A large area of high pressure strengthened over the Great Basin between August 4 and 6 bringing a return of dangerous heat to the area. The ridge strengthened further on August 7 resulting in several new daily climatological records being set before a cold front pushed through central California on August 8 which lowered temperatures below dangerous levels at most locations although widespread…
Every event with a place to put it; 20 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.
A large area of high pressure strengthened over the Great Basin between August 4 and 6 bringing a return of dangerous heat to the area. The ridge strengthened further on August 7 resulting in several new daily climatological records being set before a cold front pushed through central California on August 8 which lowered temperatures below dangerous levels at most locations although widespread triple digit heat prevailed across the lower elevations through August 11. An upper trough moved into central California on August 12 lowering temperatures to near normal levels for the middle portion of the month.
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 Aug 4, 1:04 AM PST, 8 hours 56 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 204 AM PDT Sun Aug 4 2024 && .KEY MESSAGES... 1. Afternoon temperatures will trend warmer this weekend with major Heat Risk returning tot he San joaquin Valley. Most of the valley has a 95 to 100 percent chance for triple digits today. 2. Hotter temperatures are in store for the first half of this week. Chances for highs at or above 105 degrees are around 50-80% in much of the San Joaquin Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday. An Excessive Heat Warning has been issued from 10 AM Tuesday through 9 PM Wednesday. 3. The Excessive Heat Watch for the Kern County Desert has been upgraded to an Excessive Heat Warning. It will be valid beginning tomorrow at 10 AM through 9 PM Tuesday. 4. There is a 10 to 20 percent chance for thunderstorms towards Yosemite this afternoon and evening. && .DISCUSSION... A strong ridge is expected to build over California beginning today and will continue through Wednesday. As this ridge builds, temperatures will gradually warm up, reaching dangerous levels in the first half of the week. An Excessive Heat Warning has been issued for the Kern County Desert areas and for the San Joaquin Valley. The desert will start to see these temperatures on Monday through Tuesday, with a 45% chance for 112 degrees or more in Ridgecrest on Tuesday. The valley will see dangerous temperatures a day later in the week, with a 50-80% chance for 105 or higher in most of the valley Tuesday and Wednesday. Low temperatures are also expected to be elevated, with lows in the 80's expected for the desert and the urban centers in the valley. Lows in the rural valley are expected to be above 70 degrees. The ridge is forecast to flatten out due to a deepening trough in Central Canada, resulting in a slight cooldown for the region, with probabilities for triple digits decreasing from 95-100% to 50-80%, which we will start to see on Thursday and continue to see through next weekend. Long range models are showing a trough diving in from the northwest coast and a weakening in the western portion of the ridge that will work together to split that ridge in half and push it to either side of the incoming trough. This will lead to a further decrease in temperatures, with a probability of 20-40% for triple digits in the valley by next Wednesday, August 14th. && .AVIATION... Areas of MVFR and local IFR visibility will continue in and around wildfires. Areas of MVFR in thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada through 04Z Sunday. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the central CA interior over the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... None. && .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 and/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Excessive Heat Warning from 10 AM Monday to 9 PM PDT Tuesday for CAZ337>339. Excessive Heat Warning from 10 AM Tuesday to 9 PM PDT Wednesday for CAZ300>317-319-321. && Public/Aviation/Fire Weather...........EW DSS/PIO................................BSO weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
20 excessive heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 104 and 109 degrees each day between August 4 and August 6 and between 107 and 112 degrees on August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 109 and 114 degrees each day between August 4 and August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 109 and 114 degrees each day between August 4 and August 7.
Daytime highs generally ranged between 109 and 114 degrees each day between August 4 and August 7.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2024
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: 1191477, 1191478, 1191479, 1191480, 1191481, 1191482, 1191483, 1191484, 1191485, 1191486, 1191487, 1191488, 1191489, 1191490, 1191491, 1191492, 1191493, 1191494, 1191495, 1191496.