The third in the series of storms that began affecting central California in late November reached the Hanford warning/forecast area on December 2nd. Ahead of the storm, there were midday showers across the region in the warm, moist unstable airmass between the departing second storm and the approaching third system. These showers produced between a tenth and a third of an inch of rain on the San Joaquin Valley floor, except for the south end of the Valley which remain rain shadowed. Bakersfield only received 0.03 inch of rain on December 1st.
The final cold front stalled over northern California during the night of December 1st-2nd, as a wave developed along the front. The front began moving into the central California interior during the early afternoon of the 2nd. Although the cold front moved rapidly southward, it brought locally heavy rain to the region, causing some road flooding. In the Sierra Nevada foothills, the new rain fell on saturated soil, triggering a few rock and mud slides.
With persistent cloud cover and a warm airmass in place, both Bakersfield and Fresno set record high minimum temperature records on December 1st and again on the 2nd. The low at Fresno on the 2nd was 60 degrees, not only breaking the previous record high minimum temperature for the date by 7 degrees, but also tying the record high minimum temperature for the month of December, last set on December 23rd, 1964. Fresno���s string continued into December 3rd for four consecutive days with record high minimum temperatures. Bakersfield just missed its record high minimum temperature on the 3rd by one degree, ending its string of consecutive record high minimum temperatures at three days.
In Yosemite National Park, officials reported that over five feet of new snow fell on Tuolumne Meadows from the series of storms. At the lower elevations, Yosemite Falls was rejuvenated by the persistent rains.
Please see the November, 2012 Storm Data report for more information about the individual storm events.
With abundant ground moisture, the stage was set for the development of Tule fog in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley. Fog formed during the evening hours of December 3rd near Hanford, Porterville, Tulare and Visalia. The fog spread westward to Naval Air Station Lemoore, where the visibility dropped to zero shortly after 10 PM. The fog then spread northward through the Fresno area by 4 AM on December 4th, and continued into Merced shortly thereafter. The fog lingered in many areas into the late morning before finally lifting.

Flood in FRESNO, CALIFORNIA
From 02-DEC-12 14:51:00 to 02-DEC-12 16:51:00 (PST-8)
Location: (FCH) CHANDLER AF
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

The California Highway Patrol reported flooding on West Olive St.

Flood in TULARE, CALIFORNIA
From 02-DEC-12 15:51:00 to 02-DEC-12 17:51:00 (PST-8)
Location: TULARE
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 10.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

The California Highway Patrol reported flooding on Albert Avenue at Wilma Street.

Dense Fog in W CENTRAL S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 04-DEC-12 00:00:00 to 04-DEC-12 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog in E CENTRAL S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 04-DEC-12 00:00:00 to 04-DEC-12 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog in SW S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 04-DEC-12 00:00:00 to 04-DEC-12 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Dense Fog in SE S.J. VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 04-DEC-12 00:00:00 to 04-DEC-12 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet