Funnel Cloud, Kings
- When
- April 28, 11:35 AM PST to 11:40 AM PST
- Where
- Kings County, 1 mi W of (Nlc)nas Lemoore
- Reported by
- OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
- Coordinates
- 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike and Heavy Rain in California, April 28, 2005
88"), hail, and reports of funnel clouds around the city of Lemoore.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- 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.
Early afternoon thunderstorm activity brought locally heavy rain (0.88"), hail, and reports of funnel clouds around the city of Lemoore.
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 Apr 28, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 28, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 930 AM PDT THU APR 28 2005 .SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR... SATELLITE PICTURES SHOW AN UPPER LEVEL LOW JUST OFF THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST THIS MORNING. SOME SHOWERS CONTINUE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE VALLEY AND SIERRA AS AN AREA OF UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE LIFTS NORTH. WEATHER RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES RANGED FROM WIDESPREAD AMOUNTS OF 1-2 TENTHS OF AN INCH IN THE VALLEY WITH HEAVIER AMOUNTS OVER THE COASTAL RANGES AND WEST SIDE OF THE VALLEY. WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORT SNOW LEVEL AROUND 6000 FEET WITH A COUPLE OF INCHES OF SNOW FALLING OVERNIGHT. THE MORNING SOUNDINGS INDICATE DEEPER MOISTURE TOWARDS THE NORTH SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND DRIER AIR ALOFT PUSHING OVER THE SOUTH VALLEY AND KERN COUNTY AREA. VANDENBERG SOUNDING ALSO SHOWS STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET CROSSING THE REGION. MODELS INDICATE A DIMINISHING TREND FOR FOR PRECIPITATION FOR THE AFTERNOON WITH WEAKER DYNAMICS. THINK SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON. WITH COLDER AIR ALOFT FILTERING IN SOME CLEARING...DIURNAL HEATING TOWARDS THE SOUTH...WILL LEAD TO HIGHER CAPES AND STEEPER LAPSE RATES. EXPECT STRONG GUSTY WINDS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS DURING THE AFTERNOON. THE ETA MODEL SHOWS A 10MB PRESSURE GRADIENTS ACROSS SOUTH CALIFORNIA ALIGNING WITH A 120KT WEST UPPER JET. DO NOT SEE ANY NEED FOR A MORNING ZONE UPDATE. .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...STG 130 KT JET CONTS TO UNDERCUT UPPER LOW CENTERED NEAR 36N/125W AT 10Z. SHOWERS HAVE OVERSPREAD MUCH OF THE CWA WITH BACK EDGE OF STEADIER PRECIP NOW LIFTING NE INTO WESTERN ZONES. VERY SIMILAR PROJECTIONS ON MODEL GUIDANCE INDICATING JET SHIFTING INLAND NEAR KERN COUNTY AROUND 18Z ...CONTG EAST WITH CWA THEN FALLING UNDER RFQ BY 00Z. HEAVIEST PRECIP SHOULD OCCUR THRU APPROX 15Z...WITH ORGANIZED UVM DECREASING THRU THE AFTN. LESS INSTABILITY IS PROJECTED ON PROGS FOR THIS AFTN THAN PREVIOUS MODEL RUNS...HOWEVER WILL MAINTAIN POTENTIAL FOR ISOLDTHUNDER WITH GIVEN COLD POOL ALOFT AND MODERATE MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES. PROXIMITY OF UPPER JET WILL PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS IN THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS/DESERTS AS LAPSE RATES AIDE IN MIXING STRONGER WINDS TO THE LOWER ELEVS...AND WILL NEED TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE WIND ADVISORIES TODAY. SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL PROVIDE A MORE STABLE PATTERN THRUT THE CWA LATER TONIGHT AND FRIDAY BEFORE ANOTHER WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGH APPROACHES SATURDAY. WITH PROGS SHOWING WAVE WEAKENING AS IT APPROACHES THE WEST COAST...ATTM WILL KEEP POPS LOW AND AND CONFIED TO THE HIER ELEVS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA. .LONG TERM....LONG TERM...FOR SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY... MODELS IN BASIC AGREEMENT IN BRINGING A WEAK SHORTWAVE THROUGH THE REGION SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY THEN LEAVING WEAK TROUGHINESS OVER THE REGION MONDAY. DO NOT SEE ANYTHING TO INDICATE ANYTHING MORE THAN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS SUNDAY AND MONDAY. WEAK SHORTWAVE RIDGING SEEN FOR TUESDAY...WITH JUST A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS IN THE SIERRA. ANOTHER WEAK TROUGH INDICATED FOR WEDNESDAY...BUT AGAIN DO NOT SEE ANYTHING MORE THAN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE SIERRA. TEMPS THRU THE PERIOD TO REMAIN SLIGHTLY BELOW SEASONAL NORMS. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/ MV/JSN/BEAN
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 28, 5:05 AM PST, 6 hours 30 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 605 AM PDT THU APR 28 2005 CAZ089>094-291200- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- 605 AM PDT THU APR 28 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...AND THE SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HEAVY DOWNPOURS...GUSTY WINDS...AND HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ095>099-291200- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 605 AM PDT THU APR 28 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA... THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY...AND THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. TLM/JSN
The radar
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 31 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:32 UTC.
Event by event
2 funnel cloud, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Kings
- When
- April 28, 12:00 PM PST to 1:00 PM PST
- Where
- Kings County, Lemoore
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
- Coordinates
- 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning, Kings
- When
- April 28, 12:25 PM PST
- Where
- Kings County, 1 mi W of Lemoore
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud, Kings
- When
- April 28, 12:33 PM PST to 12:40 PM PST
- Where
- Kings County, 1 mi NW of Lemoore
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 36.075, -119.815 (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.
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- 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
- Flooding in Maine, April 28 to 30, 2005
- Lightning Strike in California, April 28, 2005
- Hail and Heavy Rain in California, April 28, 2005
- Damaging Wind in California, April 28, 2005
- Strong Wind in New York, April 28, 2005
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, April 28, 2005
- Frost and Freeze in Kansas, April 28 to 29, 2005
- Hail in Oklahoma, April 28, 2005
- Winter Storm in Colorado, April 28 to 29, 2005
- Flooding in Maine, April 28 to 30, 2005
- Hail in California, April 28, 2005
- Heavy Rain in California, April 28, 2005
More
Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2005
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: 5446681, 5446684, 5446682, 5446683.