California, 2010

Flood and High Wind in California, June 6 to 9, 2010

June 6 to 9, 2010 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley warmed into the 90s by June 5th and 6th. Although Coalinga had a high of 99 on the 5th, no reporting station hit triple digits.

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

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.

Temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley warmed into the 90s by June 5th and 6th. Although Coalinga had a high of 99 on the 5th, no reporting station hit triple digits. In addition to keeping a high pressure area in check and temperatures under 100 upper level low pressure areas passing just to the north did bring several periods of very windy conditions to the region. The strongest winds were over the Kern County Mountains and deserts, where gusts of 50-55 mph were a nightly occurrence, lasting several hours at a time, in the area immediately below the southeast-facing passes and canyons of the Tehachapi Mountains. The winds were most prevalent from the night of June 3rd through the morning of the 10th, with the winds reaching a peak on the night of June 8th at nearly 80 mph at Mojave, just below Tehachapi Pass, where the busy highways 14 and 58 intersect.

A high pressure ridge also brought warming to the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra Nevada during the first half of June, resulting in rapid erosion of the snowpack. As the snow melted, runoff filled the rivers and streams below. The Merced River rose to its flood stage at Pohono Bridge during the night of June 5th-6th, receded during the day, and rose above flood stage again that night. Elsewhere in the mountains and foothills, the cold, fast-moving water was a risk to boaters, swimmers and rafters. The National Weather Service and local media partners issued statements cautioning any visitors to the mountains on the dangers of hypothermia and other water hazards. Every year sees several people killed due to the very cold, fast flowing deep waters of area rivers and streams. This year was no different.

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 Jun 5, 7:45 PM PST, 6 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 5, 7:45 PM PST, 6 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
845 PM PDT SAT JUN 5 2010

.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE WILL DOMINATE THE REGION THROUGH TUESDAY. THE HIGH
PRESSURE WILL WEAKEN BY MID WEEK WITH A COOLING TREND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
HIGH TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON WERE IN THE 90S...RANGING FROM 91 AT AVENAL
AND THE PORTERVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT TO 98 DEGREES AT COALINGA. THE
HOT SPOT IN THE HANFORD WARNING/FORECAST AREA TODAY WAS THE CHINA
LAKE N.W.T.C. WITH A HIGH OF 106 DEGREES.

A FLAT UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE CONTINUES OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF
CALIFORNIA THIS EVENING. AN UPPER-LEVEL LOW IN THE GULF OF ALASKA
NEAR 54N/150W IS FORECAST TO SPIN A TROUGH INTO THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST SUNDAY...WEAKENING THE RIDGE AND LOWERING 500-MB HEIGHTS
AROUND 20 METERS BY 00Z MONDAY...AND ANOTHER 30 METERS BY 00Z
TUESDAY. IT IS LIKELY THAT TODAY AND SUNDAY WILL BE THE WARMEST DAYS
OF THE FORECAST PERIOD...AS ANOTHER TROUGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TUESDAY NIGHT/WEDNESDAY TO KEEP 500-MB HEIGHTS
OVER CALIFORNIA FROM REBOUNDING THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF NEXT WEEK.

FORECAST CONCERNS THIS EVENING ARE THE WINDS IN THE MOJAVE AREA AND
THE RISE OF THE MERCED RIVER IN YOSEMITE VALLEY.

AT 02Z THIS EVENING...THE SAN FRANCISCO-LAS VEGAS SURFACE-PRESSURE
GRADIENT WAS 12.1 MB...THE BAKERSFIELD-DAGGETT GRADIENT WAS 5.8 MB
AND THE LOS ANGELES-TONOPAH GRADIENT WAS 3.7 MB. WINDS IN THE AREA
IMMEDIATELY BELOW THE TEHACHAPI PASS NEAR MOJAVE AND ROSAMOND HAVE
BEGUN INCREASING AGAIN...AND ARE APPROACHING ADVISORY LEVELS. A WIND
ADVISORY /SFONPWHNX OR WWUS76 KHNX/ WAS ISSUED FOR THE MOJAVE AREA
FOR 03-12Z TONIGHT...AND THIS LIKELY WILL VERIFY.

THE SECOND CONCERN THIS EVENING IS THE MERCED RIVER IN THE YOSEMITE
VALLEY. THE RFC FORECASTS THE RIVER TO PEAK AT 9.9 FEET TONIGHT.
THIS IS JUST BELOW THE FLOOD STAGE OF 10.0 FEET...SO HAVE CONTINUED
THE FLOOD WATCH /SFOFFAHNX OR WGUS66 KHNX/ FOR THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 455 PM PDT SAT JUN 5 2010/

UPDATE...
THE CALIFORNIA-NEVADA RIVER FORECAST CENTER FORECASTS THE MERCED
RIVER TO CREST AT 9.9 FEET AT POHONO BRIDGE TONIGHT. THIS IS JUST
BELOW FLOOD STAGE...SO CONTINUED THE FLOOD WATCH FOR YOSEMITE
VALLEY /SFOFFAHNX OR WGUS66 KHNX/ FOR TONIGHT.

SKIES REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR OVER THE HANFORD WARNING/FORECAST AREA
LATE THIS AFTERNOON...WITH ONLY A FEW SNOW-MELT INDUCED CUMULUS
OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY TEMPERATURES REMAIN ON TRACK TO TOP OUT IN THE LOWER TO MID
90S.

