Drought in California, February 1 to 28, 2003

Name: Drought in California, February 1 to 28, 2003
Start: 2003-02-01T00:00
End: 2003-02-28T23:59
Location: California

February 1 to 28, 2003 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

With relatively mild temperatures, drier than normal conditions continue for the cool season of Interior Central California. Rainfall totals for areas north of the Tehachapi Mountains ranged from only 37% to 67% of normal for the month of February.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
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 happened

The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.

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 Jan 31, 9:05 PM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 9:05 PM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
905 PM PST FRI JAN 31 2003

AFTER RECORD HIGHS TODAY IN THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS AND MOUNTAINS
(SEE SFOPNSHNX), THE FOG IS ALREADY SPREADING LIKE CRAZY IN THE SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY AS HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS IN CONTROL. HAVE
ALREADY UPDATED ZONES AND ISSUED A DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THE
SJV.

SATELLITE IMAGERY CONTINUES TO SHOW A SEEMINGLY ENDLESS FLOW
OF HIGH CLOUDS INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA DOWN THE BACK SIDE OF THE
RIDGE. WELL UPSTREAM NEAR 40/135, THE VORTICITY CENTER OF TOMORROW
NIGHTS PACIFIC SYSTEM IS TAKING SHAPE. THE MAIN CLOUD FIELD
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM IS STILL WELL OFF THE TO NORTHWEST AND IS
SLOWLY PUSHING SOUTHEAST TOWARDS THE CALIFORNIA COAST. STILL QUITE A
BIT OF RIDGE TO MOVE EAST AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM BEFORE IT REACHES
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AND THE LATEST MODEL RUN ON THE GFS, TO NO
SURPRISE IS STILL A BIT SLOWER ON THE PROJECTED ARRIVAL OF THE FRONT.
PER THE LATEST RUN, THE FRONT SHOULD SWEEP SOUTHEAST LATE IN THE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING, REACHING THE KERN COUNTY AREA AROUND
MIDNIGHT OR EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. THE MAIN AFFECT OF THIS FRONT WILL
NOT BE PRECIPITATION AS ALL MODELS HAVE VERY LIMITED QPF, HOWEVER
THE POTENTIAL FOR A HIGH WIND EVENT REMAINS FOR THE KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS ALONG WITH MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES FOR MOST
AREAS. LATEST 700 MB WIND PROGS CONTINUE TO SHOW 50+ KNOTS OVER THE
KERN MOUNTAIN AREA DURING SATURDAY EVENING, ALONG WITH A TIGHT
SURFACE GRADIENT OF 16 MB FROM LAS VEGAS TO SAN FRANCISCO AT 06Z, A
STRONG 110 KNOT JET AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE AT BOTH 700 AND 500 MB.
CURRENT HIGH WIND WATCH SEEMS FINE.

GETTING BACK TO THE PRECIPITATION THREAT FOR THE SIERRA, CURRENT
FORECAST DRIBBLES SOME SLIGHT POPS INTO TULARE COUNTY SATURDAY
NIGHT. THIS MAY BE A LITTLE TOO FAR SOUTH, HOWEVER WILL LEAVE ALONE
AT THIS TIME. IT LOOKS DISAPPOINTING FOR RAIN AND SNOW LOVERS SUNDAY
THROUGH MID WEEK AS A DRY NORTHWEST FLOW WITH WEAK INSIDE SLIDER
DISTURBANCES IS PROJECTED.

.HNX...HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERT
       SATURDAY EVENING INTO SUNDAY MORNING.

DUDLEY

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 3:36 PM PST, 8 hours 24 minutes before

CAZ089>099-011230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
336 PM PST FRI JAN 31 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

AREAS OF DENSE FOG WILL AFFECT THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY SATURDAY MORNING.  ALSO...DURING THE DAY AND EVENING
SATURDAY...A STRONG TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL BRING VERY WINDY
CONDITION TO KERN COUNTY DESERTS AND KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS. NO OTHER 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.

Event by event

2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, S Sierra Mtns

When: February 1, 12:00 AM PST to February 28, 11:59 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: February 1, 12:00 AM PST to February 28, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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, February 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: 5342721, 5342722.