Flash Flood — Kern, California

2025-09-18 · near Cantil, Kern, California

Event narrative

Redrock Randsburg Road Highway 14 to Highway 395 impassable and closed.

Wider weather episode

On the 18th and 19th, abundant rainfall fell in much of our forecast area due to the remnants of a tropical storm (Mario) that moved over the eastern Pacific Ocean from along the coast of Baja California. The heaviest precipitation was reported in the Kern County desert towards the Indian Wells Valley where around 2-3 inches of rain fell on the 18th. Other locations in the San Joaquin Valley, such as Hanford and Kingsburg, exceeded one inch during the 18th into the 19th. Fresno received 0.81 inch during this period. Record high daily precipitation values were reported at Hanford on both days. Afternoon high temperatures cooled markedly during this period. On the afternoon of the 18th, a funnel cloud was also reported in the Kern County desert near Rosamond.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.3124, -117.9858)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1293252. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.