DISCUSSION...
CLEAR SKIES DOMINATE THE REGION AS RIDGING CONTINUES OVER THE
WEST COAST. DUE TO THE RIDGE REMAINING WEAK...LITTLE CHANGE WAS
OBSERVED TODAY AS TEMPERATURES ONLY WARMED BY A DEGREE-F OR TWO.
YET...CONDITIONS REMAIN SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL AS MANY SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY LOCATIONS WERE REACHING INTO THE MID 80S. WHILE CONDITIONS
REMAIN DRY FOR THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS...FLOODING IN THE YOSEMITE
VALLEY OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK WILL BE A SHORT TERM CONCERN.
BASED ON CURRENT PROJECTIONS...FLOODING MAY BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT AS
WATER LEVELS NEAR 10 FEET. WILL GO AHEAD AND ISSUE A FLOOD WARNING
FOR TONIGHT...STARTING AT 9 PM...WHEN WATER LEVELS NEAR 9.5 FEET
AND POSSIBLY CONTINUE THE WARNING THROUGH MONDAY.

THE OTHER SHORT TERM CONCERN WILL BE THE STRONG WINDS NEAR MOJAVE
THIS EVENING. BASED ON LITTLE CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN AND
OBSERVED STRONG WINDS FOR SEVERAL NIGHT...WILL ISSUE A WIND
ADVISORY STARTING AT 8 PM. LOCAL WINDS WILL REACH 30 MPH WITH
GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THE AREA WHERE HIGHWAYS 14
AND 58 MEET. BY SUNDAY...MODELS SHOW THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTING EAST
AS A TROF APPROACHES THE WEST COAST. YET...MODELS SHOW ALMOST NO
500MB HEIGHT FALLS IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THEREFORE...WILL SEE
LITTLE CHANGE FOR ONE MORE DAY BELOW A COOL DOWN STARTS ON MONDAY.
AT THE START OF THE WORK WEEK THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE
ZONAL...ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO RETREAT TOWARD NORMAL LEVELS. BY
WEDNESDAY...MODEL BEGIN SHOWING A TROF APPROACHING THE PACIFIC
COAST WHICH MAY ONLY CONTINUE TO COOL DOWN. WHILE THE TROF ENTERS
THE REGION AROUND THURSDAY...WILL NOT INTRODUCE PRECIP LATER IN
THE WEEK. YET...WILL CONTINUE THE COOLING AND INCREASE WINDS
DISTRICT-WIDE. WHILE MODELS SHOW SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THE TIMING
AND LOCATIONS OF THE DEEP UPPER LOW...BOTH ECMWF AND GFS INTRODUCE
THIS LOW LATER IN THE WEEK. THEREFORE...WILL ONLY SEE TEMPERATURES
BEING INFLUENCES AT THIS TIME FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE PERIOD.

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR THROUGH 06Z MONDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM PDT SUNDAY FOR THE VICINITY OF MOJAVE
IN THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT /CAZ099/.

FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR THE YOSEMITE VALLEY IN THE
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK /CAZ096/.

&&

PUBLIC...SANGER
AVN/FW...BSO
SYNOPSIS...PJ

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 5, 1:27 PM PST, 12 hours 38 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
227 PM PDT SAT JUN 5 2010

CAZ096-062300-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
227 PM PDT SAT JUN 5 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

WARM WEATHER IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA WILL
RESULT IN INCREASED RUNOFF INTO MOUNTAIN RIVERS AND STREAMS THE
NEXT FEW DAYS. A FLOOD WATCH FOR THE MERCED RIVER IN YOSEMITE PARK
IS IN EFFECT. PLEASE SEE SFOFFAHNX...WMO HEADER WGUS66 KHNX FOR
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

FLOOD WATCH FOR THE MERCED RIVER IN YOSEMITE PARK THROUGH MONDAY
MORNING.

.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

CAZ099-062300-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
227 PM PDT SAT JUN 5 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN
COUNTY DESERT.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A WIND
ADVISORY FOR THE VICINITY OF MOJAVE...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM
8 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 AM PDT SUNDAY. FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE
SEE /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR SFOONPWHNX.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM PST SUNDAY.

.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

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Mariposa

When
June 6, 2:05 AM PST to June 8, 8:28 AM PST
Where
Mariposa County, Yosemite Vlg to 0.67 mi SSW of Yosemite Natl Park
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
Park/Forest Service
Coordinates
37.750, -119.580

Temperatures averaged about 5 degrees above normal during the first week of June and accelerated snowmelt over the higher elevations of the Sierra which led to an increase in water levels on all rivers above the major reservoirs. As a result, rising waters along the upper Merced River produced minor flooding in Yosemite National Park during the first weekend of the month until about mid morning on June 8th, at which time the river finally began to recede as cooler air invaded the region. The|Merced River at Pohono Bridge first rose to flood stage during the early morning hours of the 6th with diurnal fluctuations just above flood stage during the overnight hours of the 6th and 7th. Park officials reported only minor impacts including evacuating camp sites near the river in Yosemite Valley. No property damage was reported due to the flood.

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When
June 8, 10:14 PM PST to June 9, 6:00 AM PST
Where
Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured
68 kt (78 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
Mesonet

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 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: 247339, 247338.