THE FORECAST WEDNESDAY FOR
THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS...THE KERN AND TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...THE
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON AND THE SOUTHEASTERN
KERN COUNTY DESERT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

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, Mariposa

When: August 26, 7:00 AM PST to August 27, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Mariposa County, Catheys Vly
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 37.582, -119.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Mariposa Lightning Series of fires were battled by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection starting on the 26th and contained by the afternoon of the 27th. There were three notable locations in this series: a fire of 77 acres was located in Catheys Valley; another of 640 acres at the Mariposa-Madera County line 13 miles SSW of Catheys Valley; and yet another of 100 acres at Road 200 and Fine Gold Creek Bridge. The cost to fight this series of fires was not reported but no fatalities occurred as the result.

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: 5333038.