California, 2002

High Wind in California, March 13, 2002

March 13, 2002 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

While High Wind was occurring in the Kern County Mountains and Deserts, the West Side of the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley experienced gusty wind with speeds sustained at 27 MPH/gusts to 36 MPH at Hilmar in Merced County, the Kettleman Hills reporting gusts to 42 MPH, and Lemoore indicating gusts to 37 MPH in Kings County. Local utility reports indicated 6,000 customers went without…

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.

While High Wind was occurring in the Kern County Mountains and Deserts, the West Side of the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley experienced gusty wind with speeds sustained at 27 MPH/gusts to 36 MPH at Hilmar in Merced County, the Kettleman Hills reporting gusts to 42 MPH, and Lemoore indicating gusts to 37 MPH in Kings County. Local utility reports indicated 6,000 customers went without power in the Central San Joaquin Valley between Noon and 3 PM PST due to downed power lines and trees in Fresno and Madera City vicinities.

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 Mar 13, 10:12 AM PST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 10:12 AM PST, 50 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1012 AM PST WED MAR 13 2002

FORECAST PROBLEM FOR TODAY CONTINUES TO BE STRONG WINDS OVER THE
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERETS. MOJAVE HAD SUSTAINED WINDS OF 60
KTS AT ITS OPENING OBSERVATION...AND EDWARDS AFB HAD 42 KT GUSTS AT
17Z. ALSO..NAS LEMOORE HAD SUSTAINED WINDS OF 22 KTS AT 17Z...AND
THE SAN FRANCISCO-LAS VEGAS GRADIENT HAS INCREASED TO 21.4 MB. THE
GOES WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS A NARROW BAND OF MID- AND HIGH-LEVEL
CLOUDS OVER KERN COUNTY...WITH DRY AIR BEHIND IT. STRONG SUBSIDENCE
IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...WITH THE MESO-ETA
HAVING A 700-MB OMEGA OF -12 MICROBAR/SECOND OVER THE CENTRAL VALLEY
AT 21Z...AND 500-MB OMEGA OF -16 MICROBAR/SECOND OVER THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AT 00Z. THEREFORE...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...AND THE WIND ADVISORY FOR THE WEST
SIDE OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...LOOK ON TRACK FOR TODAY AND THIS
EVENING.

SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW SOME UPSLOPE CLOUDS ALONG THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...SPREADING ACROSS THE SOUTH END OF
THE VALLEY. THE MODELS BRING A VORTICITY MAXIMUM OF AROUND +33 OVER
THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AT 500 MB THIS AFTERNOON...SO COULD
SQUEEZE OUT A FEW SPRINKLES OUT OF THIS CLOUDINESS. THE VORTICITY IS
FORECAST TO QUICKLY MOVE EAST OF THE REGION THIS EVENING...SO DO NOT
EXPECT ANY PRECIPITATION AFTER SUNSET.

THE SURFACE COLD FRONT IS DROPPING THROUGH THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
TODAY...BRINGING A DRY LOW-LEVEL AIRMASS BEHIND IT...WITH DEWPOINTS
IN THE VALLEY DOWN 12 TO 15 DEGREES. SHORT-WAVE RIDGING IS FORECAST
BY THE 12Z MODELS TO MOVE OVER CALIFORNIA THURSDAY NIGHT. WITH LIGHT
WIND...VALLEY LOWS FRIDAY MORNING COULD DROP TO NEAR FREEZING.
CURRENT FORECAST COVERS THIS.

NO UPDATES AT THIS TIME.

POPS FAT BFL 000 YNP 200. SANGER

.HNX...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH 9 PM FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
       AND KERN COUNTY DESERTS.
    ...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH 9 PM FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST SAN
       JOAQUIN VALLEY.

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, W Central Sj Valley

When
March 13, 11:02 AM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where
W Central Sj Valley forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, E Central Sj Valley

When
March 13, 12:00 PM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where
E Central Sj Valley forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Sw Sj Valley

When
March 13, 12:55 PM PST to 5:55 PM PST
Where
Sw Sj 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, March 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: 5287215, 5287217, 5287216.