Funnel Cloud, Merced
- When
- March 20, 1:40 PM PST to 1:50 PM PST
- Where
- Merced County, 7 mi NNW of Los Banos
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.192, -120.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in California, March 20, 2005
1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 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 Mar 20, 9:10 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 9:10 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 910 AM PST SUN MAR 20 2005 .SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...SHORT TERM CONCERN REMAINS CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL WITH 130 KT JET AXIS OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL CA AND NORTHERN ZONES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO LFQ. OAK RAOB SHOWED CAPE IN EXCESS OF 900 J/KG AT 12Z WITH SR-HELICITIES CLOSE TO 200 M2/S2. THOUGH SOUNDINGS DERIVED FROM RUC AND HIGH-RES NAM PROJECT SBCAPE LOWERING TO 200-300 J/KG ALONG AN AXIS FROM MCE TO FAT BY 00Z...VERY WEAK VEERING OF WIND SHEAR VECTORS IS ALSO INDICATED THAT MAY AUGMENT BUOYANCY. WITH MEAN STORM MOTION TO THE SE...ANY CELLS THAT DEVELOP NORTH AND WEST OF DISTRICT MAY MOVE INTO THE CWA...AND HAVE ADJUSTED THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL UPWARD SLIGHTLY IN GRIDS FOR TODAY. HAVE ALSO INCREASED WINDS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SJ VALLEY ZONES WITH SOME STRENGTHENING OF SURFACE P-GRADS UNDERWAY. INCOMING PROGS SUPPORT PROJECTIONS OF STRONGER SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING ONSHORE LATE MON NGT/TUES...AND WILL EVALUATE TIMING AND IMPACTS AFTER ARRIVAL OF FULL MODEL SUITE. NO OTHER UPDATES REQUIRED ATTM. .LONG TERM...FOR TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...00Z MODELS IN A LITTLE BETTER AGREEMENT IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD...BRINGING A TROUGH THROUGH THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THURSDAY WILL BE A TRANSITION DAY BEFORE AN UPPER RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD ALONG TO COAST FRIDAY THEN MOVE INLAND SATURDAY. WILL CONTINUE WITH CHANCE POPS FOR ALL AREAS THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...TRENDING POPS LOWER THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...THEN DRY SATURDAY. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/ JSN/BEAN
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 20, 7:35 AM PST, 6 hours 5 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 735 AM PST SUN MAR 20 2005 CAZ089>094-211300- 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- 735 AM PST SUN MAR 20 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...AND THE ADJACENT SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL OCCUR DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS AND MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 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>099-211300- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 735 AM PST SUN MAR 20 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 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. TLM/JSN
The radar
The San Francisco radar (KMUX), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:42 UTC.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in California, March 20, 2005
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, March 20 to 22, 2005
- High Wind in Washington, March 20, 2005
- Tornado in California, March 20, 2005
- Hail in Kansas, March 20, 2005
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, March 20, 2005
- Hail in Kansas, March 20, 2005
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, March 20, 2005
- Heavy Snow in California, March 20 to 22, 2005
- High Wind in Texas, March 20 to 21, 2005
- Hail in Virginia, March 20, 2005
- Strong Wind in California, March 20 to 21, 2005
More
Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 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: 5444735.