High Wind in California, December 9 to 10, 1996

Name: High Wind in California, December 9 to 10, 1996
Start: 1996-12-09T20:00
End: 1996-12-10T10:00
Location: California

December 9 to 10, 1996 · NWS EKA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong winds developed again along the coast from Cape Mendocino north. A gust blew a board onto piping at a power generating facility in Fairhaven.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 EKA wrote it up.

Strong winds developed again along the coast from Cape Mendocino north. A gust blew a board onto piping at a power generating facility in Fairhaven. The pipe ruptured spilling 800 gallons of sulphuric acid. The same winds helped disperse the fumes. 40 mph winds were reported 9S Honeydew and 2.5NW Klamath. Cooskie Mountain had 73 mph winds shortly after midnight.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Redwood Coast

When: December 9, 8:00 PM PST to December 10, 10:00 AM PST
Where: Redwood Coast forecast zone
Measured: 63 kt (72 mph)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 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: 5582718.