Damaging Wind and High Wind in California, March 7 to 8, 2002

Name: Damaging Wind and High Wind in California, March 7 to 8, 2002
Start: 2002-03-07T15:30
End: 2002-03-08T06:00
Location: California

March 7 to 8, 2002 · NWS HNX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

A vigorous frontal passage through Central California led to strong northwest wind that posed problems for travel on Highway 14 in the Indian Wells Valley of Kern County where the wind blew over two trucks. Indian Wells RAWS reported gusts to 92Kts at 0013 PST on the 8th with gusts to 65Kts at Inyokern Airport at 2145 PST on the 7th. Other Kern County Mountain and Desert reports included wind gusts to 37Kts at Edwards AFB, 50Kts at Mojave Airport, and gusts to 60 MPH at Walker Pass. Some thundershower and shower activity was reported in the Southern Sierra Nevada in the later afternoon hours.

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 7, 2:30 PM PST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 7, 2:30 PM PST, 1 hour before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
230 PM PST THU MAR 7 2002

LOOKS LIKE THINGS ARE FINALLY GETTING GOING OVER THE NORTH VALLEY
AND THE SIERRA. RADAR SHOWS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND
NORTH OF A FRESNO TO YOSEMITE LINE WITH JUST AN ISOLATED RETURN OR
TWO TO THE SOUTH. SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES THE UPPER LOW AND
VORTICITY CENTER IS MOVING INTO FAR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THIS IS
FURTHER NORTH THAN FORECAST MODELS HAD PREDICTED. AT THIS TIME, IT
APPEARS THAT THE MAIN THREAT OF PRECIPITATION WILL REMAIN OVER THE
NORTHERN PARTS OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING, BEFORE THE STORM
SYSTEM SHIFTS EAST OVERNIGHT. NOW FOR THE SPECIFICS, WILL OPT TO
ISSUE A SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE KINGS/YOSEMITE PARKS AREAS THIS
EVENING AS IT APPEARS SOME FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT SNOW WILL FALL
OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WILL ALLOW FOR SOME
LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW. WILL TREND POPS DOWN AS YOU HEAD SOUTH THIS
EVENING AND REMOVE ALL POPS AFTER TONIGHT. OVER THE KERN COUNTY AREA,
THE MAIN CONCERN IS WIND. SO FAR SPEEDS HAVE BEEN BELOW ADVISORY
CRITERIA AND WILL WORD THE ZONES AS WINDY AND MENTION SOME STRONG
GUSTS.

MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN BUILDING A RIDGE OVER THE AREA FOR
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, MOST AREAS WILL WARM UP WITH MAINLY CLEAR
SKIES. THE NEXT SYSTEM IS STILL ON TRACK FOR SUNDAY AS THE LATEST
MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT IN BRINGING A
TROUGH THROUGH THE REGION. A FAIRLY ZONAL WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW IS
PROGGED TO REMAIN OVER THE AREA EARLY NEXT WEEK, HOWEVER THE MRF IS
TRYING TO BRING ANOTHER SHORTWAVE INTO THE AREA ON THURSDAY. WILL
OPT TO KEEP THE FORECAST DRY BEYOND SUNDAY AT THIS TIME.

.HNX...SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS
CANYON ABOVE 5000 FEET THROUGH 1000 PM.

DUDLEY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 7, 11:00 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1100 AM PST THU MAR 7 2002

TIME(PST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1000 AM     CHILKOOT MEADOWS 7150      CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    MADERA                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 26

1000 AM     AGNEW PASS 9450            CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    MADERA                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 20

1000 AM     OSTRANDER LAKE 8200        CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    YOSEMITE NATL PARK             24 HOUR TOTAL OF 20

1000 AM     WEST WOODCHUCK MEADOW 8400 CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    FRESNO                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 20

1000 AM     GRANT GROVE 6500           CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    FRESNO                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 5

1000 AM     LODGEPOLE 6700             CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/17/02    TULARE                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 14

1000 AM     QUAKING ASPEN 7200         CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    TULARE                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 10

1000 AM     PASCOES 9150               CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    TULARE                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 19

1000 AM     BIG MEADOWS 7600           CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    TULARE                          24 HOUR TOTAL OF 19

1000 AM     BADGER PASS SKI 7000       CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    MARIPOSA                        24 HOUR TOTAL OF 6

1000 AM     FISH CAMP 5000             CA  HEAVY SNOW
03/07/02    MARIPOSA                        24 HOUR TOTAL OF 6

Event by event

3 high wind, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, S Sierra Mtns

When: March 7, 3:30 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: March 7, 8:56 PM PST to March 8, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: March 7, 9:45 PM PST to March 8, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 92 kt (106 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: March 7, 10:07 PM PST to March 8, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5287207, 5287204, 5287205, 5287206.