1 strong wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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 Jul 16, 2:00 PM PST, 0 minutes earlier.
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 300 PM PDT WED JUL 16 2003 TSTM WITH NUMEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES DEVELOPED JUST EAST OF CWFA IN THE MOJAVE DESERT THIS AFTERNOON. GIVEN PROXIMITY...HAVE INTRODUCED SLIGHT CHANCE EVENING TSTMS TO KERN COUNTY DESERT/MTN ZONES. CIRCULATION AROUND WEST SIDE OF STRONG 4 CORNERS HIGH PROGGED TO BECOME MORE SOUTHEASTERLY THU. THIS WILL INCREASE FLOW OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE OVER DISTRICT FOR BETTER CHANCE TSTMS OVER MTNS/DESERTS INTO SAT. HAVE ALSO KEPT MENTION OF SLIGHT CHC TSTMS FOR SOUTH VALLEY AS WELL FRI NIGHT AND SAT FROM PREV FCST PACKAGE. SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY TEMPS WERE DOWN 3-5 DEG F TODAY DUE TO MINOR MARINE PUSH LAST NIGHT. WITH STRONG H5 HIGH OVER 4 CORNERS REGION PROGGED TO FURTHERN STRENGTHEN...HAVE LEFT ORIGINAL FORECAST OF TEMPS WELL ABOVE NORMAL FOR THU THROUGH FRI IN PLACE. MTN DESERT AREAS TO CONTINUE SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AS WELL. IN THE EXTENDED...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MODELS KEEP THE SPRAWLING 4-CORNERS HIGH BASICALLY IN PLACE THROUGH D7. THIS WILL KEEP MONSOONAL FLOW ACROSS THE REGION...WITH A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND MAINLY EVENING TSTMS EACH DAY. BEST CHANCES OF PRECIP THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE SUN AS MOISTURE/DYNAMICS FROM AN EASTERLY WAVE (FORMERLY CLAUDETTE) LINGER OVER THE AREA. TEMP FCSTS MAY BE TRICKY AT TIMES DUE TO VARYING AMOUNTS OF CLOUD COVER/DEBRIS. BUT FOR THE MOST PART...VERY CLOSE OR A LITTLE ABOVE NORMAL...BUT NOTHING UNUSUAL FOR JULY. .HNX...NONE. MENDENHALL/BINGHAM
CAZ089>099-171230- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 550 AM PDT WED JUL 16 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AN AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORM IN THE SIERRA NEVADA NEAR THE CREST...MAINLY SOUTH OF YOSEMITE. ANY THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN GUSTY WINDS AND VERY LITTLE RAINFALL. ELSEWHERE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY MAY CONTAIN GUSTY WINDS AND VERY LITTLE RAINFALL. BY FRIDAY...THE PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE TO A CHANCE OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY SHOULD CONTAIN WETTING RAIN. THE POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH WETTING RAIN WILL OVERSPREAD ALL OF THE CENTRAL INTERIOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. THERE WILL BE A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... MAINLY AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. A HEAT ADVISORY MAY ALSO BE NEEDED FOR PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL INTERIOR AS RELATIVE HUMIDITY INCREASES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm gusts caused blowing dust, knocked down power lines, and caused a small structure fire in East Ridgecrest in the Indian Wells Valley of the Kern Desert on the 16th.
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, July 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: 5367314.