Flooding in California, March 22, 2005

Name: Flooding in California, March 22, 2005
Start: 2005-03-22T16:10
End: 2005-03-22T22:00
Location: California

March 22, 2005 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

22" of rain. Numerous small creeks flooded in Mariposa, Merced, and Madera Counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: $2.5 million
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.

Over 4 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period ending late on the 22nd in the Mariposa County area of Central California with Mariposa specifically reporting 3.22" of rain. Numerous small creeks flooded in Mariposa, Merced, and Madera Counties. Flooding caused damage to structures within the town of Mariposa and several bridges and roads in and around Hornitos, Merced Falls, and Catheys Valley in Merced and Mariposa Counties. The creeks that flooded in Mariposa County included Mariposa, Burns, Bear, and Owens Creeks. In Madera County, Finegold Creek near North Fork ran full from the event.

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 22, 2:30 PM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 22, 2:30 PM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
230 PM PST TUE MAR 22 2005

SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...AFTERNOON WV
IMAGERY SHOWS THE UPPER LOW CROSSING INLAND ALONG THE OREGON AND
CALIFORNIA BORDER, WITH THE ASSOCIATED TROUGH EXTENDING SOUTHWEST
NEAR 125W. A STRONG UPPER JET WILL SAG SOUTH AND EAST OVERNIGHT AND
PLACE THE DISTRICT UNDERNEATH ITS LFQ. IMPULSES EVIDENT UPSTREAM
WILL LIKEWISE FOLLOW THE JET AND TRACK OVER THE REGION, LIKELY
SUSTAINING SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, MOST EXTENSIVELY BEFORE
MIDNIGHT. WILL THUS OPT TO EXTEND THE WSW FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA
THROUGH 4 AM AS FAVORABLE OROGRAPHICS WILL TEAM WITH THE MOIST
WESTERLY FLOW TO RESULT IN ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. SNOW
LEVELS WILL FALL QUITE SHARPLY OVERNIGHT, AS COLDER AIR NORTH OF THE
JET AXIS FILTERS INTO THE REGION. MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT THE
COLDER AIR WILL TAKE MOST OF THE NIGHT TO MAKE IT TO KERN COUNTY,
WHEN PRECIPITATION BEGINS TO TAPER OFF, SO WILL NOT ISSUE ANY
WINTER HEADLINES DOWN SOUTH AT THIS TIME. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL
CONTINUE ALL NIGHT THROUGH THE DESERTS AND INTO THE MOUNTAINS OF
KERN COUNTY, WITH GUSTS LIKELY TO APPROACH WAD CRITERIA BELOW THE
PASSES. NOT SURE HOW WIDESPREAD OF AN EVENT THESE WINDS WILL BE, SO
WILL DEFER ANY DECISIONS CONCERNING WIND HEADLINES TO THE SWING
SHIFT.

UPPER CYCLONIC FLOW CONTINUES WEDNESDAY, WITH WEAK VORTICITY MAXIMA
CROSSING OVER THE DISTRICT. HAVE RETAINED CHANCE POPS FOR ALL AREAS
ALTHOUGH AMOUNTS/COVERAGE LOOK TO BE MUCH LESS THAN TODAY. ALTHOUGH
MUCH LESS SURFACE CAPE LOOKS AVAILABLE TOMORROW, MID LEVEL LAPSE
RATES WILL BE STEEPER, SO WILL INCLUDE A MENTION OF ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE VALLEY AND FOOTHILLS. WEDNESDAY NIGHT APPEARS
TO BE RELATIVELY INACTIVE AS ANY ORGANIZED LIFTING MECHANISM LOOKS
ABSENT, HOWEVER BY THURSDAY A MORE DISTINCT WAVE APPROACHES THE
SOCAL COAST ACCOMPANIED BY ANOTHER JET MAX. THE ORIENTATION OF THE
LATTER WOULD PLACE THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWFA IN AN AREA OF
FAVORED LIFTING, AND WILL INCREASE POPS ACROSS THE SOUTH DURING THE
DAY. A DRYING TREND IS SLATED FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY AS THE
TROUGH SHIFTS EAST OF THE CREST, ALTHOUGH SOME SHOWERS MAY STILL
DEVELOP IN THE COOL CYCLONIC FLOW, ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN.

.LONG TERM...FOR FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...MEDIUM RANGE PROGS
INDICATING EXCELLENT CONSENSUS IN BUILDING A DRY UPPER RIDGE INTO
CENTRAL CA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. AFTER A FAIRLY COOL MORNING
ON SATURDAY AS CLEARING SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS WILL ALLOW FOR BETTER
RADIATIONAL COOLING THAN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ACCUSTOMED TO
RECENTLY...DIURNAL TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN TO RISE AS HEIGHTS AND
DIURNAL THICKNESSES SKYROCKET ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. SHOULD SEE
CONTINUED WARMING ON MONDAY AS WAA TAKES PLACE AHEAD OF AN INCOMING
STROM OFF THE NORCAL/PAC NW COAST. PROGS ARE TRENDING SLOWER WITH
THIS POTENTIALLY STRONG STORM...AND KEEP THE MAJORITY OF THE DEEP
MOISTURE AND SIGNIFICANT DYNAMICS NORTH OF OUR CWFA. THE 12Z
UKMET/GEM INDICATE A MUCH STRONGER STORM THAN THE 12Z ECMWF/NOGAPS
AND SUCCESSIVE GFS RUNS DO SO CONFIDENCE IS LOW FOR MONDAY THROUGH
TUESDAY. WILL BRUSH SOME TOKEN POPS NEAR YOSEMITE PARK FOR MONDAY
AND MONDAY NIGHT AND KEEP THE REMAINDER OF OUR CWFA DRY FOR NOW AS
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT AN UPPER RIDGE SUCH AS THE ONE THAT WILL
DOMINATE OVER OUR AREA DURING THE WEEKEND HOLDS STRONGER THAN THE
MODELS SUGGEST MORE THAN FIVE DAYS OUT.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
      SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN
      COUNTY LINE THROUGH 400 AM PST WEDNESDAY.
                                ...URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD
      ADVISORY FOR MERCED COUNTY UNTIL 500 PM TUESDAY.

&&

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/

BURGER/DS

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 22, 3:00 PM PST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
300 PM PST TUE MAR 22 2005

CAZ089>094-231300-
EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
400 PM PST TUE MAR 22 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING. SOME STORMS COULD PRODUCE FREQUENT LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL...GUSTY WINDS...AND SMALL HAIL.
AN URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM PST
FOR MERCED COUNTY. PLEASE REFER TO THE FLOOD STATEMENT /WGUS86 KHNX/
FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

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.

CAZ096-097-231300-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
300 PM PST TUE MAR 22 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
FROM YOSEMITE TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY
MORNING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46
KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THE WINTER STORM WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST
WEDNESDAY MORNING OTHERWISE NO OTHER 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.

CAZ095-098-099-231300-
INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
300 PM PST TUE MAR 22 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

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.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, S Sierra Foothills

When: March 22, 4:10 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
Property damage: $2.3 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.617, -122.550

Flood, E Central S.J. Valley

When: March 22, 6:10 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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, 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: 5444662, 5444663.