California, 2015

Flash Flood in California, May 14 to 15, 2015

May 14 to 15, 2015 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An upper level low moved onto the central California coast the morning of the 14th, with the bulk of the storms energy moving through Kern County. As the system moved through the area on the 14th thunderstorms developed across the Southern and Central San Joaquin Valley, which brought heavy rainfall.

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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 low moved onto the central California coast the morning of the 14th, with the bulk of the storms energy moving through Kern County. As the system moved through the area on the 14th thunderstorms developed across the Southern and Central San Joaquin Valley, which brought heavy rainfall. This resulted in some street flooding in the Bakersfield and Fresno areas.

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 May 14, 11:16 AM PST, 7 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 14, 11:16 AM PST, 7 hours 44 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1216 PM PDT THU MAY 14 2015

.SYNOPSIS...
THUNDERSTORMS AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW IS EXPECTED TODAY ACROSS THE
REGION. SNOW LEVELS ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA WILL REMAIN AT AND
ABOVE 6000 FEET. UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL EVEN AFFECT THE KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS/DESERT. BY FRIDAY...RESIDUAL CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL
REMAIN OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...UPPER LOW IS NOW MOVING INTO THE POINT CONCEPTION
AREA AS A DEEP TROUGH REMAINS ALONG THE WEST COAST. RADAR SHOWS
SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN MERCED
COUNTY AND LINGERING LIGHT SHOWERS OVER THE FOOTHILLS AND SIERRA
NORTH OF TULARE COUNTY. VISIBLE IMAGERY SHOWS AN AREA OF ENHANCED
CLOUDS NOW MOVING INTO THE SANTA BARBARA AND SAN LUIS OBISPO
COUNTY COASTAL AREAS. THIS IS LIKELY DUE TO AN AREA OF INCREASED
VORTICITY MOVING ONSHORE. THE AREA OF POSITIVE VORTICITY IS
PROGGED TO SWING NORTHEAST ACROSS KERN AND INTO SOUTHERN KINGS AND
TULARE COUNTIES THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT WITH THE GREATEST
THREAT OF WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION OVER THIS REGION. TO THE NORTH,
THE SIERRA WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE LIGHT PRECIPITATION. SNOW
LEVELS STARTED OUT THIS MORNING AT AROUND 5500 FEET IN THE DRY
LOWER LEVELS HOWEVER AFTER THINGS MOISTENED UP, THE FREEZING LEVEL
HAS CLIMBED TO ABOVE 7000 FEET. THE WINTER STORM WARNING AND
ADVISORIES WILL REMAIN IN PLACE HOWEVER AREAS NORTH OF KINGS
CANYON MAY NEED AN EARLY TERMINATION OF THE WARNING IF THE
PRECIPITATION REMAINS TARGETED TO THE SOUTH.

FOR FRIDAY, FORECAST MODELS SHIFT THE LOW AND THE TROUGH TO THE
EAST AND THE THREAT OF RESIDUAL SHOWERS WILL BE CONFINED TO MAINLY
AREAS ALONG THE SIERRA AND KERN COUNTY. NEARLY ALL THREAT OF
SHOWERS WILL COME TO AN END ON SATURDAY OVER ALL BUT THE SIERRA
WHERE INSTABILITY WILL KEEP A SMALL THREAT GOING EACH AFTERNOON
AND EVENING THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.

 &&

.AVIATION...
AREAS OF MVFR AND LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND
SOUTHERN SIERRA FOOTHILLS IN THUNDERSTORMS THRU 03Z FRI...WITH LOCAL
MVFR CEILINGS AFTER 03Z FRI. INCREASING AREAS OF IFR IN
PRECIPITATION AND MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THRU
FRI AFTN. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE CENTRAL
CA INTERIOR DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH.
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.

&&

.CLIMATE...
             RECORDS
SITE DATE    HI_MAX:YEAR LO_MAX:YEAR HI_MIN:YEAR LO_MIN:YEAR

KFAT 05-14      102:1972     64:1957     68:2013     43:1955
KFAT 05-15      102:2014     60:1953     70:2006     42:1955
KFAT 05-16      103:1970     63:2011     71:2008     40:1894

KBFL 05-14      102:1979     64:1949     72:1976     40:1918
KBFL 05-15      103:1927     60:1953     71:1972     36:1918
KBFL 05-16      105:1970     63:1962     71:2008     39:1918
&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM PDT FRIDAY CAZ097.

WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 AM PDT FRIDAY CAZ096.

&&

PUBLIC...DUDLEY
AVN/FW...DS
SYNOPSIS...WP

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, May 14, 2:29 AM PST, 16 hours 31 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
329 AM PDT THU MAY 14 2015

CAZ089>094-151030-
WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
329 AM PDT THU MAY 14 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA.

...THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

* TIMING: THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS.

* LOCATIONS: SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND
  BRIEFLY STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS. MINOR STREET FLOODING POSSIBLE.

* STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
  SOURCE...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.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.

CAZ095-098-099-151030-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
329 AM PDT THU MAY 14 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERT.

...THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

* TIMING: THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS.

* LOCATIONS: THUNDERSTORMS COULD AFFECT ANY LOCATION IN THE
  SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA...AS WELL AS IN THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAIN
  AND DESERT AREAS.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND
  BRIEFLY STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS. MINOR STREET FLOODING POSSIBLE.

* STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
  SOURCE...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 14, 2:12 PM PST, 4 hours 48 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
312 PM PDT THU MAY 14 2015

...TIME...  ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
...DATE...  ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0257 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 1 SW RIDGECREST         35.62N 117.67W
05/14/2015  M50 MPH          KERN               CA   MESONET

            MESONET STATION SW RIDGECREST /D4346/

&&

NWS HANFORD CA
IRIS SYSTEM

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Fresno

When
May 14, 7:00 PM PST to May 15, 5:15 AM PST
Where
Fresno County, 1.48 mi S of Fig Garden Vlg to 1 mi WNW of Hammond
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Social Media
Coordinates
36.799, -119.800

A thunderstorm moved over the Fresno area producing a few tenths of an inch a short period of time. This heavy rainfall was compounded with poor drainage which lead to areas of curb to curb flooding, one road closure at an underpass where water was multiple feet deep, and flood waters entering buildings.

What these are

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

More

Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 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: 580916.