Power Outage in Bakersfield, CA

California Highway Patrol reported power lines downed across Stockdale Highway west of Rosedale from strong thunderstorm winds.

California Highway Patrol reported power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds across the northbound lanes of State Route 184 near Sunset Blvd 3 miles south of Lamont.

California Highway Patrol reported State Route 99 was closed in both directions for about an hour due to power poles downed by thunderstorm wind gusts and a mud slide onto the road near Panama Lane in Bakersfield.

Kern County Department of Highways reported flooding in Lake Isabella at the intersection of Lake Isabella Road and Erskine Creek Road. Power poles were also reported leaning due to erosion in this area.

A severe thunderstorm toppled a tree and a power pole. In Bakersfield 3723 customers lost power.

Local newspaper reported street flooding from heavy thunderstorm rains. Heavy rain occurred for 30 minutes with 1.17 inches of rianfall. The thunderstorm also produced minor street flooding and pea sized hail. Power outages also affected the city.

The California Highway Patrol reported trees and power lines blown down in the vicinity of David Road and CA Highway 99 due to a severe thunderstorm.

A strong and very moist upper low pressure system approached the central California coast on March 5. This system pulled up a deep fetch of moisture of sub-tropical origin which pushed into the area during the evening of March 5 then stalled over the southern portion of central California during the morning of March 6 as a strong southwest upper jet was overhead. This resulted in widespread heavy precipitation over Kern County with moderate to locally heavy precipitation further north over an already saturated ground producing widespread flooding, debris flows, rock slides and mud slides across the area. Several roads were closed as a result of the flooding. Thunderstorms broke out during the afternoon producing additional moderate to locally heavy rainfall. Much of the Southern Sierra Nevada picked up between 2 and 4 inches of liquid precipitation with the snow level running between 8000 and 8500 feet for much of the event. Between 1 to 3 inches of rain fell in the adjacent foothills and across the Kern County Mountains. Kelso Creek to the southeast of Lake Isabella filled up that a potential levee breach led to an evacuation of the communities of Weldon Valley Ranchos, Valley Estates and Power Tracts within the town of Kelso Creek. State Route 178 was closed in Kern Canyon for two days due to a rock slide. Much of the San Joaquin Valley and Kern County Deserts picked up between a half inch and an inch of rain while locally heavier amounts fell in the south end of the San Joaquin Valley and across the Indian Wells Valley, and as a result road flooding was widespread in Kern County.

