Tornado in California, March 28, 2006

Name: Tornado in California, March 28, 2006
Start: 2006-03-28T14:35
End: 2006-03-28T15:20
Location: California

March 28, 2006 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A late report indicated damage from this second small tornado in Merced at 1517 PST shortly after the 1448 PST tornado. There was minimal damage associated with the small track and path.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
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 late report indicated damage from this second small tornado in Merced at 1517 PST shortly after the 1448 PST tornado. There was minimal damage associated with the small track and path. There was an unconfirmed report of another touchdown in the city close to the time this confirmed 1517 PST tornado.

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 28, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 28, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
900 AM PST TUE MAR 28 2006

.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...HANFORD RADAR
SHOWS QUITE OF BIT OF PRECIPITATION CONTINUING OVER MUCH OF THE
AREA AS THE LAST OF THE WARM SECTOR AIRMASS MOVES EAST. UPSTREAM THE
DISTINCT COLD FRONTAL BAROCLINIC BAND IS NOW SWEEPING TOWARDS THE
BAY AREA AND THIS WILL BECOME THE MAIN WEATHER FACTOR THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. CURRENTLY, SNOW LEVELS HAVE REMAINED HIGH AND
THE MORNING VANDENBERG SOUNDING, BACKED UP WITH MESONET OBS SHOWS
THE SNOW LEVEL AT AROUND 8000 FEET OVER THE SOUTH AND 7000 NEAR
YOSEMITE. HEAVY SNOW HAS FALLEN ABOVE 8000 FEET AND WITH THE
ARRIVAL OF THE COLDER AIR THIS AFTERNOON, SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL
RAPIDLY. IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS THE COLD, UNSTABLE AIR SHOULD
SPARK OFF THUNDERSTORMS AND LIGHTNING DATA SHOWS THIS TO BE THE CASE
ALREADY. RAINFALL HAS BEEN RATHER HEAVY IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
WITH MANY LOCATIONS IN FRESNO, KINGS AND TULARE COUNTIES
APPROACHING OR EXCEEDING ONE INCH. LATEST QPF FROM THE RFC IN
SACRAMENTO SHOWS ANOTHER 1.5 POSSIBLE IN THE SIERRA AND OVER .50
IN THE SJV BY TOMORROW AFTERNOON. LATEST MODELS BRING THE TROUGH
AXIS OVER THE AREA TONIGHT AND SHIFT IT EAST OF THE AREA ON
WEDNESDAY. THIS SHOULD EFFECTIVELY SHUT OFF THE PRECIPITATION ON
WEDNESDAY. RIDGING IS PROGGED FOR THURSDAY FOR DRY WEATHER. WILL
CONTINUE THE WINTER STORM WARNINGS FOR THE SIERRA AND HIGHER KERN
MOUNTAINS. SNOW LEVELS ARE STILL PROGGED TO FALL TO AROUND 4500
FEET TONIGHT THUS SNOW MAY FALL ON 1-5 AT TEJON PASS AND TEHACHAPI
PASS. MORE TO FOLLOW THIS AFTERNOON.

