Heavy Rain, Fresno
- When
- December 21, 11:38 PM PST
- Where
- Fresno County, 4.4 mi WSW of Dunlap
- Reported by
- Mesonet
- Coordinates
- 36.700, -119.190
Seven-tenths of an inch of rainfall occurred in just one hour near Dunlap in Fresno County.
High Wind and Frost and Freeze in California, December 21 to 24, 2009
Tule fog returned to the central and southern San Joaquin Valley on December 14th, and increased in coverage each day through the 17th. The fog lifted into a stratus deck during the afternoon of the 17th and persisted through the afternoon of the 19th, as a ridge of high pressure became established over the area.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 9
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.
Tule fog returned to the central and southern San Joaquin Valley on December 14th, and increased in coverage each day through the 17th. The fog lifted into a stratus deck during the afternoon of the 17th and persisted through the afternoon of the 19th, as a ridge of high pressure became established over the area. The stratus started eroding from the southern San Joaquin during the late morning of the 19th, then kept clearing toward the central part of the valley by the afternoon. Some patchy fog was observed on the night on the 19th-20th, and again on the night of the 20th-21st. Rain returned to the valley with snow in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada (started at around 9000 feet) on the 21st as another trough of low pressure that over the area. By the morning of the 22nd, the cold air behind the low pressure center moved over the area, causing gusty winds even over the San Joaquin Valley, and snow levels lowered dramatically (below 2500 feet by the late morning). Interstate 5 over the Grapevine was closed during the morning of the 22nd due to snow. Winds gusted to 40 mph at Fresno Yosemite International Airport on the 22nd and to 46 mph at the Madera Municipal Airport. Winds gusted as high as 78 mph in the Kern County deserts, and a few dead trees were toppled near Tehachapi by gusts in the 40-45 mph range.
The cold air remained trapped in the San Joaquin Valley after the storm moved east of the region. Freezing temperatures were reported on the morning of December 24th, with lows in the rural areas dropping into the mid 20s. Clouds ahead of the next storm moved into the region Christmas Day, limiting the extent of the freezing temperatures and heralding the arrival of more precipitation to the region.
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 Dec 21, 9:10 PM PST, 2 hours 28 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 21, 9:10 PM PST, 2 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 910 PM PST MON DEC 21 2009 .SYNOPSIS... LOW PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT THE AREA BEGINNING TONIGHT WITH A CHANCE OF VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BRING WITH IT HIGH WINDS IN THE KERN MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL PREVAIL BY MIDWEEK WITH THE RETURN OF VALLEY FOG. && .DISCUSSION... THE POLAR FRONT IS CROSSING THE REGION ATTM AND IS PRODUCING A HEAVY LINE OF SHOWERS. WINDS ARE GUSTING TO AROUND 25 MPH WITH THIS LINE AS IT MAKES ITS WAY SOUTH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA. SNOW LEVELS HAVE DROPPED VERY SHARPLY BEHIND THE FRONT TO AROUND 5500 FEET WITH DINKEY COMING IN AT AROUND 32 DEGREES AT 5600 FEET. BOUNDARY IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE SOUTH THROUGH THE NIGHT AND IS WELL COVERED BY CURRENT FORECAST. RAINFALL FROM MADERA WAS AROUND .33 IN THE PAST HOUR AND A HALF. SO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED WITH THIS FRONT AS IT PASSES SOUTH. NO CHANGES TO CURRENT FORECAST IS EXPECTED. .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 244 PM PST MON DEC 21 2009/ DISCUSSION...STILL A RATHER NON-DESCRIPT PATTERN SEEN IN SAT PIX. SHOWERS ARE BEGINNING TO BREAK OUT IN THE WARMER SIDE OF THE UPPER TROF APPROACHING THE CA COAST. MODELS STILL PUSH A SLIDER TYPE SYSTEM SSE FROM NEAR VANCOUVER ISL TO THE SRN GREAT BASIN TUES AFTERNOON. THIS WILL PUSH A COLD FRONT THRU CENTRAL CA TONITE WITH DRYING OCCURRING TUES...EXCEPT FOR A FEW LINGERING MTN SHOWERS. QPF AMOUNTS WILL BE GENERALLY LIGHT...AND RANGE FROM A FEW HUNDREDTHS ON THE VALLEY FLOOR TO MAYBE A HALF INCH IN THE FOOTHILLS. SNOWFALL IN THE SRN SIERRA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY LEVEL...WITH MAYBE JUST SOME ISOLATED 6-8 INCH AMOUNTS ABOVE 7K. SNOW LEVELS CURRENTLY AT OR ABOVE 8K...BUT WILL LOWER TO 3-4K TUES. AT THIS TIME DO NOT EXPECT SNOW TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS OR ON THE PASSES IN KERN COUNTY...AS PRECIP WILL BE ISOLATED AND LIGHT TUES BY THE TIME SNOW LEVELS FALL. COLD AIR ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE UPPER LOW WILL SHIFT INLAND TUES AND TUES NITE. THIS COLD AIR