High Wind, Orange County Coastal Areas
- When
- January 29, 12:00 AM PST to January 30, 3:00 AM PST
- Where
- Orange County Coastal Areas forecast zone
- Measured
- 86 kt (99 mph)
High Wind in California, January 29 to 30, 1997
Surface high pressure building into the Great Basin, combined with favorable northeast winds aloft, to produce gusty offshore winds through and below the Cajon Pass and Fremont Canyon. Wind gusts peaked at 100 mph through Fremont Canyon on the morning of January 29.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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 SGX wrote it up.
Surface high pressure building into the Great Basin, combined with favorable northeast winds aloft, to produce gusty offshore winds through and below the Cajon Pass and Fremont Canyon. Wind gusts peaked at 100 mph through Fremont Canyon on the morning of January 29. Later that afternoon Rialto, in San Bernardino County, had sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph, with gusts to 87. A big rig was toppled on a freeway entrance ramp in Ontario, and jets landing at the Ontario International Airport reported some difficulties.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys - the Inland Empire
- When
- January 29, 12:00 AM PST to January 30, 3:00 AM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys - the Inland Empire forecast zone
- Measured
- 86 kt (99 mph)
- Coordinates
- 34.293, -116.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Riverside County Valley/The Inland Empire
- When
- January 29, 12:00 AM PST to January 30, 3:00 AM PST
- Where
- Riverside County Valley/The Inland Empire forecast zone
- Measured
- 86 kt (99 mph)
High Wind, San Bernardino County Mountains
- When
- January 29, 12:00 AM PST to January 30, 3:00 AM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County Mountains forecast zone
- Measured
- 86 kt (99 mph)
- Coordinates
- 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills
- When
- January 29, 12:00 AM PST to January 30, 3:00 AM PST
- Where
- Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills forecast zone
- Measured
- 86 kt (99 mph)
- Coordinates
- 33.483, -116.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
More
Every storm in California in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 1997
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: 5588444, 5588445, 5588446, 5588447, 5588448.