The high pressure ridge over the region began to rebuild once again by July 17th. The flow aloft remained southwesterly, and skies remained generally clear until the 18th. Some development of convective clouds (i.e., mainly in the form of cumulus clouds) returned to the higher elevations of the southern Sierra Nevada by July 19th, then began to increase the 20th as the flow aloft turned more southerly and brought more moisture over the central California interior. By the 21st, the mountains and desert were once again under the influence of southeasterly monsoonal flow, and showers and thunderstorms returned. One thunderstorm that moved through Grant Grove knocked down a few trees and power lines.||Even more active weather occurred in the Kern and Tulare County mountains, as well as the Kern County desert on July 22nd. During this time, monsoonal moisture was abundant with increased atmospheric instability which led to the issuance of some flash flood warnings in the Kern and Tulare County mountains and even a flash flood and severe thunderstorm warning in the Kern County desert. Flash flooding due to slow moving thunderstorms occurred at several locations, including Pine Mountain Club, Johnsondale (in the Tulare County mountains), and in the Kern County desert south of Ridgecrest, along Red Rock-Randsburg Road, a favored locale for flash flooding due to the topography in this area. This desert road was shut down during the late afternoon and evening hours due to both flooding and debris flow. Garlock Road near Randsburg also flooded, just west of the junction with U.S. 395, and U.S. 395 was closed north of Johannesburg due to flooding. Around one inch to one and a half inches of rain fell in a relatively short period of time in these areas, with Pine Mountain Club getting 1.86 inch of rain in less than an hour, and hail up to a half inch in diameter fell near Pine Mountain Club. In addition, some thunderstorms drifted from the southern Sierra Nevada into the foothills, and eventually the San Joaquin Valley. Both Fresno and Lemoore reported thunderstorms at their airports, and a thunderstorm passed over the National Weather Service office at Hanford during the afternoon. ||Monsoonal moisture tracked northward on the 23rd, and Merced reported some light rain as showers passed over the area. Thunderstorms initiated over southeastern Tulare County, and parts of the Kern County mountains, including the Piute Mountains and Walker Pass during the afternoon. A flash flood warning was even issued for the Piute Mountains by late in the afternoon as a strong thunderstorm developed over this area and produced heavy rain.||The monsoonal moisture continued to wrap around the upper-level level ridge over the Desert Southwest. The flow around the ridge brought repeated surges of this warm moist air, with mountain and desert thunderstorms continuing through July 28th. Debris clouds from mountain thunderstorms moved over parts of the southern San Joaquin Valley on the 26th, bringing light rain. Bakersfield recorded a trace of rain, but this was the first rain to fall in that city since records began in 1889,||Thunderstorms brought heavy rain to parts of the Indian Wells Valley during the evening of July 27th. Small hail fell on southwest Ridgecrest. The next day, outflow winds from a collapsing thunderstorm caused a gust to 46 mph on part of the China Lake Naval Weapons Test Center range. Another thunderstorm brought heavy rain to the southern Tulare County mountains. The Mahogany RAWS in the southern Tulare County mountains received 2.24 inch of rain from the storm.||Fresno ended July with an average temperature of 87.1 degrees, for its 3rd warmest July on record. Bakersfield was slightly warmer with an average temperature of 87.6 degrees, tying its 6th warmest July since records began.

This month began with very hot temperatures for most locations throughout the central California interior as strong high pressure continued to dominate. Highs reached near 110 degrees in many San Joaquin Valley locations with overnight lows dropping only into the upper 70s to low 80s until the 4th. In fact, Bakersfield did reach 110 degrees on the 2nd, with a low temperature of only 83 degrees (2 degrees shy of the record high minimum for the date). Record high minimum temperatures were reached in Bakersfield on July 1st and 3rd, and in Fresno on the 2nd and 3rd. Thunderstorms developed over the high country of the southern Sierra Nevada and the Kern County deserts. Outflow winds from collapsing thunderstorms hit Ridgecrest during the morning of July 2nd, with gusts estimated at 75 mph knocking down trees and power lines, and damaging roofs. Pea-size hail fell at the White Wolf campground in Yosemite National Park during the afternoon of July 3rd.||By the 5th, intrusions of marine air filtered into the San Joaquin Valley but remained north of Fresno, especially at Pacheco Pass and Merced. It was enough to dry to the airmass so that locations were much cooler at night, but daytime high temperatures continued to remain from the upper 90s to around 100 degrees in most southern and central San Joaquin Valley locations. Although some weakening of the upper-level ridge occurred during the July 5th through the 7th, high pressure continued to remain in control over much of the region for the first half of the month.||By July 8th, high pressure began to rebuild over the region. High temperatures and nighttime lows trended back upward until around the 9th before they slightly moderated on July 10th. On the 10th, there was mid-level cloud cover over the region, which brought showers and thunderstorms to the Kern County desert areas, Tehachapi Mountains, southern Sierra Nevada, and even some sprinkles to parts of the San Joaquin Valley. This weather was due to an influx of monsoonal moisture from the southeast as the axis of the prevailing ridge of high pressure shifted to southern Nevada.||From the 12th until the 15th, high pressure remained in control with little change in temperatures over the region. A typical summer southwest flow aloft prevailed, allowing thunderstorm activity to remain confined over the Sierra Nevada crest.||A break in the long string of above normal temperatures finally ended by the 16th for some valley locations as a fairly strong push of marine air filtered into the San Joaquin Valley. In fact, Fresno recorded 19 consecutive days of maximum temperatures of 100 degrees or greater from June 27th until July 15th, and this ties for the 4th longest period of consecutive days of triple digit temperatures (see table below).