CAN BE SEEN IN THE MOTTLED CLOUDS ALONG AND EAST OF 130W. THUS MUCH COOLER FROM FROM WHAT WE HAVE HAD THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. VALLEY MIN TEMPS COULD BE CRITICAL ONCE AGAIN...BUT NOTHING MORE SEVERE THAN THE MIN TEMPS THAT OCCURRED EARLIER THIS MONTH. COLDEST READINGS IN THE 26-28 DEG RANGE ARE POSSIBLE OUTSIDE URBAN AREAS. A LONGWAVE RIDGE WILL THEN LIE ALONG THE WEST COAST THRU THE REST OF THE WEEK. THIS WILL BRING A MODEST WARMING TREND TO THE MOUNTAINS...BUT COLDER AIR IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS MAY BE TRAPPED WITH LITTLE DAY TO DAY CHANGES. THE NEXT CHANCE OF PRECIP COMES IN THE FORM OF SOME KIND OF UNDERCUTTING SOUTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE TROF...MAYBE BRING A CHANCE OF PRECIP AS EARLY AS SUN. BUT GFS AND THE EURO HAVE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES ON HOW MUCH UNDERCUTTING OCCURS...WITH GFS THE WETTER FARTHER NORTH SYSTEM. FOR NOW HAVE GONE WITH CLIMO POPS SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS FCSTS. && .AVIATION... MVFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY WITH AREAS OF IFR IN SHOWERS SPREADING SOUTHWARD THIS EVENING. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE TO VFR AFTER 18Z TUESDAY...EXCEPT ALONG THE EAST SIDE AND SOUTH END OF THE VALLEY DUE TO RESIDUAL SHOWERS AND LOW CEILINGS. MOUNTAINS WILL REMAIN MAINLY MVFR WITH AREAS OF IFR IN SNOW/RAIN THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY. KERN DESERTS WILL REMAIN VFR THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... NONE && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WATCH FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING FOR CAZ095-098-099. FREEZE WATCH FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR CAZ089>092. FREEZE WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR CAZ089>092. && PUBLIC...JDB AVN/FW...DS SYNOPSIS...PJ WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 21, 3:46 PM PST, 7 hours 52 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 346 PM PST MON DEC 21 2009 CAZ095>097-230000- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 346 PM PST MON DEC 21 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING. FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE SEE THE LATEST NON PRECIPITATION WARNING /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR /SFONPWHNX/. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD CAZ089>092-230000- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 346 PM PST MON DEC 21 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WATCH FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...AND ALSO WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE SEE THE LATEST NON PRECIPITATION WARNING /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR /SFONPWHNX/. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD PJ
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 frost/freeze, 3 strong wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert
- When
- December 22, 8:30 AM PST to 7:45 PM PST
- Where
- Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, W Central S.J. Valley
- When
- December 22, 12:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, E Central S.J. Valley
- When
- December 22, 12:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- December 22, 12:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Frost/Freeze, W Central S.J. Valley
- When
- December 24, 1:00 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Frost/Freeze, E Central S.J. Valley
- When
- December 24, 1:00 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Frost/Freeze, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- December 24, 1:00 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Frost/Freeze, Se S.J. Valley
- When
- December 24, 1:00 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
- Frost/Freeze
- Frost or temperatures at or below freezing during the growing season, usually filed for crop damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Freezing Fog in Tennessee, December 21, 2009
- Winter Weather in Iowa, December 21 to 22, 2009
- Winter Weather in Illinois, December 21 to 22, 2009
- Freezing Fog in Kentucky, December 21, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Arizona, December 21 to 22, 2009
- Freezing Fog in Illinois, December 21, 2009
- High Wind in Wyoming, December 21, 2009
- Freezing Fog in Missouri, December 21, 2009
- Winter Storm in Utah, December 21 to 23, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 21 to 22, 2009
- Winter Weather in Michigan, December 21, 2009
- Wildfire in Texas, December 21, 2009
More
Every storm in California in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2009
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: 284671, 284672, 284673, 284674, 284675, 284676, 284677, 284678, 284679.