Thunderstorm Wind, Merced
- When
- April 1, 2:45 PM PST to 2:50 PM PST
- Where
- Merced County, 3 mi SW of Los Banos
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 37.030, -120.880
Damaging Wind in California, April 1, 1996
High wind from the southwest flattened an older barn 3 miles SW of Los Banos in west Merced County per eyewitness reports. A California Division of Forestry and Fire Protection anemometer measured wind in the hour prior to 1500 PST at a location 10 miles west of Los Banos at 52 knots.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.
High wind from the southwest flattened an older barn 3 miles SW of Los Banos in west Merced County per eyewitness reports. A California Division of Forestry and Fire Protection anemometer measured wind in the hour prior to 1500 PST at a location 10 miles west of Los Banos at 52 knots. This report would match with the line of thunderstorms developing along the San Joaquin Valley west side at that time.
The radar
The San Francisco radar (KMUX), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:30 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in California, April 1, 1996
- Damaging Wind in California, April 1, 1996
- Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in California, April 1, 1996
- Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 1996
- Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 1996
- Drought in New Mexico, April 1 to 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in California, April 1, 1996
- Tornado in California, April 1, 1996
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, April 1 to 2, 1996
- Drought in Oklahoma, April 1 to 30, 1996
More
Every storm in California in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5580777.