Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in California, September 2 to 3, 2003

Name: Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in California, September 2 to 3, 2003
Start: 2003-09-02T16:50
End: 2003-09-03T06:00
Location: California

September 2 to 3, 2003 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

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.

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Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

A large amount of convective activity developed in the Kern Desert areas late in the afternoon of the 2nd. Spotter reports indicated at least a couple of microbursts in and around Edwards AFB just before 5 PM PST as some minor damage was reported in Rosamond and strong, gusty winds occurred later at meso-net sites northwest and north of Edwards. Nearly 50 lightning strikes were reported as thunderstorm activity moved from the Kern Deserts into the Kern Mountains and Tulare County Mountains by late evening. Over 14 fires were started by lightning strikes on the 2nd and 3rd of September in the Sequoia-Kings National Park area of the Tulare County Mountains.

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 Sep 2, 1:22 PM PST, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 1:22 PM PST, 3 hours 28 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
222 PM PDT TUE SEP 2 2003

UPPER RIDGE CENTERED NEAR NEW MEXICO HAS TURNED FLOW ACROSS CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST...BRINGING ANOTHER SURGE OF
MONSOONAL MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA. ISOLATED CONVECTION IS BEGINNING
TO DEVELOP OVER THE SIERRA. MODELS INDICATE DEEPENING
MOISTURE...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER INCREASING TO 1.3-1.5 INCHES
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SHORTWAVE ENERGY
TRACKING NORTH OVER THE AREA SHOULD AID IN CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR
CONTINUATION OF FFA FOR KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THROUGH
TONIGHT. LOW CHANCE POPS THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE AREA THROUGH
TOMORROW CONTINUES TO LOOK GOOD...WITH THE FOCUS SHIFTING TO THE
NORTHERN SIERRA BY THURSDAY AS FLOW BEGINS TO TURN MORE SOUTHWEST
AND MOISTURE IS SHUNTED TO THE EAST OF THE AREA. APPROACHING PACIFIC
TROUGH WILL PROVIDE DRIER SOUTHWEST TO WEST FLOW BY
FRIDAY...BRINGING AN END TO RAIN CHANCES. TEMPERATURES TOMORROW
SHOULD BE SIMILAR TO TODAY...A BIT LOWER DUE TO INCREASED CLOUD
COVER. INFLUENCES FROM THE APPROACHING PACIFIC TROUGH SHOULD BEGIN
TO BE FELT FRIDAY...WITH SOME MARINE AIR BEGINNING TO BRING
SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES INTO THE VALLEY.

FOR SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...PROGS CONTINUE TO INDICATE A STRONG
PACIFIC LOW APPROACHING THE PAC NW THIS WEEKEND. THE ASSOCIATED
TROUGH WILL CROSS THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. ALTHOUGH THE
MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN WELL TO THE NORTH OF
CENTRAL CA...THE SYSTEM WILL BRING SOME SYNOPTIC COOLING TO THE
CWA...AS WELL AS SOME COOLER MARINE AIR TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY.
EXPECT THE COOLING TO DROP TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL BY MONDAY.

.HNX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
       THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

JEB/BEAN

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 2, 4:15 AM PST, 12 hours 35 minutes before

CAZ089>099-031230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
515 AM PDT TUE SEP 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...MAINLY IN THE SOUTHERN
SIERRA NEVADA...THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...AND THE KERN COUNTY
DESERTS. THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL OVERSPREAD ALL OF THE
CENTRAL INTERIOR TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO
PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

STRONGEST STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...AND RUNOFF FROM THESE
STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING. THEREFORE
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND
DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. REFER TO FFAHNX /WGUS66 KHNX/
FOR DETAILS.

DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY OVER MUCH OF THE
CENTRAL INTERIOR...MAINLY NORTH OF KERN COUNTY. THUNDERSTORMS MAY
CONTAIN GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY RAINFALL.

A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS
OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA ON THURSDAY...OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS EXPECTED THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

JSN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kern

When: September 2, 4:50 PM PST to 5:15 PM PST
Where: Kern County, 1 mi S of Edwards Afb
Measured: 46 kt (53 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.900, -117.900

Lightning, Tulare

When: September 2, 10:00 PM PST to 11:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare County, Johnsondale
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Tulare

When: September 3, 12:00 AM PST to 6:00 AM PST
Where: Tulare County, Sequoia National Par
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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, September 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: 5337816, 5337817, 5337818.