High Wind, Sonoma/Marin Counties
- When
- July 16, 3:30 PM PST
- Where
- Sonoma/Marin Counties forecast zone
- Measured
- 35 kt (40 mph)
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
High Wind in California, July 16, 1996
Relatively high gradient wind for the middle of summer brought wind of 28 to 40 MPH to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley on this day. While not meeting high wind criteria, gusty wind did break a limb from an old oak tree in southeast Bakersfield, Kern County.
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- 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 HNX wrote it up.
Relatively high gradient wind for the middle of summer brought wind of 28 to 40 MPH to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley on this day. While not meeting high wind criteria, gusty wind did break a limb from an old oak tree in southeast Bakersfield, Kern County. The limb fell and killed a little girl as she stood beneath the tree.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Sonoma/Marin Counties | 1996-07-16 | 8 | Female | Under Tree | Direct |
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
- Flood in Iowa, July 16 to 18, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, July 16, 1996
- Flood in Iowa, July 16 to 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, July 16, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, July 16, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, July 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, July 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, July 16 to 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in Iowa, July 16 to 17, 1996
- Flood in Nebraska, July 16 to 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, July 16 to 17, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, July 16, 1996
More
Every storm in California in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 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: 5576826.