Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in California, August 15, 2005

Name: Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in California, August 15, 2005
Start: 2005-08-15T18:00
End: 2005-08-15T20:30
Location: California

August 15, 2005 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 1 county or zone

Where it happened

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.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $251,000
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.

Heavy rain occurred between 1800 to 1900 PST in the Kern County Desert area that led to flash flooding in California City from Cache Creek and extensive sheet flow through the area. The California Highway Patrol reported flooding across Highway 14 south of Phillips Road and also at the intersection of westbound Highway 58 and California City Boulevard (Cache Creek). The fire department rain gauge measured 5" of rain in one hour from the deluge with outlying areas reporting up to 2.5" of rain. Roof leakage with the heavy rain accounted for some of the damage reported. High wind accompanying the thunderstorm also damaged roofs, signs, and uprooted trees with its passing. This same thunderstorm cell produced a tornado earlier in the afternoon just south of the Kern County line and southeast of Edwards AFB (see Los Angeles Stormdata report).

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 Aug 15, 1:00 PM PST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 15, 1:00 PM PST, 5 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
200 PM PDT MON AUG 15 2005

.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...WV LOOP
INDICATING CENTER OF UPPER CUTOFF LOW CENTER JUST SOUTH OF OUR CWFA.
MOISTURE ROTATING AROUND THIS LOW HAS BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT CLOUD COVER
TO OUR AREA TODAY WHICH HAS ALSO KEPT TEMPS WELL BELOW GUIDANCE.
SKIES DID CLEAR OUT SOME IN KERN COUNTY WHICH HAS ALLOWED FOR ENOUGH
SURFACE HEATING FOR SOME THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTH END
OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. NORTH OF KERN COUNTY THE PRECIPITATION HAS
BEEN GENERALLY LIGHT WITH MOST AREAS RECEIVING A TRACE TO A FEW
HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH OF RAINFALL WHICH IS FAIRLY TYPICAL FOR AN
AUGUST PRECIPITATION EVENT IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND SOUTHERN
SIERRA FOOTHILLS. WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION ISOLATED CONVECTION OVER
THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THROUGH THIS EVENING SINCE MUCH OF THE
PRECIPITATION IS HAVING DIFFICULTY REACHING THE SURFACE ALTHOUGH KHNX
88D IS SHOWING FAIRLY IMPRESSIVE COVERAGE FROM FRESNO COUNTY
NORTHWARD. THE 12Z NAM-12 IS ANTICIPATING CAPES OF 1200 TO 1600 J/KG
AND LI/S BETWEEN -3 TO -6 EARLY THIS EVENING OVER THE KERN MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS WHERE SKIES CLEARED OUT FOR SOME TIME TODAY. THUS...THIS
WILL BE THE MAIN AREA OF CONCERN FOR STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
AND AND LOCALLY STRONG WIND GUSTS THIS EVENING.

BOTH THE NAM AND GFS ARE NOW INDICATING THE UPPER LOW LIFTS NORTHEAST
ACROSS THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR TONIGHT AND INTO THE GREAT BASIN ON
TUESDAY. ALTHOUGH THE GFS (THE CONSENSUAL PREFERRED MODEL TODAY AS
PER HPC DISCUSSION) LEAVES SOME ENERGY FROM THIS UPPER LOW BEHIND
OVER SOCAL THROUGH MID WEEK...MOST OF THE MOISTURE WILL DEPART
THE AREA WITH THE MAIN SYSTEM ON TUESDAY. WITH RESIDUAL MOISTURE AND
AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND KERN DESERTS ON
TUESDAY...WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION ISOLATED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS.
BY WEDNESDAY...WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL PUSH THE MAJORITY OF THE
MID/UPPER MOISTURE EAST OF THE SIERRA CREST. WILL CONTINUE MENTION
OF ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EVENING T-STORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA ON WEDNESDAY THEN DRY ALL AREA THURSDAY AS A NORTHWEST FLOW
ALOFT SETS IN. TEMPERATURES WILL WARM BACK UP TO SEASONAL NORMALS
BY WEDNESDAY AS HEIGHTS AND DIURNAL THICKNESSES RISE AND THE
ATMOSPHERE DRIES OUT.

.LONG TERM...FOR THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...REMNANTS OF UPPER
TROUGH WILL LIFT NE THURS NIGHT WITH HEIGHTS RECOVERING THRU THE
WEEKEND AS RIDGE REBUILDS OVER THE CWA. AS UPPER HIGH STRENGTHENS...
850 MB TEMPS WILL RISE BACK INTO THE MID-UPPER 20S SUPPORTING A SLOW
WARMING TREND ACROSS THE CWA WITH NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. WITH CONTD DRYING OF MID-LEVELS THURS NGT AND FRI...
CONVECTIVE THREAT SHOULD REMAIN MINIMAL OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
AND WILL MAINTAIN ZERO POPS THRU THE WEEKEND.

&&

.AVIATION...BREAKS IN OVERCAST WILL ALLOW WIDELY SCTD DEEPER
CONVECTION TO DEVELOP WITH SURFACE HEATING...MAINLY SOUTH OF KVIS
WHERE ISOLD CEILINGS OF 4-5K FEET AND -TSRA WILL BE POSSIBLE THRU
03Z. ELSEWHERE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH AT LEAST 18Z
TUESDAY. REFER TO TAFS AT KMCE...KFAT...AND KBFL FOR DETAILS.

&&

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

&&

WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/

DS/JSN

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 15, 4:05 PM PST, 1 hour 55 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
505 PM PDT MON AUG 15 2005

CAZ089>099-161200-
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-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
505 PM PDT MON AUG 15 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY.

AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PUSHING THROUGH THE REGION WILL
CONTINUE TO GENERATE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE
AREA...INCLUDING THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL
OCCUR OVER THE KERN MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS AND MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING
HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE SIERRA
NEVADA AND KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS ON TUESDAY. NO
ADDITIONAL PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED FOR THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

DCH

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 15, 4:38 PM PST, 1 hour 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
538 PM PDT MON AUG 15 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0455 PM     HAIL             RIDGECREST              35.63N 117.66W
08/15/2005  0.88 INCH        KERN               CA   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BINGHAM

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Kern

When: August 15, 6:00 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where: Kern County, Calif City Civic Ctr
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 35.343, -118.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Kern

When: August 15, 6:15 PM PST to 6:30 PM PST
Where: Kern County, Calif City Civic Ctr
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 35.133, -117.967

Flash Flood, Kern

When: August 15, 6:56 PM PST to 8:30 PM PST
Where: Kern County, Calif City Civic Ctr
Property damage: $199,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 35.133, -117.967

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in California, August 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: 5469558, 5469559, 5469557.