Weather in the Central California Interior in 2001
The following is account of significant weather by month that I have observed or worked through in 2001.
January 2001 - The new year began the same way 2000 ended. Dense fog and subfreezing temperatures in the morning followed by a sunny and mild afternoon. The pattern finally broke down when a winter storm hit on the 8th. This system brought welcome rains to the valley and snows to the higher mountains. A much stronger storm hit on the 10th and 11th. This system produced some urban flooding in the valley and heavy snows in the mountains. High pressure returned behind this system for a more persistent dense fog and subfreezing mornings. A slow moving cold storm pushed through form the 24th to the 27th bringing some more snow to the mountains and rain to the valley. The month ended up wetter than usual with temperatures near normal.
February 2001 - The month began dry with temperatures near normal as high pressure prevailed for the first week of the month. A winter storm pushed through on the 9th and 10th. On the morning of the 10th a strong cold front pushed through the region. Convective showers and thunderstorms fired up behind it. A slow moving shower which was producing heavy rain over Visalia forced the early ending of our spring severe weather drill exercise which was planned for that day. After the threat of flooding subsided two thunderstorms fired up in the central valley which produced a band of 3/4 inch hail. We actually had two severe thunderstorm warnings out simultaneously for the first time in over six months. Four warnings were put out in all. On top of that heavy snowfall was reported in the mountains with one to two feet common above 3500 feet. I was on the midnight shift that day and missed out on the chaos. Another winter storm hit on the 11th and 12th. While this system did not produce the convective fireworks that the previous system had, heavy rains and mountain snowfall prevailed. Another one to two feet of snowfall were picked up above 3500 feet. Even the usually dry Kern County Deserts were hit by heavy rainfall with this one. The next winter storm hit on the 18th. This one didn't do much. A stronger storm hit on the 19th and 20th hitting the mountains hard once again. After another weak storm on the 22nd a slow moving "change up" storm hit on the 24th and took until the end of the month for it's moisture to clear our area. This was another heavy mountain snow maker, and brought more heavy rains to the Kern Deserts. The Kern Deserts were already close to their annual precipitation normals by the end of the month. The month ended as colder and wetter than usual.
March 2001 - March began where February left off. A weak system moved through on the 2nd and 3rd followed by an intense "southwester" pacific storm with a tropical feed on the 4th and 5th. This system produced urban flooding throughout the valley and foothills along with heavy snowfall to the higher mountains. The biggest impact from this storm was the strong winds ahead of it. Power was knocked out over much of the region for several hours as power poles toppled and lines were split. I missed out on all of the action since I had the days off. Wrap around moisture produced some strong thunderstorms which produced a lightning show and heavy rainfall over Kern County on the 6th. One thunderstorm actually flooded Bakersfield for a few hours although hail and winds were not a problem. The action ended just as I returned to the office from a long break. The remainder of the month was dry and much warmer than usual. Daytime highs frequently reached the 80s in the valley. The month ended both warmer and drier than normal.
April 2001 - After beginning with a mild day and arctic front blasted though on the morning of the 2nd. The cold and unsettled airmass remained over the region through the first half of the month. A hard freeze hit the central valley on the morning of the 4th which turned out to be the most destructive weather event since I arrived here 13 months ago. A winter storm hit on the 6th and 7th. The situation on the evening of the 7th was interesting. Blizzard conditions prevailed in the mountains. High winds in the Kern Deserts, and a severe supercell in the central valley. We warned on this cell three times as it produced a swath of large hail which caused major damage to crops. The cell even produced a small F0 tornado in Clovis (the first tornado in the area since I moved here) which damaged several houses in an upper scale neighborhood. The central valley also picked up some snow that evening, and April snowfall records were shattered. Just a few tenths of an inch was all it took as snow in April is an extremely rare event for the valley. Try maybe once in a hundred years. This event turned out to be even more destructive than the hard freeze just three mornings before. Once again I was on midnights while all of the hoopla went on and was able to dodge all of the chaos. The cold and showery pattern continued until the 15th when high pressure settled in and temperatures finally rose up to near normal for a few days. A late season winter storm hit on the 20th and 21st which brought one to two feet of powder above 5000 feet and even 3 to 6 inches down to 3000 feet. The system also produced some evening thunderstorms on the 20th, but hail and winds did not reach severe criteria except for one cell which produced a microburst on the Fresno State Campus. The heat finally showed up on last week of the month as valley temperatures reached the 90s on the 25th and 26th. A cold front on the 26th triggered some afternoon thunderstorms over the region. We warned on one, but it remained over an unpopulated area. The month ended as one of the coldest and wettest April's ever.
