California, 2004

Heat in California, September 5 to 11, 2004

September 5 to 11, 2004 · NWS HNX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

One of the warmest spells of the dry season occurred late between the 5th and 11th of the month. The already dry conditions of the area were intensified by such a late hot spell as Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley temperatures climbed widespread to over 100 degrees F.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

One of the warmest spells of the dry season occurred late between the 5th and 11th of the month. The already dry conditions of the area were intensified by such a late hot spell as Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley temperatures climbed widespread to over 100 degrees F. The 8th and 9th of the month were the warmest as Fresno reached 105F on the 8th and both Fresno and Bakersfield reported 103F on the 9th.

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 5, 1:30 PM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 5, 1:30 PM PST, 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
230 PM PDT SUN SEP 5 2004

.SHORT TERM...FOR INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA...UPPER LEVEL WARM
RIDGE CONTS TO EXPAND ACROSS THE REGION TODAY WITH AFTERNOON TEMPS
EASILY RUNNING UP TO 10 DEGS ABOVE YESTERDAYS MAX/S. BOTH GFS AND
ETA SHOW THICKNESSES WILL CONT TO INCREASE ANOTHER 20 METERS OR SO
MON...THEN LEVEL OFF TUES AND WED. H85 TEMPS INCH UP ANOTHER DEG/C
OR SO MON...THEN ALSO LEVEL OFF TUES-WED. SO CONTD ABOVE AVERAGE
TEMPS THRU DAY 3. THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS FCST TO BE CENTERED MORE
OVER AZ BY WED. GFS SHOWS SOME SLIGHT INCREASES IN MOISTURE LATER
TUES INTO WED AS UPPER FLOW TURNS MORE SOUTHERLY. STABILITIES REMAIN
FAIRLY HIGH OVER THE SRN SIERRA HOWEVER...SO ONLY EXPECT SOME SMALL
AFTERNOON CU TUES AND/OR WED.

.LONG TERM...FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...THERE CONTINUES TO
BE MODEL DISAGREEMENT OVER THE WEST DURING THIS EXTENDED PERIOD.
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME TIMING DIFFERENCES ...BOTH THE EURO AND GFS
BRING A DECENT UPPER WAVE THROGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND NORTH CAL
THURSDAY AND A MUCH DEEPER UPPER TROUGH TO OFF THE WEST COAST
SUNDAY. THE MODELS PHASE TWO UPPER SYSTEMS OVER N BRITISH COLOMBIA
AND MAY BE OVER DEEPENING THE TROUGH AS IT MOVES INTO THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST THURSDAY. IN CONTRAST THE CANADIAN AND UK SOLUTIONS
MAINTAIN THE CYCLONES SEPARATE AND ARE MORE PROGRESSIVE MOVING THE
UPPER SHORT WAVE THOUGH NW CANADA. STILL EXPECT THE COOLING TREND TO
START THURSDAY AS THE FLOW SHIFTS ONSHORE. BUT BELIEVE THE GFS MAY
BE TOO DEEP AND STRONG WITH THE UPPER LOW COMING ONSHORE. THUS WILL
DELAY THE MORE SIGNIFICANT COOLING UNTIL FRIDAY. TEMPERATURES SHOULD
CONTINUE ON THE COOL SIDE THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH A TROUGH OFF THE
WEST COAST PROVIDING SW ONSHORE FLOW AND CONTINUE TO BRING COOL
STABLE MARINE AIR INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

BINGHAM/MV

Event by event

4 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, W Central S.J. Valley

When
September 5, 2:00 PM PST to September 11, 6:00 PM PST
Where
W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heat, E Central S.J. Valley

When
September 5, 2:00 PM PST to September 11, 6:00 PM PST
Where
E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heat, Sw S.J. Valley

When
September 5, 2:00 PM PST to September 11, 6:00 PM PST
Where
Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heat, Se S.J. Valley

When
September 5, 2:00 PM PST to September 11, 6:00 PM PST
Where
Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

What these are

Heat
Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, September 2004

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: 5422819, 5422820, 5422821, 5422822.