Funnel Cloud, Fresno
- When
- March 3, 1:51 PM PST to 1:55 PM PST
- Where
- Fresno County, 5 mi S of San Joaquin
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail in California, March 3, 2006
Thunderstorm activity with locally heavy rain occurred over the Central and northern portions of the Southern San Joaquin Valley during the afternoon of the 3rd.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 3
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.
Thunderstorm activity with locally heavy rain occurred over the Central and northern portions of the Southern San Joaquin Valley during the afternoon of the 3rd.
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 3, 9:30 AM PST, 4 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 3, 9:30 AM PST, 4 hours 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
930 AM PST FRI MAR 3 2006
.SHORT TERM...LOCAL DOPPLER RADAR IMAGERY SHOWING THE HEAVIER
SHOWERS NOW MOVING ACROSS THE EAST SIDE OF THE VALLEY AND CONTINUING
TO PUSH INTO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. REGIONAL RADAR DISPLAYS ALSO
SHOWING CONTINUATION OF SHOWERS PUSHING IN OFF THE COAST FOR FURTHER
DEVELOPMENT ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. RUC
MODEL AND SATELLITE ANALYSIS IS NOW SHOWING THE COLD UPPER LOW
MOVING ONSHORE WITH 500MB TEMP OF MINUS 30 DEG-C AND BELOW OVER THE
BAY AREA. WILL EXPECT THIS COLD AIR TO PUSH FURTHER ONSHORE TODAY
TO INCREASE THE CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE
DISTRICT. MODELS INDICATE THE BETTER AREA OF CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT
TO REMAIN FROM FRESNO COUNTY NORTHWARD AS LI/S DROP TO MINUS 2 OR 3
NEAR LOS BANOS AND MERCED. IN ADDITION...ETA MODEL CAPE VALUES RISE
TO AROUND 400 J/KG WHICH DOES WARRANT A CONTINUED MENTION OF
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE VALLEY AND ADJACENT SIERRA
FOOTHILLS THIS AFTERNOON. BEFORE HAND...SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL
REMAIN THE MAIN CONCERN THIS MORNING WITH LEVELS RANGING FROM 2500
FEET IN THE FOOTHILLS NEAR YOSEMITE PARK...TO 3500 FEET IN THE
TEHACHAPIS. WILL MAINTAIN THE WINTER STORM WARNING OVER THE SIERRA
NEVADA AND SNOW ADVISORIES FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND KERN MOUNTAINS
THROUGH 400 PM TODAY. BY THIS AFTERNOON AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES
FURTHER INLAND...PRECIP OVER MOST AREAS WILL BECOME MORE SHOWERY.
AFTER SUNSET...WILL STILL EXPECT LINGERING SHOWERS BEFORE CONDITIONS
SETTLE DOWN OVERNIGHT. WILL MAKE NO CHANGES TO THE FORECAST THIS
MORNING AS ALL ELEMENTS STILL ON TRACK FOR THE COMING DAY.
&&
.AVIATION...A PACIFIC STORM WILL PROVIDE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION WITH MVFR AND
LOCALLY IFR CONDITIONS UNTIL JUST AFTER 00Z THIS AFTERNOON.
CONDITIONS IMPROVING BACK TO VFR THEREAFTER. MAINLY IFR CONDITIONS
IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS THROUGH 04Z
SATURDAY AS A RESULT OF MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS AND LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW
SHOWERS...THEREAFTER IMPROVING CONDITIONS TO MVFR DUE TO CLOUD COVER
OVER THE MOUNTAINS. FOR MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION...PLEASE REFER TO
TAFS FOR KMCE...KFAT AND KBFL.
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN
COUNTY LINE...THROUGH 4 PM.
...SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS AND
THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS THROUGH 4 PM.
&&
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/
MOLINAHazardous weather outlook, Mar 2, 8:00 PM PST, 17 hours 51 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 800 PM PST THU MAR 2 2006 CAZ096-097-031300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 800 PM PST THU MAR 2 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE. .DAY ONE...TODAY A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 4 PM PST FRIDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX...SFOWSWHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE WINTER STORM WARNING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 4 PM PST FRIDAY. AFTER 4 PM FRIDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ089>092-031300- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 800 PM PST THU MAR 2 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR ISOLATED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ093>095-031300- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 800 PM PST THU MAR 2 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM THROUGH 4 PM PST FRIDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE /WWUS46 KHNX ...SFOWSWHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE SNOW ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST FRIDAY. AFTER 4 PM PST FRIDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ098-099-031300- INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 800 PM PST THU MAR 2 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY DESERT. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. MYERS
The radar
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:26 UTC.
Event by event
2 funnel cloud, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Tulare
- When
- March 3, 3:27 PM PST to 3:41 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, 5 mi E of Tipton
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.067, -119.233
Funnel Cloud, Tulare
- When
- March 3, 3:31 PM PST to 3:55 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, 7 mi WNW of Tipton
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in California in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5496221, 5496223, 5496222.