1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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 May 9, 8:08 AM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
908 AM PDT MON MAY 9 2005
.UPDATE...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...RADAR LOOPS AND
SPOTTERS REPORT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE MADERA-FRESNO COUNTY
LINE...MOVING FROM NORTH OF FRESNO TO INTO THE FOOTHILLS. HAIL HAS
ALREADY BEEN REPORTED IN CLOVIS...AND A COUPLE OF LIGHTNING STRIKES
IN THE MADERA COUNTY FOOTHILLS.
THE 12Z WS-ETA HAD A SURFACE-BASED COMPUTED CAPE 500+ JOULES/KG
BULLS-EYE NORTHEAST OF FRESNO AT 15Z...WITH COMPUTED LIFTED INDEX
AROUND 0. CAPES ARE FORECAST TO INCREASE ONLY SLIGHTLY DURING THE
DAY...BUT CAPES AT OR ABOVE 500 JOULES/KG BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD
OVER THE EAST SIDE OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND OVER MERCED COUNTY
BY 00Z TUESDAY...WITH COMPUTED LIFTED INDEXES OF -3. THUS...EXPECT
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THROUGH THIS
AFTERNOON...WITH POTENTIALLY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVER THE
NORTHERN PART OF THE HANFORD WARNING/FORECAST AREA.
NO FORECAST CHANGES PLANNED AT THIS TIME.
.FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...UPPER LOW IS
SPINNING NEAR THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST...WITH SEVERAL IMPULSES
ROTATING AROUND IT...ONE CURRENTLY MOVING OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
PRECIPITATION BAND WHICH MOVED ACROSS THE DISTRICT DURING THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS HAS BROKEN UP A BIT AND IS NOW AFFECTING THE
FOOTHILLS AND SIERRA ZONES WHILE ANOTHER AREA OF SCATTERED SHOWERS
IS MOVING IN FROM THE WEST. PRECIPITATION HAS STAYED MAINLY NORTH
OF KERN COUNTY WITH AMOUNTS GENERALLY AROUND 1/10 TO 1/4 INCH IN THE
VALLEY AND HIGHER AMOUNTS OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. SNOW LEVEL
REMAINS RATHER HIGH...AROUND 7000 TO 7500 FEET BUT WILL LOWER
SLIGHTLY THROUGH TONIGHT AS THE UPPER LOW TRACKS SLOWLY INLAND.
AREAS RECEIVING SNOW LOOK ON TRACK TO ACCUMULATE ADVISORY AMOUNTS
AND THE CURRENT SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE SIERRA ZONES REMAINS IN
EFFECT. MODELS ARE KEEPING BEST PRECIPITATION A LITTLE FARTHER NORTH
AND GENERALLY ENDING IT AFTER THIS EVENING OVER THE DISTRICT EXCEPT
FOR SOME SHOWERS OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA TUESDAY AND TUESDAY
EVENING. MODELS INDICATE BEST CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY
REMAIN NORTH OF THE DISTRICT. WILL KEEP JUST SLIGHT CHANCES IN
FORECAST FOR TODAY. RIDGING BEGINS TO SET UP OVER THE REGION BEHIND
THE SLOWLY DEPARTING UPPER LOW WEDNESDAY BRINGING DRY AND WARMER
CONDITIONS...THOUGH TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN A FEW DEGREES BELOW
CLIMO. THE PASSING TROUGH WILL BRING BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY
CONDITIONS OVER THE KERN DESERTS AND MOUNTAINS THROUGH TUESDAY.
.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...UPPER LEVEL RIDGING
REMAINS THE DOMINANT FEATURE OVER THE FA THROUGH THE PERIOD, WITH A
THERMAL TROUGH SETTING UP ACROSS THE CENTRAL VALLEY AT THE SURFACE.
THIS WILL BRING SHARPLY WARMER AFTERNOON TEMPS TO THE REGION ALONG
WITH MUCH LOWER RHS ALONG THE RIDGES WITH PREDOMINANT OFFSHORE FLOW.
MEDIUM RANGE SOLUTIONS DEPICT THE SURFACE PATTERN REVERTING BACK TO
ONSHORE BY THE WEEKEND AS THE RIDGE ALOFT BEGINS TO FLATTEN, BUT
WITH ONLY A FEW INTERMITTENT HIGH CLOUDS, TEMPS WILL REMAIN ABOVE
SEASONAL LEVELS.
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...SNOW ADVISORY THROUGH 10 PM
THIS EVENING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NORTH OF KERN
COUNTY.
&&
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/
SANGER/JEB/BURGERHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 500 AM PDT MON MAY 9 2005 CAZ096-097-101200- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 500 AM PDT MON MAY 9 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...AND THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM THIS EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY 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. CAZ089>094-101200- 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 PDT MON MAY 9 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...AND THE ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL...GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY 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. CAZ095-098-099-101200- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 500 AM PDT MON MAY 9 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE 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...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY 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. JWM
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:19 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A brief touchdown of a small tornado occurred during the late morning of the 9th in Southern Fresno County near the town of Fowler. No damage was reported and the funnel was seen by numerous motorists and the California Highway Patrol.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 2005Warnings in California, May 2005
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: 5449085.