Rainfall was well below normal for February, and nearly all of the central California Interior was classified as being in a severe drought by the end of February, 2022 due to a long term precipitation deficit as this was the driest period between January 1 and February 28 on record for much of the area. As of February 2022, most of the impacted area has received less than 40% of normal…
Every event with a place to put it; 40 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Rainfall was well below normal for February, and nearly all of the central California Interior was classified as being in a severe drought by the end of February, 2022 due to a long term precipitation deficit as this was the driest period between January 1 and February 28 on record for much of the area. As of February 2022, most of the impacted area has received less than 40% of normal precipitation since July 1, 2020.
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 Jan 31, 4:52 PM PST, 7 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Hanford CA 452 PM PST Mon Jan 31 2022 Updated air quality section .SYNOPSIS... Dry conditions will continue across the area into the beginning of next week. A cold frontal system will bring increasing winds Tuesday and Wednesday, along with some colder air for the latter part of the week. Many San Joaquin Valley locations could see temperatures dip below freezing each morning Wednesday through Friday. && .DISCUSSION... Cold front is making its way south through the state today and will move through the CENCAL interior on Tuesday. NW winds will increase early Tuesday morning behind the front and we have issued a wind advisory for the west side of the SJV for early tomorrow. Significant possible impact of the winds will be the reduced visibility due to extensive fallow fields along the I-5 corridor from Kettleman City to Los Banos. Visibilities may be reduced to less than one quarter of a mile at times tomorrow along I-5. Winds will begin to increase on Wednesday over the Kern county mountains and desert region. Winds will eventually weaken in the SJV and cold air will settle into the region starting tomorrow night and continue through the remainder of the week. NWS WFO Hanford changes it local criteria starting on February 1 for freeze criteria due to mainly the growing season in the SJV. We will issue only hard freeze warnings (28F or colder) during the winter months and then we will start issuing freeze warnings (32F or colder) after February 1. We are expecting widespread temperatures below 32 across most of the SJV excluding the metro areas of Bakersfield and Fresno, due to the heat island effect caused by more concrete and roadways that do not cool off as much as rural farmland. Temperatures will be falling as low as 28 degrees in rural areas especially in low lying areas. Wednesday night into Thursday morning looks to be the coldest night of the three nights. We have the watch in effect from Tuesday night through Friday morning. Unfortunately this will be another dry cold front moving through the area with no precip in the forecast through the weekend. An inside slider will move through NV on Saturday night that will warm up the valley some due to mixing. && .AVIATION... In the San Joaquin Valley, areas of MVFR in haze and mist with local IFR possible through 12Z Tue. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the Central CA interior during the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... On Tuesday February 1 2022... Unhealthy for sensitive groups in Kern County. Fireplace/Wood Stove Burning Status is: No Burning Unless Registered in Fresno... Kern (Greater Frazier Park Area)... Kings... Madera and Tulare Counties. No Burning For All in Kern County. Further information is available at Valleyair.org && .CERTAINTY... The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is medium. 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.html for additional information an/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Freeze Watch from Wednesday morning through Friday morning for CAZ301>303-305-306-309>312-315-316. Wind Advisory from 3 AM to 1 PM PST Tuesday for CAZ301-302- 304>306-309. && public...JDB aviation....JDB weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
40 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The West Side Mountains north of Highway 198 were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Los Banos and Dos Palos areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Merced, Madera and Mendota areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Planada, Legrand and Snelling areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Coalinga and Avenal areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The West Side of Fresno and Kings Counties were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Caruthers, San Joaquin and Selma areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Fresno and Clovis areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The West Side Mountains south of Highway 198 were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Buttonwillow and Lost Hills areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Delano, Wasco and Shafter areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Hanford, Corcoran and Lemoore areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Visalia, Porterville and Reedley areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Buena Vista area was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Bakersfield area was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Southeast San Joaquin Valley was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End of the San Joaquin Valley was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mariposa and Madera County Foothills were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mariposa and Madera County Lower Sierra were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Fresno and Tulare County Foothills were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Fresno and Tulare County Lower Sierra were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End Sierra Foothills were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End of the Lower Sierra was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
Yosemite National Park outside of the valley was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Yosemite Valley was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The San Joaquin River Canyon was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Upper San Joaquin River area was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge area was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
Kings Canyon National Park was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Grant Grove area was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
Sequoia National Park was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End of the Upper Sierra was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Kern River Valley was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Piute and Walker Pass areas were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Tehachapi area was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Grapevine area was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Frazier Mountain Communities were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Indian Wells Valley was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mojave Desert Slopes were classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mojave Desert was classified as being in a severe drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2022
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: 1001601, 1001602, 1001603, 1001604, 1001605, 1001606, 1001607, 1001608, 1001609, 1001610, 1001611, 1001612, 1001613, 1001614, 1001615, 1001616, 1001617, 1001618, 1001619, 1001620, 1001621, 1001622, 1001623, 1001624, 1001625, 1001626, 1001627, 1001628, 1001629, 1001630, 1001631, 1001632, 1001634, 1001635, 1001636, 1001637, 1001638, 1001639, 1001640, 1001641.