The high pressure ridge over the region began to rebuild once again by July 17th. The flow aloft remained southwesterly, and skies remained generally clear until the 18th.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.
The high pressure ridge over the region began to rebuild once again by July 17th. The flow aloft remained southwesterly, and skies remained generally clear until the 18th. Some development of convective clouds (i.e., mainly in the form of cumulus clouds) returned to the higher elevations of the southern Sierra Nevada by July 19th, then began to increase the 20th as the flow aloft turned more southerly and brought more moisture over the central California interior. By the 21st, the mountains and desert were once again under the influence of southeasterly monsoonal flow, and showers and thunderstorms returned. One thunderstorm that moved through Grant Grove knocked down a few trees and power lines.
Even more active weather occurred in the Kern and Tulare County mountains, as well as the Kern County desert on July 22nd. During this time, monsoonal moisture was abundant with increased atmospheric instability which led to the issuance of some flash flood warnings in the Kern and Tulare County mountains and even a flash flood and severe thunderstorm warning in the Kern County desert. Flash flooding due to slow moving thunderstorms occurred at several locations, including Pine Mountain Club, Johnsondale (in the Tulare County mountains), and in the Kern County desert south of Ridgecrest, along Red Rock-Randsburg Road, a favored locale for flash flooding due to the topography in this area. This desert road was shut down during the late afternoon and evening hours due to both flooding and debris flow. Garlock Road near Randsburg also flooded, just west of the junction with U.S. 395, and U.S. 395 was closed north of Johannesburg due to flooding. Around one inch to one and a half inches of rain fell in a relatively short period of time in these areas, with Pine Mountain Club getting 1.86 inch of rain in less than an hour, and hail up to a half inch in diameter fell near Pine Mountain Club. In addition, some thunderstorms drifted from the southern Sierra Nevada into the foothills, and eventually the San Joaquin Valley. Both Fresno and Lemoore reported thunderstorms at their airports, and a thunderstorm passed over the National Weather Service office at Hanford during the afternoon.
Monsoonal moisture tracked northward on the 23rd, and Merced reported some light rain as showers passed over the area. Thunderstorms initiated over southeastern Tulare County, and parts of the Kern County mountains, including the Piute Mountains and Walker Pass during the afternoon. A flash flood warning was even issued for the Piute Mountains by late in the afternoon as a strong thunderstorm developed over this area and produced heavy rain.
The monsoonal moisture continued to wrap around the upper-level level ridge over the Desert Southwest. The flow around the ridge brought repeated surges of this warm moist air, with mountain and desert thunderstorms continuing through July 28th. Debris clouds from mountain thunderstorms moved over parts of the southern San Joaquin Valley on the 26th, bringing light rain. Bakersfield recorded a trace of rain, but this was the first rain to fall in that city since records began in 1889,
Thunderstorms brought heavy rain to parts of the Indian Wells Valley during the evening of July 27th. Small hail fell on southwest Ridgecrest. The next day, outflow winds from a collapsing thunderstorm caused a gust to 46 mph on part of the China Lake Naval Weapons Test Center range. Another thunderstorm brought heavy rain to the southern Tulare County mountains. The Mahogany RAWS in the southern Tulare County mountains received 2.24 inch of rain from the storm.
Fresno ended July with an average temperature of 87.1 degrees, for its 3rd warmest July on record. Bakersfield was slightly warmer with an average temperature of 87.6 degrees, tying its 6th warmest July since records began.
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 Jul 21, 2:04 PM PST, 6 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
304 PM PDT SUN JUL 21 2013
.SYNOPSIS...
CLOUDS WITH SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE
DESERT AND MOUNTAINS OF TULARE AND KERN COUNTIES AS TROPICAL
MOISTURE CONTINUES TO FLOW OVER THAT REGION. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS FOR THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY LATER TODAY EXISTS AS WELL.
TEMPERATURES MAY BACK OFF SLIGHTLY TODAY MAINLY DUE TO INCREASE IN
CLOUD COVER AND WEAKENING OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO TRACK WESTWARD WITH AN INVERTED TROF
PUSHING THROUGH SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE MOST
ACTIVE CONVECTION...AS OF THIS AFTERNOON...WAS OCCURRING
SOUTHEAST OF THE DISTRICT. AT THIS POINT...THE TREND IS FOR
POSSIBLE ISOLATED SHOWERS TOWARD SUNSET...MAINLY OVER KERN
COUNTY. WHILE ABUNDANT MOISTURE EXIST SOUTHEAST OF THE
DISTRICT...WITH BLENDED PRECIP-WATER VALUES NEAR 1.50 INCHES...A
SHARP GRADIENT EXIST OVER THE DISTRICT WITH DRIER AIR OVER MERCED
COUNTY. THEREFORE...THE ATMOSPHERE WILL NEED TO MOISTEN BEFORE
WIDESPREAD PRECIP CAN OCCUR. AS PRECIP BEGINS TODAY...COVERAGE
WILL REMAIN AT ISOLATED LEVELS. CURRENT TIMING HAS WIDESPREAD
PRECIP MORE TOWARD MONDAY...AT WHICH TIME...SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE
MAY CAUSE POSSIBLE FLOODING OVER THE DESERTS AND HIGHER TERRAIN OF
KERN AND TULARE COUNTIES. MODELS SHOW THE UPPER LOW TRACKING
NORTHWEST ON MONDAY AND CLOSER TO THE CHANNEL ISLANDS WITH THE
INVERTED TROF OVER CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. WITH THE NORTHERLY SURGE
OF MOISTURE AND SUFFICIENT DYNAMICS...UNCERTAINTY REMAINS LOW ON
THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED ON MONDAY. THEREFORE...WILL ALLOW
THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH TO REMAIN IN EFFECT AS CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT
FOR DOWNPOURS OVER THE WATCH AREAS.
