Due to rapid runoff from winter snow, the Merced River at Pohono Bridge was above flood stage for much of the month. The flooding prompted the closures of several campgrounds in Yosemite National Park.
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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.
Due to rapid runoff from winter snow, the Merced River at Pohono Bridge was above flood stage for much of the month. The flooding prompted the closures of several campgrounds in Yosemite National Park.
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 1, 2:06 PM PST, 9 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA 306 PM PDT Mon May 1 2017 .SYNOPSIS...A warming trend will continue through mid week with temperatures climbing to well above normal. Much cooler weather returns for the weekend with scattered showers possible. && .DISCUSSION...High pressure over the eastern Pacific continues to provide sunny skies and above normal temperatures. 24 hour change product shows slight warming in some areas. Max temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley should mainly top out in the mid to upper 80s with a few spots around 90. The ridge will build inland through midweek with further warming. Highs on Wednesday are forecast to be in the mid to upper 90s over most of the SJV. The ridge axis shifts east on Thursday but little change is expected. We are not expecting to reach record levels, but max temps will be from 15 to as much as 20 degrees above early May normals. Those sensitive to heat should take extra precautions during this first hot spell of the year. The heat will also bring increased snow melt that will result in rises in rivers. So while the air will be hot, rivers will be filled with dangerously cold, fast flowing water. A significant change is slated later in the week and into next weekend. Models are continuing to advertise an amplified trough reaching the coast on Friday for the start of a cooling trend. A closed upper low is expected to form somewhere around the coast of north/central CA on Saturday, then drop to SoCal on Sunday. This will bring further cooling with highs falling to several degrees below normal. Scattered showers are also possible, with Sunday looking like the best chance. But timing and coverage are uncertain. Confidence is increasing in this pattern change. But while confidence is rather high with temperatures, it is only medium regarding precipitation. && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will prevail across 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 medium. Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.php for additional information and/or to provide feedback. && .HNX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NONE. && public...DCH avn/fw...Dudley synopsis...DCH weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Merced River at Pohono Bridge exceeded it's flood stage at 10 feet on May 2 and remained above flood stage through May 13. Flood stage was exceeded again between May 22 and May 25 and between May 28 through the end of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2017
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: 703351.