On the evening of the 15th, a significant marine push occurred and moved well inland toward the west side of the central San Joaquin Valley as an upper-level trough moved onshore; Pacheco Pass experienced a 42 mph wind gust that evening. That gust prompted a wind advisory that was issued during that evening for the west side of the San Joaquin Valley for Fresno and Merced Counties. Temperatures on the 16th fell several degrees from the previous day, including in the San Joaquin Valley. The trough remained over the region through the 17th. Temperatures were several degrees normal on both of these days, with highs in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley only in the mid to upper 80s for high temperatures, and upper 80s to lower 90s in the desert areas of eastern Kern County. ||The upper-level ridge returned to interior central California by the 18th. Temperatures rose to a few degrees above average by the 19th. The weather has remained mainly dry through September 22nd, with mainly cumulus cloud buildups over the southern Sierra Nevada crest. ||Off the coast of California, a low-pressure system developed within the ridge and drifted toward the coast. By September 23rd, the flow around this low drew subtropical moisture into southern and central California. The ridge remained the dominant large-scale feature over central California, bringing unseasonably warm weather to the region. Fresno had a high of 101 degrees on the 23rd, the third, and last, time Fresno say triple digits in September. With a very warm and unstable airmass, thunderstorms developed across the region. Although there was moisture in the mid-level of the atmosphere, the lowest levels remained dry, and the thunderstorms were mostly dry with numerous lightning strikes. The lightning triggered several wildfires in Kern County, with a few fires started in Tulare County. Outflow winds from the thunderstorms toppled power poles in northeast Bakersfield, knocking out power to over three thousand people. In the Mojave Desert northeast of Mojave, winds blew a big rig over on State Route 58. ||Clouds from the showers and thunderstorms remained over the central California interior through September 24th, keeping low temperatures unseasonably warm. Fresno set record high minimum temperature records on both the 23rd and 24th.|A strong cold front moved into central California on September 25th, bringing sharp drops in temperature. The highs at Bakersfield and Fresno on the 24th were 97 degrees; the next day, the high at Bakersfield was only 80 and Fresno was only a degree warmer. The unseasonably cold airmass lingered over the region the next two days, slowly mixing out. A weak upper-level ridge boosted high temperatures over the central and southern San Joaquin Valley into the mid to upper 90s on September 29th, but highs fell back to near normal the next day. A weak surge of monsoonal moisture at the end of the month brought isolated thunderstorms to the Southern Sierra Nevada crest. ||Bakersfield had five days in September with highs at or above 100 degrees, and Fresno had 3 triple-digit days. For the summer, through the end of September, Bakersfield had 30 days with highs at or above 100 degrees, while Fresno had 28 days. The average temperature for September was 80.3 degrees at both Bakersfield and Fresno. This was the third warmest September on record for Fresno, while Bakersfield tied for its ninth warmest September on record.

In the Southern Sierra Nevada, showers and thunderstorms brought a 2-day total of 0.38 inch of rain (from the 15th through the 16th) to Lodgepole in Sequoia National Park. 0.04 inch of rain fell at Mountain Mesa on the south shore of Lake Isabella on July 15th, and hail was reported covering the ground near Florence Lake on the 16th.|A strong thunderstorm developed over northwestern San Bernardino County during the|afternoon of July 15th. As the thunderstorm collapsed, outflow winds as high as 60 mph roared through the southeastern Kern County desert, affecting Edwards AFB, Boron and Rosamond. Power lines were knocked down, and roof damage was reported at the Base. Outflow winds generated secondary showers and thunderstorms over the Kern County deserts during the evening of the 15th. The National Test Pilots School in Mojave reported 0.70 inch of rain in only a 6-hour period. Edwards AFB and Randsburg reported storm totals around two-tenths of an inch of rain.|Afternoon thunderstorms continued over the Southern Sierra Nevada daily through July 18th. One thunderstorm moved over the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area in eastern Madera and Mariposa Counties during the evening of July 17th. Although National Weather Service Doppler Radar estimated the rain rate at up to 4 inches per hour, no flash flooding was reported.

