1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 21, 12:40 PM PST, 1 hour earlier.
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 140 PM PDT MON JUL 21 2003 MOISTURE CONTINUES TO STREAM INTO THE AREA FROM THE SOUTHEAST AS STRONG HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS OVER THE GREAT BASIN. SO FAR MOST OF THE CLOUDS OBSERVED ON SATELLITE ARE IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS... HOWEVER SOME CUMULUS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW CONTINUES TO MOVE WESTWARD ACROSS SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES AND ANY DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW... COMBINED WITH SURFACE HEAT/MOISTURE JUST MAY BE ENOUGH TO FIRE OFF A THUNDERSTORM OR TWO OVER THE KERN DESERTS/MOUNTAINS AND OF COURSE THE SIERRA THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE HEAT CONTINUES OVER THE AREA AND 100+ READINGS WILL BE THE RULE THIS AFTERNOON AND AGAIN ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. AS FOR THE CONVECTIVE THREAT FOR THE NEXT 2-3 DAYS...MODELS AGREE THAT THE STRONG HIGH WILL REMAIN OVER THE GREAT BASIN THROUGH WEDNESDAY WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH. SOUTHEAST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE THUS SOME CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN OVER THE SIERRA AND DESERTS. BY THURSDAY...THE HIGH IS PROJECTED TO SHIFT EAST TOWARDS THE 4 CORNERS AREA AS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE DEEPENS OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST. THE MAIN AFFECT WILL BE TO SHIFT WINDS ALOFT TO A MORE SOUTHWESTERLY DIRECTION. THIS SHOULD PUSH ANY MONSOONAL MOISTURE TO THE EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA...HOWEVER NEAR THE SIERRA CREST ENOUGH MOISTURE MAY LINGER FOR A SLIGHT THREAT OF CONVECTION. TEMPERATURES WILL COOL DOWN A LITTLE...BUT IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND KERN DESERTS MANY LOCATIONS WILL REMAIN AROUND 100 DEGREES. FOR FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY...THE STRONG UPPER RIDGE WILL WEAKEN SLIGHTLY FRIDAY AS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES INTO SOUTHWESTERN CANADA/PACNW. THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL BECOME SOUTHWESTERLY WHICH WILL DRY OUT THE ATMOSPHERE ENOUGH TO INHIBIT MOUNTAIN CONVECTION FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES SHOULD EDGE DOWN BY A FEW DEG F FRIDAY BUT STILL REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL FOR LATE JULY. THE RIDGE WILL QUICKLY STRENGTHENS AGAIN SUNDAY FOR CONTINUED HOT AND SOMEWHAT HUMID CONDITIONS. HNX...NONE. DUDLEY/BEAN
CAZ089>099-211230- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 530 AM PDT MON JUL 21 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THERE IS A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ALSO THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING IN THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS AND MOUNTAINS AND IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA FOOTHILLS ON WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Mercury Fire was fought by the Kern County Fire Department and it burned 300 acres. Its cause was human and no costs are known. There were no structures or lives lost in the fire.
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: 5367231.