May 2001 - The morning of the 2nd was one of most memorable midnight shifts of all time as winds from 70 to 80 mph blew through the area as the result of strong pressure gradients. Mobile homes were blown over. Power lines were toppled. Orchards were destroyed. As bad as the event sounded the damage was nowhere close to some of the events from last month. I will not forget issuing multiple high wind warnings that morning. After the winds subsided the next day there life on duty became more boring, and I became more of a developer and programmer as a large ridge built in. The large high refused to release it's grip as high temperatures frequently soared into the triple digits. With low levels quite moist from April's abundant rains the humidity was nothing less than oppressive. This turned out to be the hottest May of all time. It also lacked precipitation. The valley was dry all month. A few thunderstorms hit the mountains on occasion. One supercell in Sequoia National Park on the afternoon of the 23rd triggered a warning. I called every spotter within 20 miles of the storm (well the only two) trying to get verification. There was nobody (except maybe a stray hiker) within ten miles of this storm which looked nastier on radar than some cells which have produced two inch hail and multiple tornadoes.
June 2001 - June continued where May left off as the heat just kept a rolling. Dry cold fronts on the 5th and 12th brought strong winds to the Kern Mountains and Deserts. One of the worst heat waves I have been through took place from the 15th to the 23rd. Highs were usually from 100 to 110 in the valley for nine straight days. The month was warmer than usual without a drop of rain in most areas.
July 2001 - July is typically a hot month, and this one was no exception even though temperatures averaged a little below normal. What made this month so unusual though was a strong surge of tropical moisture which pushed up into the area from the south. This combined with instability in the afternoon to produce thunderstorms on the 5th, 6th and 7th. These storms produced flash flooding in portions of Kern County all three days, and flash flood warnings were issued all three days. I was on midnights during this period so I missed out on the exciting part. Well there was some overnight convection on the 4th and 6th, but it didn't amount to much. This ended up being one of the five wettest July's of all time although many locations only picked up a tenth of an inch or so of rain. Two spells of high heat and humidity persisted from the 1st until the 5th, and from the 24th through the 29th.
August 2001 - An obnoxiously hot month with above normal temperatures. Afternoon highs in the valley were frequently around 100. It was more of a typical August with dry heat rather than the awful humidity. Fire weather was actually the prevailing concern all month as precipitation was totally absent. I almost forgot about VCP 21 and VCP 11. My favorite shift of the month was on the 12th when I watched on as Las Vegas cashed out on 12 short fused warnings.
September 2001 - The obnoxious heat continued for the first week of the month then a welcome marine push came in. The dry spell ended with some light showers on the 11th (a day everyone wants to forget). On the morning of the 25th an overnight convective event hit the northern zones. I warned on one storm (63 dBz, 40 VIL) in the mountains, but there was nobody around it. The following seven months had no short fused warnings. Temperatures were close to average.
October 2001 - I took most of the month off after I got married. The month was a little warmer than usual. The only significant rains (mountain snows) were on the 30th. This was followed by the first heavy fog event in the valley on the 31st.
November 2001 - The month was warm and dry until a drought ending southwester hit on the 12th. This storm brought widespread rains of one to two inches to the valley and foothills. Urban flooding was a problem that afternoon. This storm system also brought heavy snows to the mountains above 6500 feet. I had the day off and missed out on the wild and crazy action in the office. The storm was strong enough to kill fire season. The following week was dry with near normal temperatures, but dense morning fog was a problem in some areas. The next system of significance was a cold front that brought strong winds on the 22nd (Thanksgiving day). We actually had reports of winds nearing 100 mph in the Kern deserts. I was on annual leave at the time (seems like I have missed out on all the weather this year). On the 24th, a winter storm pounded the mountains and brought some modest rains to the valley. Yet another high wind event hit the Kern deserts the following day, but this one was nowhere near as bad as the one before. As I returned to the office toward the end of the month, dense morning fog returned to the valley. My best laughs came on the 28th when a TVS popped up on the radar with just light stratiform precipitation in the valley. The northern mountains had more heavy snows. The month was warm and wet overall.
December 2001 - Ho ho ho. A warm and wet pattern prevailed for much of the month with frequent winter storms. This pattern is much better for us than the stagnant fog pattern which is so typical in this area. The first two days the northern mountains were slammed by more heavy snows. The valley was rain shadowed; however, and it was generally below a quarter of an inch of rain. The southern mountains were barely touched. SPC had much of our area in the "slight risk" category on the 2nd. There was nothing close to a severe storm that day much less lightning. Thunderstorms did hit the valley on the third when nothing was mentioned. What was fun was working day shifts through this event. After a quiet spell with just light precipitation and some heavy fog, the next major storm hit on the 14th while I was covering for a lead forecaster. I was firing out winter storm warnings and high wind warnings all day. One to two feet of snow hit the northern mountains. The arctic express followed this storm and brought a hard freeze to the valley on the 16th. My co-workers caught that one long in advance. On the 20th and 21st another big storm hit the mountains. The valley picked up plentiful rains. Dense fog drove holiday travellers crazy around Christmas, but skies usually cleared out in the afternoon. Two warm storms brought heavy rainfall to much of the area on the morning of the 29th (a classic southwester), and on the evening of the 30th. Snow levels were high with these both of storms. I had fun working a midnight shift during the first storm. While we braced up for hydro problems, but area rivers all stayed below monitor stage.
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