High Wind in California, December 19, 1998

Name: High Wind in California, December 19, 1998
Start: 1998-12-19T11:00
End: 1998-12-19T14:00
Location: California

December 19, 1998 · NWS VEF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
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.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Owens Valley

When: December 19, 11:00 AM PST to 2:00 PM PST
Where: Owens Valley forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High winds occurred for a few hours in the Owens Valley as an arctic front moved through the region. An automated wind sensor, 12 miles west of Bishop Airport, recorded a gust of 81 mph at 1:00 pm PST. The same sensor also recorded numerous gusts over 60 mph between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. Highway 395 was closed for about two hours just north of Bishop due to zero visibility in blowing dust. A Bishop bank sign was also blown down and damaged.

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 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 1998

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: 5674667.