Brief thunderstorm drops quarter-inch sized hail in Tulare County

Quarter-inch-sized hail briefly showered a southeast portion of the Tulare County mountains Tuesday in perhaps a not-so-surprising turn of events for area weather.

Hanford National Weather Service meteorologist technician William Peterson said a few thunderstorm cells sat over the area of Kennedy Meadows and Pine Meadows and dropped pea-sized hail and about a third of an inch of rain. Peterson said the thunderstorm “way up in the mountains” was not surprising. Summertime storms regularly drop rain in mountains, he said.

The thunderstorm reports at the 7,000 to 8,000-foot elevations came in just before 2 p.m. By 4:30 p.m., the storm clouds had cleared, Peterson said. The central San Joaquin Valley was not touched by rain or hail, Peterson said.

The Wednesday forecast for the Kennedy Meadows area is mostly sunny with a high of 79 degrees.

And the same area can still expect to see smoky conditions, as the Schaeffer Fire continues to burn nearby.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Brief thunderstorm drops quarter-inch sized hail in Tulare County."