Rainfall was closer to normal in March. However, due to the extreme dry period in January and February and a long term precipitation deficit from the previous 18 months, nearly all of the central California Interior was classified as being in an extreme drought by the end of March, 2022.
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 closer to normal in March. However, due to the extreme dry period in January and February and a long term precipitation deficit from the previous 18 months, nearly all of the central California Interior was classified as being in an extreme drought by the end of March, 2022. As of March, 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 Feb 28, 3:06 PM PST, 8 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 306 PM PST Mon Feb 28 2022 .UPDATE...Updated air quality issues section. && .SYNOPSIS... A warming trend will continue for the next couple of days, with temperatures well above seasonable normals. A weather system will bring cooler temperatures for the latter half of the week, along with a chance for precipitation Thursday into the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Under sunny skies across central California, dry and warming conditions continue. 24 hr temperature trends are currently running up around 3-6 degrees and afternoon highs are expected to be around 4-8 degrees above normal for the end of February. The dry and unseasonably warm conditions will persist through Wednesday. in advance of a pacific storm system dropping from the Pacific Northwest region. On Tuesday and Wednesday, high temperatures will be as much as 10 to 15 degrees above normal highs for the start of meteorological spring. Blended model guidance continues to show around an 80 percent probability that afternoon highs on Tuesday and Wednesday will be at least 10 degrees above the normal high of 65 degrees at Fresno. The incoming frontal system will bring cooler temperatures and some gusty winds along with rain and mountain snow by Thursday. Model solutions are similar as they push the trough through our area Thursday evening into Friday morning. Additional shortwave impulses are then progged to rotate through the broad cyclonic flow over the western US into the start of next week, keeping a cool and somewhat unsettled pattern in place. Temperatures Thursday will lower to around climo and by the end of the week through the weekend, afternoon highs will run around 4-8 degrees below normal. Moisture associated with the Thursday system will be decreasing as it nears our area, but it is expected to provide not insignificant rain and higher elevation snow. Total rainfall accumulations in the San Joaquin Valley will be around 2-3 tenths of an inch in the north, tapering to around one tenth down south, and just a few hundredths or less in the desert zones. Higher elevations below the snow level could see 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of rainfall. Snow levels will start out around 600 feet Thursday and lower as low as 4000 feet by the end of the week. The best snow accumulation will be with the initial system Thursday into Friday, and total accumulations are forecast to be mainly around 3-5 inches. locally up to 6 inches. && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will prevail throughout the Central CA Interior for 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.html for additional information an/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && public...JEB/BSO aviation....JEB 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 extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Los Banos and Dos Palos areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Merced, Madera and Mendota areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Planada, Legrand and Snelling areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Coalinga and Avenal areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The West Side of Fresno and Kings Counties were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Caruthers, San Joaquin and Selma areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Fresno and Clovis areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The West Side Mountains south of Highway 198 were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Buttonwillow and Lost Hills areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Delano, Wasco and Shafter areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Hanford, Corcoran and Lemoore areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Visalia, Porterville and Reedley areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Buena Vista area was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Bakersfield area was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Southeast San Joaquin Valley was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End of the San Joaquin Valley was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mariposa and Madera County Foothills were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mariposa and Madera County Lower Sierra were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Fresno and Tulare County Foothills were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Fresno and Tulare County Lower Sierra were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End Sierra Foothills were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End of the Lower Sierra was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
Yosemite National Park outside of the valley was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Yosemite Valley was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The San Joaquin River Canyon was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Upper San Joaquin River area was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge area was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
Kings Canyon National Park was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Grant Grove area was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
Sequoia National Park was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The South End of the Upper Sierra was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Kern River Valley was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Piute and Walker Pass areas were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Tehachapi area was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Grapevine area was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Frazier Mountain Communities were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Indian Wells Valley was classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mojave Desert Slopes were classified as being in a extreme drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.
The Mojave Desert was classified as being in a extreme 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, March 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: 1005966, 1005967, 1005968, 1005969, 1005970, 1005971, 1005972, 1005973, 1005974, 1005975, 1005976, 1005977, 1005978, 1005979, 1005980, 1005981, 1005982, 1005983, 1005984, 1005985, 1005986, 1005987, 1005988, 1005989, 1005990, 1005991, 1005992, 1005993, 1005994, 1005995, 1005996, 1005997, 1005998, 1005999, 1006000, 1006001, 1006002, 1006003, 1006004, 1006005.