The low pressure system which produced the precipitation across much of the area on May 9 and 10 continued to drop southward off the southern California coast on May 11. Wrap around moisture from this system spread westward into Kern County during the afternoon on May 11 producing another round of afternoon thunderstorms.
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 low pressure system which produced the precipitation across much of the area on May 9 and 10 continued to drop southward off the southern California coast on May 11. Wrap around moisture from this system spread westward into Kern County during the afternoon on May 11 producing another round of afternoon thunderstorms. One slow moving cell produced nearly three quarters of an inch of rainfall in 15 minutes at a station between Tehachapi and Mojave. Runoff from this storm resulted in a mudslide south of State Route 58 which closed Cameron Canyon Rd. for the remainder of the weekend.
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 11, 12:05 PM PST, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA 105 PM PDT Sat May 11 2019 .SYNOPSIS...Other than isolated afternoon thunderstorms over the Sierra Sunday and Monday, dry weather will prevail over the central California interior through Wednesday. The weather will trend cloudier and cooler later in the week with an increasing chance of showers, especially over the mountains. && .DISCUSSION...Ominous looking clouds are building over the mountains of Tulare county and the Kern county mountains and desert again this afternoon. A few of them will develop into thunderstorms equipped with briefly heavy rain, lightning and gusty winds, so folks with outdoor plans should keep a watchful eye on them into early this evening as they drift westward. This convection is the product of residual mid level moisture that's wrapping around a closed low near the coast of northern Baja this afternoon. A high pressure ridge to the north of this system will bring an end to this convection this evening as the ridge builds over central California and the closed low moves inland and weakens over Baja. This high pressure ridge will dominate the pattern over central California tomorrow through Tuesday. It should bring fine weather for Mother's Day and for the days that follow. Although an isolated afternoon thunderstorm over the Sierra cannot be ruled out each of these days, dry weather will be the rule. The afternoons will be warmer, too. High temperatures each of the next three days will be well into the 80s in the San Joaquin Valley, lower foothills and the Kern county desert and will likely top the 90 degree mark in the warmest locations. During the early part of next week, the models develop an upper level trough of low pressure over the Eastern Pacific. As this trough approaches the central California coast, we can expect a strengthening onshore flow by Wednesday along with an increase in clouds and the beginning of a cooling trend. Although the models are stil having issues with the strength and timing of this system, there's a bit more certainty now that it will bring at least a chance of showers to much of the CWA as it moves inland Thursday or Thursday night. The GFS rushes this trough eastward and into the Great Basin by Friday while the European model holds it back a little longer. Whatever the case, the possibilty of showers will linger over the mountains through Friday with residual cloudiness elsewhere, especially in the upslope regions of the CWA under a prevailing northwest flow aloft. Additionally, brisk winds associated with the upper level trough will likely impact the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and the Kern county mountains and desert from late Wednesday through Thursday with gusts of 35 to 45 mph through and below the passes. Temperatures will be much cooler by Thursday as well with afternoon readings no higher than the lower 70s in the San Joaquin Valley and the Kern county desert and as chilly as the 40s at the 8,000 foot level. Dry weather and warmer afternoon temperatures should return to the district by next Saturday as a weak ridge aloft moves in behind this departing system. && .AVIATION...Isolated thunderstorms with local MVFR ceilings can be expected over the mountains and desert through 03z Sunday and again over the higher elevations of the Sierra after 19z Sunday. VFR conditions will prevail elsewhere over the central California 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 low. Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information an/or to provide feedback. && .HNX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NONE. && public...Durfee avn/fw...MV synopsis...Durfee weather.gov/hanford
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley CA
122 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019
CAZ199-112100-
Kern County Desert CA-
122 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY UNTIL
200 PM PDT...
At 121 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 12
miles east of Edwards AFB and about a mile south of Boron. The
thunderstorm was moving southwest at 10 mph.
Dime size hail will be possible with this storm along with briefly
heavy rain.
Locations impacted include...
Edwards AFB, Mojave and North Edwards.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3482 11813 3496 11822 3512 11773 3497 11763
3483 11763
TIME...MOT...LOC 2021Z 056DEG 10KT 3493 11771
KDSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley CA
200 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019
CAZ199-112145-
Kern County Desert CA-
200 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY UNTIL
245 PM PDT...
At 200 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Edwards AFB, or 21 miles northeast of Lancaster, moving west at 15
mph.
Dime size hail will be possible with this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Rosamond, Edwards AFB, Mojave, Boron and North Edwards.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3482 11788 3482 11820 3499 11825 3512 11765
3496 11763 3492 11763
TIME...MOT...LOC 2100Z 075DEG 12KT 3492 11793
KDSpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley CA 234 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019 CAZ195-196-112215- Lake Isabella CA-Tehachapi Area CA- 234 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY UNTIL 315 PM PDT... At 230 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a few strong thunderstorm 9 miles southeast of Weldon and in the vicinity of Piute. The storms were moving southwest at 15 mph. Dime size hail is possible with these storms in addition to gusty, erratic winds and briefly heavy rain. Locations impacted include... Weldon, Golden Hills, Bodfish, Onyx, South Lake Cdp, Piutes, Breckenridge Mtn and Keene. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle. If on or near a lake, get out of the water and move indoors or inside a vehicle. Remember, lightning can strike out to 10 miles from the parent thunderstorm. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Move to safe shelter now! Do not be caught on the water in a thunderstorm. && LAT...LON 3572 11812 3554 11803 3514 11851 3549 11873 TIME...MOT...LOC 2130Z 075DEG 12KT 3554 11820 KD
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley CA
247 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019
CAZ199-112230-
Kern County Desert CA-
247 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY UNTIL
330 PM PDT...
At 245 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm in
the vicinity of Edwards AFB. Movement was west at about 15 mph.
In addition to cloud to ground lightning, thunderstorms can bring
locally strong and gusty winds, small hail and briefly heavy rain.
Locations impacted include...
Rosamond, Edwards AFB, Mojave and North Edwards.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3500 11825 3504 11784 3487 11779 3482 11793
3482 11820
TIME...MOT...LOC 2145Z 075DEG 12KT 3494 11791
KDSpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley CA 337 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019 CAZ191-195-196-112300- Lake Isabella CA-Tehachapi Area CA-Southern Sierra Foothills CA- 337 PM PDT SAT MAY 11 2019 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL KERN COUNTY UNTIL 400 PM PDT... At 335 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 15 miles northeast of Lamont, or 17 miles east of Bakersfield, moving west at 15 mph. Dime size hail is possible with this storm. In addition to cloud to ground lightning, briefly heavy rain and strong gusty winds will occur with this storm. Locations impacted include... Keene, Breckenridge Mtn and Bear Valley Springs. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle. && LAT...LON 3553 11855 3540 11842 3517 11866 3543 11884 TIME...MOT...LOC 2235Z 075DEG 12KT 3540 11869 KD
The Edwards AFB radar (KEYX), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:38 UTC.
1 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Pine Canyon Measured 0.72 inches of rainfall in 15 minutes from a slow moving thunderstorm. Station located just north of State Route 58.
California Highway Patrol reported a mudslide with 3 feet of mud across Cameron Rd. between State Route 58 and Tehachapi Willow Springs Rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2019
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: 812424, 812425.