Drought in California, April 1 to 30, 2015

Name: Drought in California, April 1 to 30, 2015
Start: 2015-04-01T00:00
End: 2015-04-30T23:59
Location: California

April 1 to 30, 2015 · NWS HNX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

The California drought continued in full force during the month of April, 2015. Temperatures continued to average above normal.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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.

The California drought continued in full force during the month of April, 2015. Temperatures continued to average above normal. While there was some precipitation in April, it was not uniformly distributed. Fresno received 1.25 inches of rain (131% of normal) while Bakersfield received only 0.08 inches (15% of normal). Overall, seasonal rainfall amounts continued to be only 50-75 percent of normal across central California.

The U.S. Drought Monitor continued to report exceptional drought conditions across the entire Central California region. This extent of exceptional drought is extremely unusual for California. The 2013-2014 water year (July 1 - June 30) concluded with Fresno setting its second driest on record (4.81 inches) and Bakersfield setting its third driest (2.41 inches). For the calendar year, 2014 was the warmest year on record for Fresno and Bakersfield. The trend of below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures has continued through the first few months of 2015.

There continues to be significant media coverage on the on-going drought conditions. These reports include discussion of significant re-allocation of water resources from the east to west side of the San Joaquin Valley, farmers forgoing planting of some crops, a decrease in the snow-related tourism activity in the Southern Sierra Nevada, reduction in air quality due to persistent stagnant air, loss or reduction of ground water, wells drying up in several communities leaving them with no water, and an unprecedented increase in fire danger across the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains.

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 Mar 31, 1:36 PM PST, 10 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 1:36 PM PST, 10 hours 24 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
236 PM PDT TUE MAR 31 2015

.SYNOPSIS...SEVERAL WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL BRUSH
THROUGH THE REGION OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THESE DISTURBANCES
WILL PROVIDE FOR PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH NORMAL TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE
NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
AN UPPER TROUGH PUSHED THROUGH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA TODAY. THIS WEATHER
FEATURE INCREASED THE ONSHORE FLOW USHERING IN STRONG GUSTY WINDS
IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND BELOW THE MOUNTAIN PASSES OF THE
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. FEW CUMULUS CLOUDS IN THE SIERRA DUE TO A
LACK OF MOISTURE. HOWEVER A GOOD COOL DOWN WITH TEMPERATURES 8-12
DEGREES LOWER THAN YESTERDAY. WINDY CONDITIONS SHOULD CONTINUE
THROUGH THE EVENING THAN DIMINISH OVERNIGHT. MODERATE BREEZES
FROM THE NORTH SHOULD CONTINUE THEREAFTER INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING.
MODELS INDICATE ANOTHER UPPER LOW MOVING INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. EXPECT CONDITIONS TO BECOME WINDY AGAIN IN
THE AFTERNOON DUE TO 100KT JET ALONG THE TROUGH. WINDS SHOULD
BECOME GUSTY TOWARDS MERCED COUNTY AROUND MIDDAY WEDNESDAY AND
ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF THE SJV FOR MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON. THE
STRONGER WINDS GUST MAY OCCUR BELOW THE MOUNTAIN PASSES OF THE
TEHACHAPI  MOUNTAINS AND MOJAVE DESERT DURING THE EVENING.
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN THE GREAT BASIN WILL PROVIDE A
DRY OFFSHORE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THE EXTENDED MODELS FORECAST A
COLD UPPER TROUGH MOVING INTO CALIFORNIA OVER THE WEEKEND. THE
SYSTEM ORIGINATES FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA. THERE HAS BEEN POOR
MODEL RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. HOWEVER THE 12Z EC AND GFS MODELS
FINALLY COMING INTO BETTER CONSENSUS. THUS HAVE INDICATED A SLIGHT
RISK OF PRECIPITATION TOWARDS THE YOSEMITE AREA LATE SUNDAY AND
NIGHT.

&&

.AVIATION...
STRONG GUSTY WINDS TO 40KT PROBABLE THROUGH 08Z WED BELOW THE
MOUNTAIN PASSES OF THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAIN PASSES. GUSTS TO 25KT
AT TERMINAL OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNTIL 06Z WED. OTHERWISE
VFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS MEDIUM.
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 03-31       89:1966     50:1967     58:1986     31:1905
KFAT 04-01       90:1966     49:1982     56:1939     32:1975
KFAT 04-02       87:1985     56:1907     57:2011     34:1982

KBFL 03-31       90:2003     50:1925     60:1969     32:1908
KBFL 04-01       88:2011     54:1998     62:1900     32:1917
KBFL 04-02       90:1985     57:1981     60:2002     35:1999
&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING CAZ095-098-099.

&&

PUBLIC...MV
AVN/FW...MV
PREV DISCUSSION...JDB
SYNOPSIS...WP

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

11 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, W Central S.J. Valley

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, E Central S.J. Valley

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, Sw S.J. Valley

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, Se S.J. Valley

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, S Sierra Foothills

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, Tulare Cty Foothills

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, Kern Cty Mtns

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, S Sierra Mtns

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, Indian Wells Vly

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Drought, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: April 1, 12:00 AM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in California, April 2015

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: 567953, 567954, 567955, 567956, 567957, 567958, 567959, 567960, 567961, 567962, 567963.