.LONG TERM...FOR THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...MEDIUM RANGE
MODELS STILL SHOWING FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH INTRODUCING ANOTHER
PACIFIC STORM INTO THE DISTRICT FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA AROUND
FRIDAY. MODEL TIMING FOR THE START OF THIS NEXT STORM HAS NOT REALLY
CHANGED FROM THAT OF MONDAY AFTERNOON AND IS STILL SET FOR FRIDAY
MORNING...NEAR DAY BREAK...AND OVER-SPREADING THE DISTRICT DURING THE
DAY. GFS IS BECOMING MORE IN LINE WITH THE OTHER MODELS WHICH WERE
INDICATING THE TROF BECOMING MORE AMPLIFIED DURING ITS PASSAGE
THROUGH CALIFORNIA. THEREFORE...CERTAINTY IN THE AMOUNT OF
AMPLIFICATION HAS INCREASED AS ALL MODELS ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE
PRECIP OVER THE DISTRICT ON FRIDAY. WILL STILL FAVOR THE MORE
AMPLIFIED FLOW WHICH EVEN THE ENSEMBLE MEANS WERE ALSO SHOWING. WILL
EXPECT LINGERING SHOWERS TO CONTINUE ON SATURDAY AS THE DISTRICT
REMAINS UNDER CYCLONIC FLOW. BY SATURDAY NIGHT...MODELS LIFT THE
TROF OUT OF THE DISTRICT FOR THE START OF ANOTHER DRY PERIOD.
YET...THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE ZONAL DURING THIS TIME FRAME.
THEREFORE...WILL MAINTAIN CLOUDS OVER THE DISTRICT WILL ONLY A
SLIGHT WARM UP. DURING THIS TIME...MODELS PUSH ANOTHER TROF THROUGH
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST...NORTH OF THE DISTRICT...WITH LITTLE
INFLUENCE OVER CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. THIS DRY PATTERN WILL CONTINUE
INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AS HEIGHTS RISE UNDER A DEVELOPING SHORT WAVE
RIDGE. YET...BY MONDAY ANOTHER TROF BEGIN TO APPROACH THE REGION FOR
POSSIBLE CONTINUED UNSETTLED CONDITIONS.

&&

.AVIATION...A DEVELOPING PACIFIC STORM RESULTED IN DETERIORATING
WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS MORNING WITH WIDESPREAD MVFR CONDITIONS
ALONG WITH LOCAL IFR CEILINGS IN RAIN. AS THE PRECIPITATION MOVE
OUT OF THE VALLEY AND INTO THE MOUNTAINS...WILL SEE IMPROVING
CONDITIONS BEFORE THE NEXT WAVE OF RAIN AND SNOW PUSHES IN LATER
TODAY. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION WILL BE OBSERVED ACROSS THE SIERRA
NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING IN MODERATE SNOW. FOR
SPECIFIC DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO TAFS FOR KMCE...KFAT AND KBFL.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
      SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS THROUGH
      TONIGHT.

&&

WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

DUDLEY/CM

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 28, 5:00 AM PST, 9 hours 35 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
500 AM PST TUE MAR 28 2006

CAZ095>097-291300-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
500 AM PST TUE MAR 28 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE DAY. PLEASE REFER TO
THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY
WEDNESDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46
KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS
EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE.

CAZ089>094-098-099-291300-
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-
INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
500 AM PST TUE MAR 28 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF
THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS POSSIBLE IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF
THE VALLEY AND OVER THE KERN COUNTY DESERT THROUGH THE DAY.

.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 THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE.

PEJ

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 28, 10:32 AM PST, 4 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
1032 AM PST TUE MAR 28 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1027 AM     HEAVY SNOW       LODGEPOLE               36.60N 118.73W
03/28/2006  M16.0 INCH       TULARE             CA   PARK/FOREST SRVC

0800 AM     HEAVY SNOW       TUOLUMNE MEADOWS        37.87N 119.36W
03/28/2006  M7.0 INCH        TUOLUMNE           CA   PARK/FOREST SRVC

0800 AM     HEAVY SNOW       KAISER POINT SNOTEL     37.30N 119.10W
03/28/2006  E19.0 INCH       FRESNO             CA   MESONET

            ESTIMATED BY SNOTEL

0800 AM     HEAVY SNOW       TAMARACK SUMMIT SNOTEL  37.17N 119.20W
03/28/2006  E15.0 INCH       FRESNO             CA   MESONET

            ESTIMATED BY SNOTEL

&&

DUDLEY

The radar

The San Francisco radar (KMUX), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Merced

When: March 28, 2:35 PM PST to 2:50 PM PST
Where: Merced County, 5 mi SSE of Merced
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.192, -120.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Merced

When: March 28, 3:17 PM PST to 3:20 PM PST
Where: Merced County, 2 mi NNW of Merced Arpt
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 37.317, -120.533

What these are

Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history The tornado archive for California, 2006 Warnings in California, March 2006

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: 5496209, 5496208.