Funnel Cloud, Kern
- When
- August 22, 3:35 PM PST
- Where
- Kern County, 1.12 mi E of Ridgecrest
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 35.630, -117.660
A trained storm spotter reported a funnel cloud near Ridgecrest that lasted for a few minutes.
Flash Flood in California, August 22, 2012
An upper-level disturbance that moved across central California during the night of August 17th-18th brought enough instability to the monsoonal moisture aloft to trigger widespread light showers across the central California interior. By sunrise, lightning had been reported in Clovis and in the Southern Sierra Nevada foothills near Coarsegold.
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
- $60,000
- 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.
An upper-level disturbance that moved across central California during the night of August 17th-18th brought enough instability to the monsoonal moisture aloft to trigger widespread light showers across the central California interior. By sunrise, lightning had been reported in Clovis and in the Southern Sierra Nevada foothills near Coarsegold. The clouds also kept low temperatures abnormally warm, with Bakersfield having a low of 80 on August 18th, and Fresno a low of 75. Both set high minimum temperature records for the 18th. The next day, Fresno tied its record high minimum temperature of 74, a record untouched for more than a century (since 1892).
Thunderstorms developed over the Southern Sierra Nevada and the eastern Kern County desert during the afternoons of August 21st and 22nd. Over 300 lightning strikes were recorded over the Southern Sierra Nevada mainly near the crest during the early morning hours of the 22nd, as an upper level low-pressure system moved across central California. Later on August 22nd, as an upper-level low traversed Kern County, a funnel cloud was observed over Ridgecrest during the late afternoon, followed by the development of a very strong thunderstorm near Randsburg less than an hour later. Outflow boundaries from thunderstorms over southeastern Tulare County, southern Inyo County and northwestern San Bernardino County collided to form the equivalent of a standing-wave node just north of Randsburg. This kept the thunderstorm stationary as it strengthened, resulting in very heavy localized rainfall. Flash flooding closed U.S. 395 from near Randsburg north to the Garlock Road as several inches of water flowed across the roadway. Later that evening, runoff from rain falling on the El Paso Mountains produced minor mud and rock slides on the Red Rock-Randsburg Road.
By August 23rd, an upper-level trough was dropping out of the Gulf of Alaska. As the trough approached the coast late on the 24th, the marine layer began deepening and spilling into the San Joaquin Valley. The shallow layer of marine air that initially pushed into the central and southern San Joaquin Valley finally ended the string of 100-degree days at Fresno. The high at both Bakersfield and Fresno was 98 degrees.
The marine layer continued to deepen through the day of August 25th, and by the evening had a depth in excess of 3000 feet. Marine air began spilling through the passes and canyons of the Temblors and Diablo Range, creating gusts to around 35 mph through and below the Pacheco Pass and near Sunflower Valley. Temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley continued to cool, with Fresno only reaching a high of 92 degrees on the 26th; Bakersfield was a degree warmer.
Cool temperatures continued on August 27th, and the morning that day was the coldest of the month for both Bakersfield and Fresno. High pressure subsequently began rebuilding into California from the east, with another surge of monsoonal moisture wrapping around the edge of the ridge and moving into southern California. More monsoon-related activity occurred in the desert areas of Kern County and along the crest of the southern Sierra Nevada until the 30th. In fact, some warnings (including one severe thunderstorm and one flash flood warning) were issued on the 30th for Edwards AFB, and a flood advisory was issued for much of the desert in Kern County for the afternoon and evening hours. A wind gust of 67 mph was reported at one station on Edwards AFB on the afternoon of the 30th due to thunderstorm outflow winds. This storm also dumped 0.35 inch of rain in less than an hour at the base.
Temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley warmed back into the mid to upper 90s on August 28th, and continued to warm until the 30th as the upper-level ridge prevailed over the area. By the 31st, the ridge began to weaken and move eastward as cooler marine air once again began to filter into the San Joaquin Valley; this allowed temperatures to return to near average, or mainly lower to mid-90s for maximum diurnal temperatures, in this area. An upper-level trough allowed for a more westerly flow over the region, so locations elsewhere showed a slight decrease in temperature.
As of August 31st, the average temperature at Fresno was 86.5 degrees, which was 4.8 degrees above normal. This is the warmest August on record for Fresno, the previous warmest being August 1931 with an average temperature of 84.4 degrees. The average temperature at Bakersfield was 87.0 degrees. This would rank as Bakersfield’s fifth warmest August. (For more information, see The 10 Hottest Augusts table on the next page).
Fresno’s 19-day string of 100-degree days tied for the third longest string of consecutive 100-degree days on record. August 2012 had a total of 23 days when the high temperature reached 100 degrees or more at Fresno; this tied for the second greatest number of 100-degree days for the month of August which also occurred in 1910.
