Winter Weather — Tulare Cty Foothills, California
2013-02-19 to 2013-02-20 · Tulare Cty Foothills, California
Wider weather episode
The upper-level continued to strengthen through February 16th, with temperatures warming to several degrees above normal. Fresno had its first 70-degree day of the year on the 15th, with a high of 73 degrees. The last time Fresno saw 70s was November 21st, 2012, when the high was 71 degrees. Bakersfield reach 76 degrees on February 15th, and both cities had highs of 73 degrees the next day.
The upper-level ridge began to weaken on February 17th as a potent Pacific storm dropped out of the Gulf of Alaska as approached the coast. This storm reached the central California interior by midday of the 19th, and moved through the region during the afternoon and evening hours. Ahead of the storm, strong winds developed in the Indian Wells Valley with a gust to 46 mph recorded in Ridgecrest. As the cold front moved through, the focus of the strong winds shifted south into the southeastern Kern County desert. Winds gusted to 45-50 mph near Mojave, and to as high as
58 mph at Rosamond. However, the winds were sporadic and the strongest gusts were rare.
The storm brought locally heavy rain to the region, accounting for over half the monthly total for several locations. The snow level was very low, around 1500 feet (but locally dropping to around 1000 feet in heavy snow showers). Snow showers continued overnight over the Southern Sierra Nevada, and a few flurries were reported in downtown Fresno around midnight of February 19th- 20th. Highway 58 through the Tehachapi Pass was closed beginning the evening of the 19th, and
Interstate 5 over the Grapevine was closed the following morning due to snow and ice.
In the Southern Sierra Nevada, up to 10 inches of new snow fell, with even more snow'up to 22 inches (at Bear Valley Springs)'in the Tehachapi Mountains as upslope snow showers continued into February 20th. Isolated heavy showers developed along the cold front over the central and southern San Joaquin Valley during the late afternoon and evening of February 19th.
Pea-size hail was reported from these storms, including one report from a few miles north of Hanford.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 434581. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.