Funnel Cloud, Tulare
- When
- February 19, 3:30 PM PST to 3:35 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, Visalia
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Clouds in California, February 19, 2003
2 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
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 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 Feb 19, 3:00 PM PST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 19, 3:00 PM PST, 30 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 300 PM PST WED FEB 19 2003 WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOW AN UPPER LEVEL LOW DROPPING SOUTH INTO CENTRAL CAL. A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY DRAPED ACROSS THE HNX CWA EXTENDING FROM SAN LOUIS OBISPO NE TO FRESNO TO YOSEMITE...MOVING SE TOWARDS THE TEHACHAPIS. WIND GUST OF 30 MPH WITH CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY ALONG THE FRONT HAS BEEN REPORTED THIS AFTERNOON. WILL MONITOR FOR POTENTIAL OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING. EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS TO DIMINISH THIS EVENING IN THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY BUT CONTINUE LONGER IN THE SOUTH VALLEY AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. MODELS PROG THE THE UPPER LOW TO QUICKLY PUSH SOUTH INTO S CA BY THURSDAY. EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER THE TEHACHAPIS OVERNIGHT AND ISOLATED SHOWERS IN THE DESERTS. STRONG ONSHORE PRESSURE GRADIENTS SHOULD PROVIDE BREEZY CONDITIONS IN DESERTS AND THE MOUNTAIN PASSES OF THE TEHACHAPIS. HOWEVER DONT THINK WINDS WILL REACH ADVISORY CRITERIA SINCE THE UPPER LEVEL JET WILL BE ALIGNED N-S ACROSS THE COASTAL MOUNTAINS THURSDAY. WILL MENTION MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES SINCE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL POOL IN THE SOUTHERN SJV TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE AREA WILL PROVIDE A WARMING TREND THROUGH FRIDAY. MV FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AN UPPER RIDGE NEAR THE WEST COAST WILL MAINTAIN A DRY AND STABLE PATTERN OVER THE CWA ON SUNDAY. THE GFS SOLUTION OF DEVELOPING A CLOSED LOW OFF THE WEST COAST SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND MONDAY DIVERGES SIGNIFICANT FROM OTHER MEDIUM RANGE MODELS AND HAS BEEN REJECT AT THIS TIME. ECM AND UKMET BOTH ARE MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE APPROACHING SYSTEM AND WILL INDICATE AN SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW ON MONDAY. WEAK TROFFINESS OVER THE WEST COAST WILL KEEP A THREAT OF PRECIPITATION OVER THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE DISTRICT TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. LG .HNX...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 19, 5:45 AM PST, 9 hours 45 minutes before
CAZ089>099-201345- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 545 AM PST WED FEB 19 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
The radar
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:30 UTC.
Event by event
2 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Funnel Cloud, Tulare
- When
- February 19, 4:30 PM PST to 4:35 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, Cutler
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Strong Wind in California, February 19 to 20, 2003
- Flooding in Kentucky, February 19 to 28, 2003
- Flooding in Indiana, February 19 to 28, 2003
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 19 to 20, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, February 19 to 21, 2003
- Blizzard in Alaska, February 19, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Washington, February 19 to 21, 2003
More
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5342725, 5342726.