Strong Wind in California, December 28, 2002

Name: Strong Wind in California, December 28, 2002
Start: 2002-12-28T13:52
End: 2002-12-28T19:00
Location: California

December 28, 2002 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $4,000
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 happened

The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.

Strong winds from the southeast in a pre-frontal environment caused minor damage from downed power lines and fallen trees in the Central San Joaquin Valley on the 28th. The wind subsided by 7:00 PM PST with frontal passage. Reported winds included: gusts to 35 MPH at San Luis RAWS, 34 knots at Coalinga and Merced, 29 knots at Fresno, and 28 knots at Madera.

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 Dec 28, 9:50 AM PST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 28, 9:50 AM PST, 4 hours 2 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
950 AM PST SAT DEC 28 2002

WV/IR INDICATING A STRONG UPPER PAC LOW CENTER NEAR 41N/130W WHICH
IS MOVING SLOWLY EAST-SOUTHEAST. 12Z ETA/GFS PICK UP ON A STRONG VORT
MAX CURRENTLY SOUTH OF THE UPPER LOW NEAR THE BASE OF THE TROUGH
WHICH IS PROGGED TO CROSS CENTRAL CA TONIGHT. A STRONG COLD FRONT
WITH THIS SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY PUSHING INTO CA AT THIS TIME AND IS
PROGGED TO SLOWLY CROSS THE CWFA THIS EVENING. BEHIND THIS FRONT IS A
MODIFIED ARCTIC AIRMASS WHICH WILL PROVIDE THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR
WITH A MUCH COOLER DAY ON SUNDAY WITH MAX TEMPERATURES PLUMMETING 10
TO 20 DEG F FROM TODAY. LATEST QPF PROGS INDICATING SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 15 INCHES AT 5000 FEET WITH UP TO 2 FEET
POSSIBLE ABOVE 7000 FEET BY SUNDAY MORNING. WINTER STORM WARNING
ISSUED BY MIDNIGHT SHIFT LOOKS GOOD. BREEZY TO WINDY WILL DEVELOP
ACROSS THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY WITH STRENGTHENING P-GRADS
AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING TROUGH. WILL KEEP THE WIND ADVISORY GOING
THROUGH THIS EVENING. ONLY UPDATE THIS MORNING WILL BE TO ADD MENTION
OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO THE VALLEY AND FOOTHILL ZONES FOR
TONIGHT AS 12Z MESO IS INDICATING CAPES OF 200+ AND SUBZERO LI/S
ACROSS MUCH OF THESE AREAS OVERNIGHT. SPC HAS PICKED UP ON THIS AND
HAS MENTIONED MUCH OF THESE ZONES IN THE GENERAL THUNDERSTORM AREA
FOR DAY 1. UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE CWFA ON
SUNDAY WITH A COOL AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS PREVAILING. A DIRTY RIDGE
THEN BRIEFLY BUILDS IN ON MONDAY BEFORE A STORM CROSSING NORCAL/SRN
OREGON BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF PRECIPITATION TO THE CENTRAL CA
INTERIOR...ALTHOUGH WITH MOST OF THE SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE AND
DYNAMICS ARE PROGGED TO REMAIN TO OUR NORTH. SO...DON/T EXPECT THIS
NEXT SYSTEM TO BE A MAJOR RAIN/SNOW MAKER.

.HNX...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NORTH OF
       KERN COUNTY LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING.
    ...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THIS
       AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 28, 6:05 AM PST, 7 hours 47 minutes before

CAZ089>099-291400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
605 AM PST SAT DEC 28 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
SUNDAY MORNING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NORTH OF THE KERN
COUNTY LINE. (WWUS46 KHNX) A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE
CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. (WWUS76
KHNX)

A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL BRING SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS TO THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NORTH OF THE KERN COUNTY LINE. IN
ADDITION...STRONG SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE CENTRAL
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THE FIRST PART OF THE WEEK AS A FAST
MOVING STORM PASSES OVER THE REGION. SHOWERS WILL OCCUR...MAINLY
IN THE NORTHERN SECTIONS LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY MORNING.

PATCHY DENSE FOG WILL RETURN TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FOR
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

KB

Event by event

2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, E Central S.J. Valley

When: December 28, 1:52 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where: E Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Measured: 34 kt (39 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong Wind, W Central S.J. Valley

When: December 28, 3:36 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where: W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Measured: 34 kt (39 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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, December 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: 5324739, 5324738.