California, 2001

High Wind in California, May 12, 2001

May 12, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Downdraft winds from showers over the ridges accelerated down the north slopes of the San Bernardino mountains and across the Apple Valley floor where wind gusts of 62 mph and blowing dust with zero visibility was observed. Wind gusts of 82 mph were observed at Granite Mountain, just north of Apple Valley.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
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 SGX wrote it up.

Downdraft winds from showers over the ridges accelerated down the north slopes of the San Bernardino mountains and across the Apple Valley floor where wind gusts of 62 mph and blowing dust with zero visibility was observed. Wind gusts of 82 mph were observed at Granite Mountain, just north of Apple Valley.

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 Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 12, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 47 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
930 AM PDT SAT MAY 12 2001

                             ...SYNOPSIS...

UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE OFF THE COAST WILL BRING MOISTURE UP FROM THE
SOUTH TODAY FOR ISOLATED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. ONSHORE FLOW AND THE
MARINE LAYER WILL CONTINUE NIGHT AND MORNING LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WEST OF
THE MOUNTAINS. OTHERWISE...FAIR THROUGH NEXT WEEK.

                            ...DISCUSSION...

LOW CLOUDS/LOCAL FOG INTO COASTAL AREAS AND INLAND VALLEYS THIS AM. LOTS
OF MID/HI CLOUDS IN SLY FLOW ALOFT AND A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS AROUND. 12Z
NKX SOUNDING HAD INVERSION BASED NEAR 1800 FT WITH SSE WINDS INCREASING
TO 35 KT AT 700 MB AND ABOUT 50 KT NEAR 500 MB. PRECIPITABLE WATER DOWN
FROM 00Z ON KNKX SOUNDING. ONSHORE GRADIENTS WITH OVER 6 MB SAN-IPL.

UPPER LOW TO OUR SW OPENS UP AND MOVES NE TODAY WITH A COUPLE OF WEAK
VORT MAXIMA SWINGING THROUGH SRN CA. THE FIRST VORT MAX MOVES THROUGH
AROUND 00Z AND A SECOND...WEAKER ONE EARLY SUNDAY AM. THE BROAD AREA OF
MOISTURE ALOFT SHOULD DECREASE THIS AFTERNOON/EVE BUT THIS MAY ACTUALLY
HELP THUNDERSTORMS FORM OVER MOUNTAINS/DESERTS. OTHERWISE...SHOULD
CONTINUE SOME LIGHT SHOWERS TODAY WITH PERHAPS AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM
JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE IN CWFA. SHORT WAVE LIFTS OUT DURING THE DAY SUNDAY
WITH WEAK HANG BACK TROUGH MONDAY. WARMER IN MOUNTAINS/DESERTS SUNDAY
WITH LESS CLOUD COVER...ALTHOUGH WILL PROBABLY STILL BE SOME AFTERNOON
CU OVER MOUNTAINS. MORE WARMING MONDAY WITH HIGHER HEIGHTS...ALTHOUGH
THICKNESS/850 MB TEMPS ONLY INCREASE A LITTLE. NOT A LOT OF TEMP CHANGE
W OF MOUNTAINS DUE TO MARINE INFLUENCE.

LONGER RANGE PROGS INDICATE WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL LINGER NEAR THE W
COAST FOR NEAR SEASONAL WEATHER. PERHAPS A LITTLE COOLER TOWARD THE END
OF NEXT WEEK AS A SHORT WAVE MOVES THROUGH.

SAN 22-

.SAN...NONE.

ATKIN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, P Sw San Bernardino

When
May 12, 12:17 PM PST to 1:56 PM PST
Where
P Sw San Bernardino forecast zone
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
34.841, -116.178 (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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 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: 5243331.