California, 2002

High Wind in California, June 8, 2002

June 8, 2002 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

While wind was gusty in the Kern Mountains and Deserts, higher than normal wind speeds caused concerns in the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley. Northwest wind gusted to 38 MPH at Lemoore on the morning of the 8th and reached 42 MPH later in the day along the west side of the Valley in Fresno County.

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 HNX wrote it up.

While wind was gusty in the Kern Mountains and Deserts, higher than normal wind speeds caused concerns in the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley. Northwest wind gusted to 38 MPH at Lemoore on the morning of the 8th and reached 42 MPH later in the day along the west side of the Valley in Fresno County. On the east side of the Valley, wind did not quite reach wind advisory levels although speeds to 32 MPH were noted at Merced, 30 MPH at Madera, and 26 MPH at both Fresno and Hanford.

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 Jun 8, 3:35 AM PST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 8, 3:35 AM PST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
300 AM PDT SAT JUN 8 2002

WATER VAPOR SATELLITE PICTURES SHOW AN UPPER LOW OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST WITH FRONTAL ZONE STRETCHING ACROSS NORTH CALIFORNIA AND
NEVADA. MODELS PROG SYSTEM TO DROP SOUTH AND CUTOFF OVER THE GREAT
BASIN TODAY AND SUNDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE MOISTURE STARVE AND MAY
NOT PROVIDE ANY SIGNIFICANT CLOUD COVER OVER THE FORECAST AREA. MAIN
WEATHER CONCERN WILL BE WINDS REACHING ADVISORY CRITERIA AS PRESSURE
GRADIENTS INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS THE SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY AND KERN COUNTY DESERTS. THINK THE STRONGEST WINDS SHOULD
MATERIALIZE TONIGHT WHEN MAIN VORT MAX MOVES THROUGH THE DISTRICT.
WILL HOST WIND ADVISORY FLAG FOR THE VALLEY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT. AND ACROSS THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THROUGH
TONIGHT. WINDS SHOULD BECOME OFFSHORE AND DIMINISH SUNDAY AFTERNOON
AS LOW MOVES TOWARDS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES AND HIGH SURFACE PRESSURE
DEVELOPS OVER THE GREAT BASIN. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO COOL
BOTH TODAY AND SUNDAY. BY MONDAY THERE WILL A BAGGY TROUGH OVER
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA BUT WITH OFFSHORE FLOW AND DOWNSLOPING WINDS
EXPECT THE START OF A WARMING TREND. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE ON
THE RISE TUESDAY AS SHORT WAVE RIDGING EXTENDS INTO CALIFORNIA FROM
PARENT HIGH OVER NORTH MEXICO AND TEXAS. MODELS PROG A A WEAK UPPER
LOW OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC TO DEVELOP TUESDAY. THIS SHOULD PROVIDE
DRY UPPER LEVEL SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER CALIFORNIA FOR THE REMAINDER OF
THE EXTENDED PERIOD.

.HNX...WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR THE
       SOUTH AND CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...WIND ADVISORY
       TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS.

MV

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, W Central S.J. Valley

When
June 8, 7:55 AM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where
W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Sw S.J. Valley

When
June 8, 7:55 AM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where
Sw S.J. Valley 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

More

Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 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: 5296512, 5296513.