Name: High Wind in California, May 15, 2002
Start: 2002-05-15T15:46
End: 2002-05-15T19:00
Location: California

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 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 May 15, 2:53 PM PST, 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 2:53 PM PST, 53 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
255 PM PDT WED MAY 15 2002

VISIBLE SATELLITE PICTURES INDICATE SUNNY SKIES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY WITH SOME HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS MOVING THROUGH THE
CENTRAL SJV. WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOW A WEAK SHORT WAVE APPROACHING
NORTHERN CA WITH SOME UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE MOVING OVER NORTH AND
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. THINK ANY MARINE AIR INFLUENCE WILL DIMINISH
OVERNIGHT AS ONSHORE SURFACE GRADIENTS DECREASE TONIGHT. HOWEVER
PRESSURE GRADS OVER THE DESERT REMAIN STRONG AND WILL MENTION BREEZY
WITH WINDS IN THE 15 TO 25 MPH RANGE. SHORT RANGE MODELS PROG A
WARMING TREND THROUGH FRIDAY WITH SHORT WAVE MID LEVEL RIDGING OVER
CALIFORNIA THURSDAY. 500MB HEIGHTS BEGIN TO DROP FRIDAY BUT DONT
EXPECT ANY SENSIBLE COOLING WITH LOW LEVEL TEMPERATURES REMAINING
ABOUT SAME AS THURSDAY. MODELS INDICATE AN INCREASE IN INSTABILITY
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AND THERE IS SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE
AVAILABLE FROM SNOW MELT OVER THE MOUNTAINS. WILL MENTION SLIGHT
CHANCE OF TSRA FRIDAY NEAR THE SIERRA CREST. WIND SHEAR MAY BECOME
TOO STRONG FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AS MID
LEVEL FLOW INCREASES WITH A CUTOFF LOW OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA
DIGGING SOUTHWARD. COOLING TREND FOR THE WEEKEND WITH TEMPERATURES
FALLING SEVERAL DEGREES EACH DAY. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO
PROG A LARGE CUTOFF LOW OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST MONDAY AND PUSHING
EAST OVER CA TUESDAY. NEW 12Z AVN AND EURO MODELS ARE NOW MORE
PROGRESSIVE WITH THE UPPER LOW. OPENING LOW UP MOVING IT INTO THE
GREAT BASIN BY WEDNESDAY. SO WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION CHANCE OF
SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS MONDAY AND EXTENDED INTO THE SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY TUESDAY. RESIDUAL OR WRAP AROUND MOISTURE MAY LINGER
WEDNESDAY AND WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER THE
MOUNTAINS WEDNESDAY.
ALL POPS ZERO. MV

.HNX...NONE.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: May 15, 3:46 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Locally wind around Mojave Airport gusted to 50 knots late in the afternoon of the 15th.

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, May 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: 5291631.