California, 2002

Dust Storm in California, February 17, 2002

February 17, 2002 · NWS SGX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Blowing dust dropped visibility to near zero as winds gusted over 40 mph in advance of a cold front.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 SGX wrote it up.

Blowing dust dropped visibility to near zero as winds gusted over 40 mph in advance of a cold front.

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 Feb 17, 1:45 PM PST, 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 17, 1:45 PM PST, 9 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
145 PM PST SUN FEB 17 2002

.SYNOPSIS...SCATTERED SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH
OVER THE SOUTHWEST WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT BEFORE ENDING MONDAY
MORNING. ON TUESDAY A WEAK DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS TO THE HIGH
DESERTS AND THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS. DRY AND WARMER FOR
THE END OF THE WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS THE WEST.

.DISCUSSION...THE STEADY RAIN HAD TAPERED OFF TO SHOWERS IN ALL
AREAS EXPECT CENTRAL SAN DIEGO COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON. INSTABILITY
SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LEVEL TROF WILL CONTINUE
OVERNIGHT...LINGERING INTO THE MORNING IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY BEFORE
ENDING. FOR MONDAY...IT WILL BE RATHER WINDY IN THE MTNS AND DESERTS
IN THE AFTERNOON AS A 500 MB JET IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW INCREASES TO
60 KT.

ON TUESDAY ANOTHER WEAK SHORTWAVE OVER THE PACIFIC WILL MOVE ACROSS
CENTRAL CA. MOST OF ITS DYNAMICS ARE FORECAST TO REMAIN NORTH OF
SOCAL. HOWEVER...ENOUGH SUPPORT IS PRESENT TO WARRANT A CHANCE FOR
PRECIP IN THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MTNS AND THE HIGH DESERTS.

TEMPS WILL REMAIN COOL ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY...THEN GRADUAL WARM
THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK AS A HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE DEVELOPS OVER
THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST.

.SAN...ABOVE NORMAL SURF...SEE MWSSAN.

MOEDE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, C Riverside

When
February 17, 1:54 PM PST to 7:53 PM PST
Where
C Riverside forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, C San Diego

When
February 17, 2:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
Where
C San Diego forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Dust Storm
Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 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: 5283587, 5283588.