Dense Fog, E Central S.J. Valley
- When
- February 15, 2:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog in California, February 15 to 19, 2010
High pressure returned to California on February 10th, bringing warmer temperatures. Only patchy fog formed that night, and again the next night, mainly along the Highway 198 corridor between NAS Lemoore and Visalia.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 12
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.
High pressure returned to California on February 10th, bringing warmer temperatures. Only patchy fog formed that night, and again the next night, mainly along the Highway 198 corridor between NAS Lemoore and Visalia.
A weak upper-level trough moved through California during the evening of February 11th and the morning of the 12th. An upper-level ridge built into California behind the trough, and persisted for several days. Widespread dense fog developed over the San Joaquin Valley during the early morning of February 15th, but was confined to an area from the Highway 198 corridor north. The southern boundary of the fog was sharp in spots. For example, while the visibility at the Visalia Municipal Airport dropped below a quarter mile, the visibility at the Tulare Municipal Airport was still a mile. Above the fog, there were areas of clouds that moved into the Sierra foothills near Mariposa. Locally dense fog shrouded the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport shortly after sunrise, with the AWOS at the airport reporting visibilities of less than a quarter mile through mid morning.
The fog did not redevelop during the morning of February 16th, as an upper-level trough moved through California and brought mixing to the airmass. Dense fog reported only in the Hanford-Lemoore and Merced-Atwater areas. Dense fog was more widespread the following morning, pushing south northern Kern County.
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 Feb 14, 8:41 PM PST, 5 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 8:41 PM PST, 5 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 841 PM PST SUN FEB 14 2010 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE AND DRY CONDITIONS...ALONG WITH PATCHY NIGHT AND MORNING FOG OVER THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...WILL PREVAIL THROUGHOUT THE AREA UNTIL THE END OF THE WEEK. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MAY IMPACT THE AREA WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW BY THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...STRATUS HAS ONCE AGAIN DEVELOPED AND IS SPREADING ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND THE EAST SIDE AND SOUTH END OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. NO SURPRISE HERE...ELSEWHERE SKIES ARE MAINLY CLEAR WITH JUST SOME CIRRUS CLOUDS SPREADING TO THE EAST AS A WEAKENING TROUGH MOVES INTO THE RIDGE. I EXPECT THE STRATUS TO REMAIN IN PLACE OVERNIGHT AND INTO THE MORNING HOURS. TO THE WEST OF THE STRATUS SOME PATCHY TO POSSIBLY AREAS OF FOG WILL DEVELOP WELL AFTER MIDNIGHT. THIS WEEK'S FORECAST CONTINUES TO LOOK DRY THROUGH FRIDAY AS FORECAST MODELS SHOW VERY GOOD CONSISTENCY IN KEEPING THE VERY HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE ALONG THE WEST COAST AND THE PROMISE OF A "BREAK THROUGH" TROUGH FOR THE WEEKEND FOLLOWED BY A DEEP LOW AND POTENTIAL BIG STORM FOR THE SUNDAY AND MONDAY TIME FRAME. IT IS CERTAIN THAT EVENTUALLY THE WESTERLIES WILL BREAK THROUGH AND CUT UNDER THE WEST COAST RIDGE HOWEVER THE TIMING IS LIKELY NOT HANDLED THAT WELL BY THE MODELS. I HAVE MADE SOME TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENTS FOR HIGHS AND LOWS THIS WEEK BASED ON TODAY'S DATA COMBINE WITH NORMAL DIURNAL PATTERNS FOR A "FAIR WEATHER" FORECAST THROUGH FRIDAY. && .AVIATION... IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...MVFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY EXCEPT FOR LOCAL IFR IN FOG BETWEEN 10Z AND 18Z MONDAY. LOW STRATUS WILL LINGER IN THE SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS AND ALONG THE WEST FACING SLOPES OF THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS UNTIL 18Z MONDAY WITH AREAS OF IFR/LIFR VISIBILITIES IN FOG. VFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 15 2010... FIREPLACE/WOOD STOVE BURNING IS PROHIBITED IN FRESNO... KERN AND KINGS COUNTIES. FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && PUBLIC...DUDLEY AVN/FW...DURFEE SYNOPSIS...TLM WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Event by event
12 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley
- When
- February 15, 6:00 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- February 15, 7:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- February 17, 2:00 AM PST to 9:00 AM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley
- When
- February 17, 3:00 AM PST to 9:00 AM PST
- Where
- Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, E Central S.J. Valley
- When
- February 17, 4:00 AM PST to 9:00 AM PST
- Where
- E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, E Central S.J. Valley
- When
- February 17, 11:00 PM PST to February 18, 7:00 AM PST
- Where
- E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- February 17, 11:00 PM PST to February 18, 7:00 AM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley
- When
- February 17, 11:00 PM PST to February 18, 7:00 AM PST
- Where
- Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, E Central S.J. Valley
- When
- February 19, 1:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- February 19, 1:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley
- When
- February 19, 1:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
What these are
- Dense Fog
- Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Weather in Kansas, February 15, 2010
- Winter Weather in Alabama, February 15, 2010
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Kentucky, February 15 to 16, 2010
- Winter Storm in Ohio, February 15 to 16, 2010
- Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 15 to 16, 2010
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, February 15 to 16, 2010
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 15 to 16, 2010
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, February 15 to 16, 2010
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, February 15, 2010
- Winter Weather in Ohio, February 15 to 16, 2010
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, February 15 to 18, 2010
- Winter Weather in Kentucky, February 15 to 17, 2010
More
Every storm in California in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2010
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: 218399, 218401, 218400, 218403, 218404, 218402, 218405, 218406, 218407, 218408, 218409, 218410.