Dense Fog — Hanford - Corcoran - Lemoore, California

2024-12-17 · Hanford - Corcoran - Lemoore, California

Event narrative

California Highway Patrol reported a multiple car accident in dense fog with visibility near an eighth of a mile involving three vehicles (2 cars and a tractor trailer) at the intersection of SR 198 and 6th Ave. east of Hanford. This accident was also confirmed onsite by an NWS employee. At least one person was injured in the accident.

Wider weather episode

A weak system moved through northern California on December 16 which brought some light precipitation to the area mainly to the north of Fresno County. An upper ridge shifted inland into California during the morning of December 17 behind this system which brought clearing skies and light winds to the San Joaquin Valley. This allowed for patchy dense fog to form in the center portion of the valley around sunrise on December 17. At least one multiple vehicle accident took place on SR 198 when visibility was reduced to an eighth of a mile. The fog lifted into a low cloud deck by late morning.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1220648. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.