Dense Fog — Se S.j. Valley, California

2015-02-18 to 2015-02-19 · Se S.j. Valley, California

Event narrative

Widespread visibility less than 1/4 mile in Kings county, including at the Hanford ASOS. Lemoore ASOS reported visibility of 1/16 mile. Several school districts had bus delays due to the dense fog. There was a fatality traffic accident when a Dodge truck collided with a pole in Visalia around 0400 PST on February 19.

Wider weather episode

High pressure over the west coast brought stable conditions and areas of dense fog over the San Joaquin Valley on February 19-20, 2015. Dense fog began developing around midnight on February 19, becoming widespread by early morning particularly in from Merced to Madera and in the Hanford, Lemoore, and Visalia areas along Highway 198. Several school districts reported bus delays. Several injury traffic accidents were also reported. There was also one fatality as a car collided with a pole in Visalia. The dense fog lifted around 1030 PST. Areas of dense fog redeveloped after 2300 PST on February 19 and persisted through 0900 PST on February 20. The fog was particularly dense in the Fresno and Lemoore areas where visibility was less than 1/8 mile, as well as in Kern county along Highway 99 where visibility less than 200 feet resulted in CHP pacing traffic along Highway 99 through and just north of Bakersfield. By mid morning of February 20, the dense fog lifted into a low stratus deck which persisted over the San Joaquin Valley through day and into the Saturday, February 21, 2015.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 560587. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.