National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Lala Impacting Hawaii; Severe Thunderstorm and Flash Flooding Risks; Excessive Heat

Areas of gusty winds, heavy rain leading to flash flooding, and high surf continue across portions of Hawaii as Tropical Storm Lala continues to move away from the islands. Severe thunderstorm, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding threats continue from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and across the central High Plains. Record heat continues for areas of the central/southern Plain into the Southeast Read More >

 
Our Service Area

The NWS San Joaquin Valley County Warning and Forecast Area (CFWA) includes a large portion of the central California interior. Our CWFA lies between the crests of the Diablo Range and the Sierra Nevada from Merced and Mariposa Counties south through the Tehachapi Mountains, just beyond Bakersfield. It also includes all of Yosemite National Park and the Kern County portion of the Mojave desert. Elevations vary from only 90 feet above sea level near the Merced County line, to 14,495 feet at the peak of Mt. Whitney (the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States). Our service area includes valley, mountain, and desert climates, divisible into 21 forecast zones...



Several recreational areas lie within the service area...
 
National parks
1. Yosemite
2. Kings Canyon
3. Sequoia
National Forests
4. Stanislaus
5. Sierra
6. Sequoia
Parks in HNX CWA
State parks
7. Red Rock Canyon
8. Great Valley Grasslands
9. Tomo-Kahni
State reserves - 10. Tule Elk
State recreational areas
11. McConnell
12. Millerton Lake
13. San Luis Reservoir
State historical parks
14. Wassama Round House
15. Colonel Allensworth
16. Fort Tejon
17. George J. Hatfield


Demographics of the public service/forecast area are as follows, using 1994 census data...
 
County Population Area (mi2)
Fresno 737,289 6017.9
Kern 617,528 8162.0
Kings 113,089 1391.6
Madera 107,004 2153.4
Mariposa 15,772 1462.9
Merced 194,407 1372.0
Tulare 346,843 4839.4
Yosemite Nat'l Park n/a 1200.0
Total 2,035,226 26,599.2


Most of the economy of the service area is related to agriculture. However, many jobs are related to oil production, forestry, and aerospace. Lemoore Naval Air Station, China Lake Naval Weapons Center, and Edwards Air Force Base are also major employers in the service area.