Lightning, Sonoma
- When
- January 25, 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- Sonoma County, Central Portion
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.525, -122.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind and Lightning Strike in California, January 25, 2001
1 lightning, 1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 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 San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 25, 9:00 AM PST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 9:00 AM PST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
900 AM PST THU JAN 25 2001
MAIN FOCUS IS THE APPROACHING STRONG COLD FRONT WITH LINES OF
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG IT. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY STRONG
WINDS TO MOVE ONTO SONOMA COAST AROUND 11AM...SFO BAY AT 1-2PM...AND
MONTEREY BAY BY 4PM. LATEST PACJET AND NATIONAL SATELLITE PRECIP
DISCUSSIONS INDICATE NUMEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES...BOW ECHOES...AND
CLOUD TOP TEMPS OF -55C ASSOCIATED WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE
FRONT. THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY WILL BE N OF THE FORECAST AREA...
HOWEVER SOME MODERATELY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL LIKELY FROM
SFO BAY NWD. LATEST MESOETA SHOWS ABOUT 1-2" TOTAL PRECIP IN THE
HIGHER ELEVATIONS...WITH SOME LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE...AND
1/4 TO 3/4" OR MORE IN THE VALLEYS. THESE AMOUNTS WILL LIKELY OCCUR
IN A VERY SHORT TIME...SO SMALLER CREEKS COULD RISE QUICKLY. URBAN
AREAS COULD ALSO BE AFFECTED FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS AS THE HEAVY
RAINS MOVE THRU. URBAN AND SMALL STREAM ADVISORIES MAY BE NECESSARY.
THE WRAPAROUND OCCLUDED PORTION OF THE FRONT IS FORECAST TO MOVE SEWD
JUST OFF THE COAST LATE TONIGHT AND FRI...AND WILL LIKELY PUSH SOME
SHOWERS AND ISOLATED WEAK LOW-LEVEL THUNDERSTORMS ONTO THE COAST AT
THAT TIME. SKIES WILL CLEAR IN THE N LATER FRI NIGHT...WITH CONTINUED
CLEARING SWD SAT...WITH WARMER TEMPS EXPECTED. AN UPPER RIDGE WILL
MOVE ACROSS THE STATE ON SUN...FOLLOWED BY AN INSIDE SLIDER MON.
LITTLE OR NO PRECIP IS EXPECTED IN THE FORECAST AREA FROM MON'S
SYSTEM...WITH THE RIDGE REBUILDING QUICKLY NEXT TUE AND WED. DRY
WEATHER WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS ARE EXPECTED ALL NEXT WEEK THRU THE
WEEKEND. STS/LVK +96 SFO/SJC +97 MRY ++7. MILLARD
.SFO....TDA...GALE WARNING...PT ARENA TO PIGEON PT.
SMALL CRAFT ADV...PIGEON PT TO PT PIEDRAS BLANCAS AND
THE SFO AND MRY BAYS.
...TNGT...HEAVY SURF ADV...PT AREA TO PT PIEDRAS BLANCAS VAND THE
MRY BAY.The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lightning, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Alameda / Contra Costa
- When
- January 25, 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- Alameda / Contra Costa forecast zone
- Measured
- 90 kt (104 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
A strong cold front swept over the area from the northwest. It formed a squall line which produced high winds,small hail and snow as low as 800 feet. A Severe thunderstorm watch was issued. it is only the second in the 25 years for the San Francisco Bay area. No severe thunderstorms were reported however, rotation was noted near Richmond on the WSR-88D. There was damage from mainly strong gradient winds and lightning strikes. In Sonoma county a girl holding an umbrella was struck but, sustained no injuries. A number of trees were downed causing power outages to the Bay area.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- 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
- Dense Fog in Maine, January 25, 2001
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, January 25 to 26, 2001
- Winter Storm in California, January 25 to 26, 2001
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 25 to 27, 2001
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 25, 2001
- Heavy Snow in California, January 25 to 26, 2001
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in California, January 25 to 26, 2001
- High Wind in California, January 25, 2001
- High Wind in South Dakota, January 25 to 26, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 25, 2001
- High Wind in South Dakota, January 25, 2001
- Heavy Snow in California, January 25 to 26, 2001
More
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 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: 5227915, 5227914.