Following the recent events which produced widespread flooding across the central California Interior, another atmospheric river plunged through the region on March 14 and 15 producing heavy precipitation, flooding and strong winds with several stations measuring gusts exceeding 60 mph. 5 inches of rainfall.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 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.
Following the recent events which produced widespread flooding across the central California Interior, another atmospheric river plunged through the region on March 14 and 15 producing heavy precipitation, flooding and strong winds with several stations measuring gusts exceeding 60 mph. Much of the Sierra Nevada picked up another 3 to 6 inches of liquid precipitation with snow levels above 8500 feet while the adjacent foothills picked up 2 to 4 inches of rainfall while the San Joaquin Valley and West Side Hills generally picked up between 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rainfall.
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 Mar 14, 2:57 AM PST, 4 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 357 AM PDT Tue Mar 14 2023 .SYNOPSIS... Another atmospheric river will begin to impact our CWA today into tonight and move out of the area by tomorrow morning. This system will bring moderate to heavy rainfall to much of the valley, foothills, and mountains, which will exacerbate the flooding already seen by rivers, streams, low lying areas, and poor drainage areas. Wednesday will have some lingering precipitation, but then we will have a break from the rain and snow on Thursday before another system moves into the area on Friday and through the weekend. While the precipitation storm totals for the weekend system look weaker than what will fall today, any amount of rain on already overly saturated soils and warmer snowpack will create more flooding issues. && .DISCUSSION... An atmospheric river drawing moisture yet again from the subtropical Pacific ocean will begin to impact our county warning area by 5am this morning. The Weather Prediction center has issued a high chance of excessive rainfall throughout much of our CWA today. Snow levels are still low with this storm, starting out at 7000 ft, rising and peaking at 8000 ft, and then dropping to 6500 ft by the time the system moves out of the area by late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. High elevation areas will see large amounts of snow, with 4-6 feet of snow forecasted in areas like Tioga Pass and Mt. Whitney. These high rain and snowfall totals combined with already extremely saturated soils will result in flooding being a major impact from this storm. Another concern is that per the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center, the snowpack at higher elevations has warmed and has the potential to melt with additional storm systems. Areas that will experience flooding include rivers and streams, low lying areas and poor drainage areas, and roads along riverbeds. Nuisance flooding will also impact the San Joaquin Valley and cause ponded roadways and intersections. The Sierra and Sierra foothills could see 3-6 inches of rain, with some isolated higher totals. The eastern San Joaquin Valley could see 1-2 inches, and the central and western valleys could see half an inch to an inch. Here are some specific rain totals for areas within our CWA: Grant Grove, Shaver Lake, Mt. Whitney: 4-6 inches Oakhurst, Mariposa, Yosemite Valley, Tioga Pass: 3-4 inches Fresno, Lake Isabella: 1-1.5 inches Merced, Madera, Hanford, Visalia, Porterville, Tehachapi, and The Grapevine: 0.5-1 inch Mendota, Delano, Lost Hills, Bakersfield: up to 0.5 inch After this system moves out of the area by Wednesday morning, we will have a break in precipitation on Thursday before another system moves in on Friday and continues through the weekend. While this system has less precipitation associated with it, impacts could still be moderate to high as already inundated areas will be receiving more rain and snow. As ensemble model confidence grows, we will know more information. && .AVIATION... For the next 24 hours, the San Joaquin Valley will see MVFR conditions with rain showers and possible IFR conditions in the Sierra due to mountain obscuration while snow is falling. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... ISSUED: 03/13/2023 14:04 EXPIRES: 03/14/2023 23:59 None. && .CERTAINTY... The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is low. 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 and/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch through Wednesday morning for CAZ300>336. Winter Storm Warning until 5 PM PDT Wednesday for CAZ323-326>331. && public/aviation.........Serrato IDSS/PIO/Fire Weather...BSO weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 high wind, 5 flood, 3 heavy snow, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter in Ponderosa measured 3.39 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
The Southern California Edison station at Pigeon Spring measured a peak wind gust of 61 mph.
The Southern California Edison station at Tejon Hills measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Charlotte Lake SNOTEL (11961 feet) picked up an estimated 19 inches of new snowfall.
The Tunnel Guard Station SNOTEL (9000 feet) picked up an estimated 22 inches of new snowfall.
The Wet Meadows SNOTEL (9019 feet) picked up an estimated 22 inches of new snowfall.
The PG&E station at Penon Blanco measured a peak wind gust of 80 mph.
The PG&E station at Yosemite Pilot Peak measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The PG&E station at Joaquin Ridge measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
California Highway Patrol reported high voltage power lines down on Snelling Rd. between Paloma Rd. and Robinson Ave.
The PG&E station at Las Yeguas measured a peak wind gust of 69 mph.
The Twisselman RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The PG&E station at Pelato Peak measured a peak wind gust of 66 mph.
The Alcade RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
California Highway Patrol reported flooding on Hornitos Rd. at Slate Gulch Rd. and Indian Gulch Rd.
California Highway Patrol reported a rockslide at the intersection of SR 178 and Democrat Rd.
The Kern County Emergency Manager reported minor flooding near McFarland.
Portions of SR 178 were closed because of mud slides through the canyon.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2023
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: 1076564, 1076573, 1076574, 1076570, 1076571, 1076572, 1076575, 1076576, 1076577, 1076561, 1076578, 1076579, 1076580, 1076581, 1076562, 1076563, 1076566, 1076565.