A strong ridge of high pressure aloft lingered over California and the Desert Southwest the first 3 days of the month, keeping the central and southern San Joaquin Valley under triple-digit heat. A monsoonal flow triggered thunderstorms over the mountains and the Kern county deserts, and one thunderstorm near Rosamond on September 1st spawned a tornado that moved through the town; a National Weather Service storm survey rated the tornado at EF0 on the new Enhanced Fujita scale. As the thunderstorm collapsed, it generated high winds that knocked down several power poles and created areas of blowing dust. Other thunderstorms in the same complex dropped ��-inch hail on the town of Boron in the southeastern corner of Kern county, generated a wind gust measured at 83 mph at the Mojave Air and Spaceport, and caused flash flooding in the vicinity of Mojave and California City.

An intense thunderstorm pushed northwestward through the Antelope Valley and into the Kern County portion of the Mojave Desert the late afternoon of the 20th. Initially strong wind caused damage by felling trees and power poles, and the high wind even blowing out windows on cars as it crossed the desert. Numerous lightning strikes occurred in its passage across the Mojave Desert and as it extended into the Tehachapi area of the Kern County Mountains. Locally heavy rain was reported in the Lancaster-Palmdale area of northern Los Angeles County with the storm's passage.

Rainfall totals in excess of 2/3rds of an inch in less than 24 hours at Bakersfield resulted in significant water flows from nearby mountains onto the South San Joaquin Valley Floor. Flooding was reported on Highway 33 on the 2nd of the month on the west side of the Valley north of Highway 46 in the morning and also on Redrock-Randsburg Road in the Kern Desert area by mid-day. Strong southeast wind in the Taft area in the South San Joaquin Valley resulted in downed power poles during the mid-afternoon hours.

Water from nearby washes and small, normally dry creeks ran through the town of Lake Isabella late in the afternoon of the 20th. Rainfall rates of 1 inch in 15 minutes was reported by the Kern Fire Department with radar estimates of 1 to 3 inches per hour in the mountains to the east and south. Additional flooding was reported from Erskine and Bodfish Creeks just southwest of Lake Isabella and also just east of the Walker Basin/Piute Kern County Fire Station. Trees and power poles were carried over Highway 178 in the water flow off nearby mountains ENE of Lake Isabella. Some of the heavier rain amounts reported for the 20th: 1.78" at Piute KCFD in the Kern Mountains; 1.24" at Blackrock RAWS in the S.Sierra Nevada Mountains; and 1.24" at Laural Mountain in the Kern Desert.

Locally heavy rain accompanied by strong wind and small hail occurred in the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley during the late afternoon hours of the 21st. Hail size was less than 1/2-inch but, in conjunction with, locally heavy rain led to local highway problems just northwest of Merced on State Highway 99. Snow level in the adjacent Southern Sierra Nevada dropped to 3500 feet mean sea level. Gusty wind late in the afternoon around Fresno resulted in some downed power lines and loss of power to 771 utility customers in North-Central Fresno. Unofficial rainfall amounts from convective showers were as high as 0.63" in Northeast Fresno with reports of pea-size hail and lightning. Official rain totals for the day were 0.20" at Fresno, 0.15" at Madera, and 0.13" at Visalia. In the Tehachapi Mountains at Bear Valley over 1.00 inch of rain fell due to the showers on the 21st.

A fierce thunderstorm flooded numerous streets in Bakersfield and triggered a 2-hour power outage to 2,000 utility customers from a lightning strike in the Oildale area around 1900 PST and another around 1950 PST in west Bakersfield. Flooding impeded traffic in a least 19 different locations from the cloudburst. This thunderstorm activity ended an inclement weather period of rain and wind for the South San Joaquin Valley that began on the 4th.