Debris Flow, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- March 23, 7:00 AM PST to 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Debris Flow and Heavy Rain in California, March 23, 2005
Several reports of funnel clouds were received on the 23rd of the month in the South Fresno County and Tulare County area. Locally heavy rain and thundershowers continue to add to the monthly precipitation totals.
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
- 5
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.
Several reports of funnel clouds were received on the 23rd of the month in the South Fresno County and Tulare County area. Locally heavy rain and thundershowers continue to add to the monthly precipitation totals. The saturated soils from numerous rain events led to runoff from Arroyo Pasajero limiting access to Huron in West Fresno County. An additional 1.36" of rain in the Mariposa area caused concern for Merced County residents near Bear Creek east of the city of Merced. The continued rain also led to a rockslide across General's Highway about 9 miles northeast of Three Rivers in Tulare County. Storm precipitation totals for the period from the 18th through the 23rd of the month included: Merced Airport 2.27"; Madera Airport 1.28"; Fresno 1.92"; and, Bakersfield 0.73".
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 23, 4:44 AM PST, 2 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 4:44 AM PST, 2 hours 16 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
444 AM PST WED MAR 23 2005
SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...MODERATE TO
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND SNOW CONTINUES OVER THE SIERRA AND ADJACENT
FOOTHILLS THIS MORNING. THIS SHOULD TAPER OFF TO SCATTERED ACTIVITY
BY AFTERNOON AS THE LATEST SHORTWAVE IMPULSE MOVES EAST OF THE AREA.
COULD SEE AN ADDITIONAL 8 INCHES OR SO AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS
THROUGH THE MORNING BEFORE THE SNOWFALL DIMINISHES...THEREFORE THE
WSW IS EXTENDED THROUGH 10 AM. BROAD TROUGHINESS IS PROGGED TO
CONTINUE OVER THE REGION THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH ADDITIONAL
SHORTWAVE ENERGY RIDING THROUGH THE TROUGH...KEEPING CHANCES FOR
PRECIPITATION IN THE FORECAST ACROSS THE DISTRICT. ONLY SLIGHT
CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION BY FRIDAY AS THE UPPER RIDGE BEGINS TO
SLIP EASTWARD OVER THE WEST COAST. COOLER AIR IN PLACE OVER THE
DISTRICT HAS 24 HR TEMPERATURE TRENDS RUNNING DOWN ABOUT 4 TO 6
DEGREES F. THIS COOLER TREND SHOULD CONTINUE WITH TODAYS
HIGHS...THEN TEMPERATURES WARMING SLIGHTLY THROUGH FRIDAY AS THE
UPPER RIDGE EDGES EASTWARD.
.LONG TERM...FOR FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS
IN GOOD AGREEMENT AND BUILD A DRY UPPER RIDGE INTO CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. EXPECT A GOOD WARM UP SATURDAY
WITH AN OFFSHORE DOWNSLOPING FLOW AT LOWER LEVELS SUPPLEMENTING THE
WARMING OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. SUNDAY MAY BE JUST A WARM AS WAA
TAKES PLACE AHEAD OF AN INCOMING STORM OFF THE NORCAL/PAC NW COAST.
THE GFS PROGS A COLD FRONT WITH DEEPER MOISTURE MOVING INTO CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA BY 12Z MONDAY AND LATEST EURO TRENDING TOWARDS A DEEPER
AND STRONGER SYSTEM. THUS WILL INTRODUCE A THREAT OF PRECIPITATION
MAINLY OVER THE NORTH HALF OF REGION SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN
COUNTY LINE THROUGH 1000 AM PST THIS MORNING.
&&
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/
JEB/MVHazardous weather outlook, Mar 23, 5:00 AM PST, 2 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 500 AM PST WED MAR 23 2005 CAZ089>094-241300- 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- 500 AM PST WED MAR 23 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. SOME STORMS COULD PRODUCE FREQUENT LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...GUSTY WINDS...AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY 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. CAZ096-097-241300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 500 AM PST WED MAR 23 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 10 AM THIS MORNING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY 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. CAZ095-098-099-241300- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 500 AM PST WED MAR 23 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...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY 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 San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:28 UTC.
Event by event
2 heavy rain, 2 funnel cloud, 1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Fresno
- When
- March 23, 12:30 PM PST to 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Fresno County, 17 mi W of Huron
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Mariposa
- When
- March 23, 1:00 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Mariposa County, Mariposa
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.582, -119.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud, Tulare
- When
- March 23, 1:10 PM PST to 1:18 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, 8 mi S of Visalia
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud, Fresno
- When
- March 23, 3:20 PM PST to 3:25 PM PST
- Where
- Fresno County, Reedley
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Debris Flow
- A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- 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
- Hail in California, March 23, 2005
- High Wind in Florida, March 23, 2005
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, March 23 to 24, 2005
- Winter Weather in Vermont, March 23 to 24, 2005
- Winter Storm in Montana, March 23, 2005
- Rip Current in Florida, March 23, 2005
- Winter Storm in Colorado, March 23 to 24, 2005
- Hail in West Virginia, March 23, 2005
- Hail in North Carolina, March 23, 2005
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, March 23 to 24, 2005
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, March 23 to 24, 2005
- Hail in North Carolina, March 23, 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: 5444643, 5444641, 5444642, 5444639, 5444640.