Heavy Rain, Tulare
- When
- February 18, 12:00 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, Visalia
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in California, February 18, 2005
A thunderstorm passed over Avenal late in the afternoon of the 18th with 1/2" hail and very heavy rain reported. The city of Visalia had over 30 intersections between Tulare and Walnut Avenues around Central Street flooded due to persistent and locally heavy rain.
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.
- 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
- 2
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 thunderstorm passed over Avenal late in the afternoon of the 18th with 1/2" hail and very heavy rain reported. The city of Visalia had over 30 intersections between Tulare and Walnut Avenues around Central Street flooded due to persistent and locally heavy rain. Rainfall accumulations around Visalia for the 36-hour period ending late on the 18th were in excess of 1".
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 Feb 17, 8:45 PM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 17, 8:45 PM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 845 PM PST THU FEB 17 2005 .SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...RADAR CONTINUES TO SHOW BANDS OF RAIN MOVING NORTHWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING. SO FAR, FREEZING LEVELS HAVE REMAINED ABOVE 7500 FEET AS THE FLOW IS FROM THE SOUTH, AND TROPICAL AIR CONTINUES TO BE ENTRAINED INTO THE SYSTEM. SPEAKING OF THE SYSTEM, THE PARENT LOW CONTINUES TO SPIN OUT NEAR 30N/130W AND LITTLE IF ANY EAST/WEST MOVEMENT IS NOTED. WITH THE OVERALL SYNOPTIC PATTERN CHANGING LITTLE, I WONDER IF THE FORECAST MODELS IDEA OF LOWERING SNOW LEVELS OVERNIGHT AND FRIDAY MAY BE A LITTLE OFF. LATEST MODEL RUN AT 00Z STILL SHOWS COOLING AT 700 MB (9000 FEET) WHICH WOULD RELATE TO SNOW LEVELS ENDING UP AROUND 6000-6500 FEET ON FRIDAY. WILL GO AHEAD AND LEAVE THE SNOW LEVEL FORECAST IN PLACE AS SOME OF THE COLDER AIR NEAR THE LOW CENTER MAY INDEED BECOME ENTRAINED IN THE SOUTHWEST FLOW AND MOVE OVER CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. AS FOR PRECIPITATION CHANCES, WILL GO AHEAD AND BUMP UP THE POPS TO CATEGORICAL AS IT IS RAINING, IT APPEARS THAT BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY (SHOWING NEW DEVELOPMENT OFFSHORE TO THE SOUTHWEST) THE MORE RAIN IS ON THE WAY AND THE LATEST MODELS GIVE VERY HIGH POP VALUES. NOT TOO SURE JUST HOW MUCH SNOW WILL FALL OVER THE SIERRA IN THE HEAVY SNOW WARNING AREAS, BUT AM RELUCTANT TO CANCEL IT OR LOWER IT TO AN ADVISORY AT THIS TIME. MIDNIGHT SHIFT MAY HAVE TO RE EVALUATE. PREVIOUSLY UPDATED THE ZONES TO REFLECT THE OVERNIGHT INCREASE IN PRECIPITATION CHANCES. THUS NO NEW UPDATE AT THIS TIME. .LONG TERM...FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...MEDIUM RANGE SOLUTIONS KEEP AN UPPER TROUGH ACROSS THE DISTRICT THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK, RESULTING IN A CONTINUATION OF PRECIPITATION CHANCES. THE TROUGH EJECTS EAST BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK, SO WILL CONFINE SHOWERS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. GFS ENSEMBLES SHOW QUITE A BIT OF SPREAD BY THE END OF THE PERIOD, SO ACTUAL CESSATION OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE TRICKY TO PREDICT. UNLIKE THE GFS RUNS OF YESTERDAY, THERE IS NO HINT OF ANY STRONG RIDGE BUILDING BACK INTO THE STATE TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK, AND THE LATEST INDICATIONS ARE THAT A COOL, CYCLONIC FLOW WILL PERSIST. THUS, SUSPECT THAT THE MID TO LATE WEEK PERIOD MAY END UP QUITE DIFFERENTLY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER THAN THE COMPROMISE I HAVE TAKEN. OTHERWISE, LITTLE DAY TO DAY TEMPERATURE CHANGE EXPECTED WITH CONSIDERABLE CLOUDINESS THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT THROUGH 10 PM FRIDAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. && DUDLEY/BURGER
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 17, 3:30 PM PST, 8 hours 30 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 330 PM PST THU FEB 17 2005 CAZ096-097-181300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 330 PM PST THU FEB 17 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A HEAVY SNOW WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH 10 PM FRIDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ089>095-098-099-181300- 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-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 330 PM PST THU FEB 17 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...AND THE ADJACENT SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS...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. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. DCH
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Kings
- When
- February 18, 5:00 PM PST to 5:30 PM PST
- Where
- Kings County, Avenal
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Rain in California, February 18 to 23, 2005
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 18, 2005
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 18 to 21, 2005
- Heavy Rain in California, February 18 to 19, 2005
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 18 to 21, 2005
- Heavy Snow in Utah, February 18 to 20, 2005
- Winter Weather in Utah, February 18 to 20, 2005
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 18 to 20, 2005
- Flooding in Illinois, February 18 to 25, 2005
- Heavy Snow in California, February 18, 2005
- Heavy Rain in Arizona, February 18, 2005
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 18 to 19, 2005
More
Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 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: 5442292, 5442291.