High Wind in California, April 30, 2002

Name: High Wind in California, April 30, 2002
Start: 2002-04-30T14:09
End: 2002-04-30T19:25
Location: California

April 30, 2002 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

On the 30th, windy conditions again occurred as speeds gusted from 40 knots in the Kern Mountains to 48 knots in the Kern Deserts.

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.

On the 30th, windy conditions again occurred as speeds gusted from 40 knots in the Kern Mountains to 48 knots in the Kern Deserts.

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 30, 8:30 AM PST, 5 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 8:30 AM PST, 5 hours 39 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
930 AM PDT TUE APR 30 2002

SLOW MOVING UPPER LOW HAS STARTED TO TAKE ON AN EASTWARD ACCELERATION
WITH THE PROGRESSION OF A JET MAX ON THE S-SE QUAD. AFTER THE POOR
HANDLING OF UPPER LOW MOVEMENT YESTERDAY...LATEST PROGS APPEAR TO BE
MORE ON TRACK TODAY. THE MAIN FORECAST CONCERN FOR THIS UPDATE CYCLE
IS ANOTHER VORT MAX WHICH IS ROUNDING THE BACK SIDE OF THE COLD
CLOSED LOW AND RECENTLY GENERATING A HEALTHY BATCH OF SHOWERS NEAR
TO NORTH OF MONTEREY BAY...AND FURTHER OFFSHORE. THE PROGRESSION OF
THIS SHORT WAVE ENERGY WOULD BRING ANOTHER SURGE OF MOISTURE AND
SOME ACCOMPANYING UVM ESE TOWARDS OUR CNTRL SAN JOAQUIN VLLY AND
NORTHERN SECTIONS LATER THIS AFTN AND THIS EVENING. THUS WILL RAISE
THE POPS NORTH OF FRESNO A BIT THROUGH THIS EVENING. ALSO HAVE
UPDATED SJV ZONES TO BETTER REFLECT SKIES WORDING.

IN THE KERN DESERT...GRADIENTS TIGHTER TODAY VS MON AND BY EVENING
WINDS BECOME MORE ALIGNED TO WNW DIRECTION IN A DEEPER LAYER. HAVE
SOME CONCERNS THAT WE MAY REACH NEAR THE MARGINAL/LOW END OF WIND
ADVISORY CRITERIA. AT THIS POINT MADE A MINOR ADJUSTMENT TO BOOST
WIND GUSTS BELOW THE PASSES...AND WILL MONITOR FURTHER THIS AFTN.

.HNX...NONE

LAVIS

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: April 30, 2:09 PM PST to 7:25 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: April 30, 2:09 PM PST to 7:25 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: April 30, 3:00 PM PST to 7:25 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns 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

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, April 2002

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: 5289860, 5289861, 5289859.