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 Aug 22, 1:18 PM PST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 1:18 PM PST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 218 PM PDT WED AUG 22 2012 .SYNOPSIS... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALOFT CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ENHANCING THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE SIERRA NEVADA AND DESERT AREAS. CLEARING SKIES AND COOLER BY TOMORROW AS THE LOW PRESSURE EXITS THE REGION. && .DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE PRETTY MUCH BEEN CONFINED TO THE SIERRA TODAY AS THE COMBINATION OF DAYTIME HEATING, AVAILABLE MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS FROM LOW PRESSURE TO THE EAST HAVE MADE FOR IDEAL CONVECTIVE CONDITIONS. RADAR TRENDS SHOW AS THE LOW MOVES EAST THE AREA OF CONVECTION IS DOING THE SAME AND THIS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON TO REMAIN NEAR THE CREST OF THE SIERRA WITH A POSSIBLE CLIPPING OF THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY. WILL NEED TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON STORMS TO THE NORTHWEST OF RIDGECREST FOR AWHILE. MEANWHILE TO THE WEST SKIES HAVE CLEARED AS DRY AIR HAS ADVECTED IN BEHIND THE LOW. WILL HOLD ONTO ISOLATED POPS OVER THE EAST KERN COUNTY AREA AND SIERRA CREST THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING AND THEN THE ENTIRE AREA WILL BE PRECIPITATION FREE. THE FORECAST GETS RATHER SIMPLE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS FORECAST MODELS KEEP THE AREA UNDER A GENERAL ZONAL FLOW. HEIGHTS AT THE 500 MILLIBAR PRESSURE LEVEL STAY AT OR BELOW 5820 METERS THROUGH NEXT WEEK THUS TEMPERATURES WILL STAY BELOW THE CENTURY MARK IN NEARLY ALL LOCATIONS. A&& .AVIATION... A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL EXIST OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERT UNTIL 04Z THURSDAY. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22 2012... UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS IN SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK AND FOREST. FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG && .CERTAINTY... THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS MEDIUM. THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS HIGH. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED AS PART OF A TRIAL PROJECT CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD. CERTAINTY LEVELS INCLUDE LOW...MEDIUM...AND HIGH. PLEASE VISIT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HNX/CERTAINTY.PHP /ALL LOWER CASE/ FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND/OR TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON CAZ095. && PUBLIC...DUDLEY AVN/FW...BSO SYNOPSIS...WP WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 22, 2:30 PM PST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 330 PM PDT WED AUG 22 2012 CAZ093-094-096-097-232230- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 330 PM PDT WED AUG 22 2012 THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY OVER THE FOOTHILLS AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM LAKE ISABELLA TO YOSEMITE...WITH THE MOST NUMEROUS IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF FRESNO AND TULARE COUNTIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. WP
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 22, 10:34 AM PST, 5 hours 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 1134 AM PDT WED AUG 22 2012 CAZ093>099-230000- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 1134 AM PDT WED AUG 22 2012 ...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...FROM LAKE ISABELLA NORTH TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. THE MOST NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF FRESNO AND TULARE COUNTIES. ISOLATED STORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS AND THE HIGH DESERT OF KERN COUNTY. RESIDENTS AS WELL AS BOATERS...CAMPERS...AND HIKERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THUNDERSTORMS. DUDLEY WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Special weather statement, Aug 22, 3:10 PM PST, 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 410 PM PDT WED AUG 22 2012 CAZ093>099-230300- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 410 PM PDT WED AUG 22 2012 ...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...FROM LAKE ISABELLA NORTH TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. THE MOST NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF FRESNO AND TULARE COUNTIES. ISOLATED STORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE PIUTES...THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS AND THE HIGH DESERT OF KERN COUNTY. RESIDENTS AS WELL AS BOATERS...CAMPERS AND HIKERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THUNDERSTORMS. SANGER WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Kern
- When
- August 22, 4:38 PM PST to 6:38 PM PST
- Where
- Kern County, 2.67 mi NW of Sealers to 2.95 mi NNW of Sealers
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $60,000
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 35.510, -117.660
A trained storm spotter captured video footage of a flash flood on US 395 near Randsburg and Garlock Roads south of Ridgecrest. Two vehicles were damaged and the highway patrol closed the highway for several hours.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding in California, August 22, 2012
- Hail and Lightning Strike in North Carolina, August 22, 2012
- Flash Flooding in Utah, August 22 to 24, 2012
- Hail in Minnesota, August 22, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, August 22, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, August 22, 2012
- Flash Flood in Maryland, August 22, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, August 22, 2012
- Dust Devil in Missouri, August 22, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, August 22, 2012
- Heavy Rain in North Carolina, August 22, 2012
- Funnel Cloud in Florida, August 22, 2012
More
Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2012
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: 410781, 410780.