Heavy Rain — Mariposa, California

2009-06-13 · near Yosemite Vlg, Mariposa, California

Event narrative

A young man fell to his death (indirect fatality) while climbing Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. A thunderstorm was in the area at the time of the incident with brief periods of heavy rain. Hail was reported by park rangers on Half Dome and surfaces were reported to be slick and dangerous, with many hikers in the vicinity.

Wider weather episode

Unsettled weather remained across inland Central California through much of early and mid June due to upper level low pressure and pulses of energy in the upper atmosphere. Scattered thunderstorms were common during this time period over the Southern Sierra Nevada. Daytime temperatures were typically 10-20 degrees cooler than normal for many locations.

A hiker on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park was killed when he fell while climbing. Conditions at the time were stormy with brief bursts of heavy rain...lightning and hail.

A wildfire was ignited on June 17th at 1232 PST by lightning. The Shotgun wildfire was located 25 miles northeast of Porterville in Tulare County. The size was 900 acres and containment was 50% on July 10th. The cost for containment was $40,000.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.7400, -119.6000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 185357. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.