California, 2001

High Wind in California, April 7, 2001

April 7, 2001 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Gusty wind conditions occurred through the Kern Mountains and Desert regions on the 7th of the month: Indian Wells Canyon had wind gusts to 67 MPH at 1413 PST; Laurel Mountain gusts to 48 MPH at 0700 PST; Edwards AFB Wind Tower gusts to 47 MPH at 1800 PST; and, Jawbone Canyon gusts to 55 MPH.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Gusty wind conditions occurred through the Kern Mountains and Desert regions on the 7th of the month: Indian Wells Canyon had wind gusts to 67 MPH at 1413 PST; Laurel Mountain gusts to 48 MPH at 0700 PST; Edwards AFB Wind Tower gusts to 47 MPH at 1800 PST; and, Jawbone Canyon gusts to 55 MPH.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 7, 4:05 AM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 7, 4:05 AM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
400 AM PDT SAT APR 7 2001

DYNAMIC WINTER STORM IS MOVING ACROSS CTNRL CA TODAY ON SCHEDULE. THE
BEST UVM HAS BEEN IN PROGRESS OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA OVERNIGHT UNDER
LF QUAD OF JET MOVING INTO KERN COUNTY WITH VERY GOOD OROGRAPHIC
ENHANCEMENT. COLD FRONT IS POISED TO BARREL INTO NORTHERN SECTIONS
EARLY THIS MORN AND REACH KERN DESERT THIS AFTN...LOWERING SNOW LEVELS
IN THE PROCESS. WEAK SECONDARY LIFT INDICATED NORTH ZONES LATER THIS
AFTN AND EARLY THIS EVE FOR ADDITIONAL SHOWERS. ONGOING WINTER STORM
WARNINGS IN SIERRA AND ADVISORY FOR KERN MTNS ARE IN GOOD SHAPE FOR THE
REST OF THE DAY...ONLY STICKY SPOT WILL BE SNOW AMOUNT FROM 3 TO NEAR
4KFT SINCE BULK OF PRECIP IS BEFORE OR DURING COLDER AIR ARRIVAL.
LEAVING FOOTHILLS UNCHANGED FOR NOW BUT MIGHT NEED TO SHIFT OVER TO
JUST A SNOW ADVISORY FOR 3-4 KFT LEVELS.

OTHER MAJOR CONCERN IS STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN KERN MTNS/DESERTS TODAY
AND THIS EVE. STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION...POST FRONTAL SUBSIDENCE AND
UPPER SUPPORT WITH PROXIMITY OF 110KT+ JET AXIS SUPPORTING WIND
ADVISORY TYPE CONDITIONS. POSTING WAD FOR KERN DESERT...AND CONTINUE TO
INCLUDE WIND EMPHASIS IN ONGOING WINTER WX ADVIS FOR KERN MTNS.

PRECIP AND WINDS GRADUALLY DIMINISHING OVERNIGHT. LOTS OF LINGERING
MSTR FOR CLOUDS IN SJV TO ALLAY COLDER TEMPS. ON SUNDAY ANOTHER SHORT
WAVE PROGGED INTO NORTH SECTIONS DURING AFTN/EVE. COULD BE MARGINALLY
UNSTABLE...THUS CONTINUED MENTION OF SLGT CHC AFTN TSTMS. ENERGY DIGS
SOUTH ON MONDAY AND BRINGS COLD POOL ALOFT VERY CLOSE FOR SOMEWHAT
BETTER CHC OF SCATTERED TSTMS TO DEVELOP.

MED RANGE MODELS HAVE CUTOFF LOW CENTER SOMEWHERE BETW SAN BERNARDINO
AND LAUGHLIN AT 12Z TUE. WITH WRAPAROUND STILL PSBL AT LEAST TUE MORN
WILL CONTINUE SLGT CHANCES...ALTHO GETTING CLOSER TO GOING COMPLETELY
DRY IN SJV. SOME SOLUTIONS SHOW IDEA OF BAGGY TROF LINGERING WED ASSOC
WITH WEAK TRAILING S/WV...MAIN EFFECT TO SLIGHTLY DELAY RECOVERY IN
TEMPS. OTHERWISE DRY AND WARMING TREND BACK TOWARDS SEASONAL NORMALS
WED-FRI UNDER UPPER RIDGE.

.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA ABOVE
       3000 FEET FROM YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE.
    ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS ABOVE
       4000 FEET.
    ...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS UNTIL 11:00 PM...

LAVIS

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When
April 7, 7:00 AM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where
Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When
April 7, 1:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where
Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When
April 7, 2:00 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where
Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2001

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: 5240963, 5240964, 5240962.