High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- February 23, 7:53 AM PST to February 24, 12:25 AM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind in California, February 23 to 24, 2002
Post-frontal gusty northwest wind swept across the mountains and deserts of Kern County the afternoon and evening of the 23rd. Wind gust speeds of 30 to 47 knots were commonly reported by various mesonet sites, including a peak wind of 37 knots at Edwards AFB and a gust to 56 knots at Mojave.
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.
Post-frontal gusty northwest wind swept across the mountains and deserts of Kern County the afternoon and evening of the 23rd. Wind gust speeds of 30 to 47 knots were commonly reported by various mesonet sites, including a peak wind of 37 knots at Edwards AFB and a gust to 56 knots at Mojave.
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 Feb 23, 3:00 AM PST, 4 hours 53 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 23, 3:00 AM PST, 4 hours 53 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 300 AM PST SAT FEB 23 2002 FCST PROB TODAY IS TEMPS AND WINDS. UPPER TROF AXIS JUST MOVING ONSHORE EARLY THIS MORNING. AHEAD OF THE TROF...JET AXIS OVER THE AREA WILL MOVE E DURING THE DAY. MID LEVEL FLOW WILL TURN W THEN NW DURING THE DAY. MESO ETA SHOWS DECENT DVM DEVELOPING OVER AND LEE SIDE OF THE TEHACHAPIS WITH 7H WINDS AT 40KTS. THIS MAY TRANSLATE SOME LOCALLY STRONG GUSTS DOWN TO THE SURFACE WITH DAYTIME HEATING. CURRENT WIND ADVISORY IN KERN MTNS AND DESERTS PROBABLY OK FOR TODAY. WITH LACK OF MUCH MID AND UPPER SUPPORT...WILL TONE WIND SPEEDS DOWN SOME FROM CURRENT FCST. WINDS SUBSIDE QUICKLY AT SUNSET AS 7H FLOW BECOMES NORTH AND NEGATIVE OMEGA DECREASES SHARPLY. SO WILL NOT LEAVE ADVISORY UP FOR SAT NITE. TEMPS TODAY 10-15 DEGS COOLER FM FRIDAY/S MAXS. NO RECORDS WERE SET FRI...BUT KFAT WAS WITHIN 1 DEG AT 77. KBFL CAME WITHIN 4 AT 83. THOUGH COOLER TODAY...STILL 5 DEGS OR SO ABOVE AVERAGE. MOS NUMBERS TOO WARM...ESPECIALLY KBFL...AND WILL STAY A FEW DEGS UNDER...BUT NOT AS COOL AS CURRENTLY IN FCST. RIDGE REBUILDS ALONG THE WEST COAST FOR SUN AND MON. ON TUES AS WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVES THRU THE RIDGE WITH LITTLE OR NO IMPACT ON CENTRAL CA. A STRONGER INSIDE SLIDER TYPE MOVES INTO THE PAC NW WED...AND SLIDES INTO THE GREAT BASIN THURS. THIS TOO...WILL NOT BRING ANY PRECIP TO CENTRAL CA...UNLESS MODELS RETROGRADE EAST PAC RIDGE FARTHER W WITH TIME...WHICH IS ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY. FOR NOW...WILL HAVE SOME CLOUDS THURS BUT STAY DRY. POPS ZERO. BINGHAM .HNX...WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR THE KERN MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS.
Event by event
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- February 23, 1:13 PM PST to February 24, 12:25 AM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert
- When
- February 23, 2:56 PM PST to February 24, 12:25 AM PST
- Where
- Se Kern Cty Desert 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
- Winter Storm in Montana, February 23 to 24, 2002
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 23 to 24, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, February 23 to 24, 2002
- High Wind in Montana, February 23, 2002
- High Wind in Nevada, February 23, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Florida, February 23, 2002
- High Wind in California, February 23, 2002
- High Wind in California, February 23, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, February 23 to 24, 2002
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: 5282369, 5282370, 5282371.