BY TUESDAY...THE UPPER LOW CONTINUES ITS WESTWARD TREK AS IT GET
CAUGHT UP IN THE PREVAILING FLOW. THE FLOW REMAINS SOUTH TO
SOUTHEASTERLY WITH A CONTINUATION OF HIGHER MOISTURE PUSHING INTO
THE REGION. THEREFORE...WILL SEE LITTLE CHANGE ON TUESDAY AS
PRECIP REMAINS UNCHANGED. WEDNESDAY WILL FINALLY SEE A CHANGE IN
THE FLOW ALOFT AS THE DIRECTION BECOMES MORE SOUTHWESTERLY. YET...
WILL SEE CONVECTION LINGER OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA CREST FOR ONE OR
TWO MORE DAYS. THEREFORE...WILL KEEP A MENTION OF PRECIP THROUGH
AT LEAST FRIDAY BEFORE CLEARING/DRYING/ THE DISTRICT. AS THE
COVERAGE OF PRECIPITATION LOWERS...WILL SEE TEMPERATURES RISE BACK
INTO THE CENTURY MARK. CURRENTLY...THE BIGGEST CONCERN WILL BE THE
POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING IN THE VERY SHORT TERM.
&&
.AVIATION...
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS TODAY IN
THE SRN SIERNEV...TEHACHAPI MTNS...AND THE HIGH DESERT. ISOLATED
STORMS MAY CONTINUE THRU THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...INCREASING AGAIN
MON. OTHERWISE...VFR OUTSIDE OF SHWRS/STORMS.
&&
.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...ON SUNDAY JULY 21 2013...
UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS IN FRESNO...KERN...MADERA...
MERCED AND TULARE COUNTIES AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK AND FOREST.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG
&&
.CERTAINTY...
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH.
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS MEDIUM.
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.
&&
.CLIMATE...
RECORDS
SITE DATE HI_MAX:YEAR LO_MAX:YEAR HI_MIN:YEAR LO_MIN:YEAR
KFAT 07-21 112:1908 79:1987 82:2006 56:1973
KFAT 07-22 112:2006 83:1896 84:2006 56:1903
KFAT 07-23 113:2006 84:1918 90:2006 55:1897
KBFL 07-21 112:1938 81:1987 83:1969 50:1906
KBFL 07-22 113:1908 82:1984 88:1910 50:1903
KBFL 07-23 114:1931 86:1903 83:2006 54:1914
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MONDAY EVENING CAZ095-097>099.
&&
PUBLIC...MOLINA
AVN/FW...BINGHAM
SYNOPSIS...WP
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORDHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 521 PM PDT SUN JUL 21 2013 CAZ095-097>099-221230- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 521 PM PDT SUN JUL 21 2013 ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY DESERT AND THE KERN AND TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT. FOR DETAILS REFER TO /SFOFFAHNX/ ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN HANFORD. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. FOR DETAILS REFER TO /SFOFFAHNX/ ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN HANFORD. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .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. CAZ089>092-221230- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 521 PM PDT SUN JUL 21 2013 ...THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. .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. CAZ093-094-096-221230- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- 521 PM PDT SUN JUL 21 2013 ...THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY...THEN JUST A FEW AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE NEAR THE CREST THROUGH FRIDAY. .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
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:28 UTC.
5 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Park Service reported trees and powerlines downed.
Sherman Pass Road was closed due to flash flooding and mud slides. Severe cars were stranded and rescued by authorities.
A flash flood struck Lloyd Meadow Road just north of Johnsondale. Several vehicles were rescued by authorities.
A flash flood occurred in Pine Mountain club with 6 inches of fast flowing water over Pine Mtn Highway.
US 395 was closed due to a flash flood.
A trained weather spotter reported a flash flood on Garlock Road just west of US 395.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2013
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: 510097, 510092, 510093, 510094, 510095, 510096.