Synoptic high pressure moved over the central California region allowing for clear skies and dense radiational fog to develop over parts of the San Joaquin Valley.
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.
Synoptic high pressure moved over the central California region allowing for clear skies and dense radiational fog to develop over parts of the San Joaquin Valley.
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 Dec 30, 6:32 PM PST, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier.
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</html>9 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Between 30/2115 PST and 31/0540 PST the Hanford Municipal Airport (KHJO) AWOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
Between 30/2140 PST and 31/0050 PST the Visalia Municipal Airport (KVIS) AWOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
Between 30/2331 PST and 31/0045 PST the Fresno Air Terminal (KFAT) ASOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
Between 30/2349 PST and 31/0804 PST the Lemoore Naval Airbase (KNLC) ASOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
Between 0050 PST and 0520 PST the Merced Regional Airport (KMCE) ASOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
Between 0155 PST and 0330 PST the Bakersfield Meadows Field Airport (KBFL) ASOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
Between 0155 PST and 0315 PST the Merced Castle Airport (KMER) AWOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
Between 0255 PST and 0635 PST the Fresno Chandler Airport (KFCH) AWOS reported visibility less than 1/4 mile.
California Highway Patrol reported multiple vehicles crashed at 31/0846 PST on southbound Interstate 5 just south of State Route 99 split due to dense fog. Two fatalities were reported, several injuries, approximately 30 vehicles were involved, and the road was closed from 31/0846 PST until 31/1720 PST.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley | 2016-12-31 | 35 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Dense Fog, Se S.J. Valley | 2016-12-31 | 50 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2016
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: 672701, 672700, 672703, 672702, 672706, 672699, 672705, 672704, 672692.