High Wind, Sw S.J. Valley
- When
- February 11, 9:22 AM PST to 7:30 PM PST
- Where
- Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
High Wind in California, February 11 to 12, 2003
Low pressure southwest of the South California coast provided for gusty southeast wind over the Tehachapi Mountains and on the South San Joaquin Valley floor during the 11th. At the base of the Grapevine at the foot of the Tehachapi Mountains adjacent to the South San Joaquin Valley floor, wind gusts to 71 knots and steady wind of 57 knots were reported.
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.
Low pressure southwest of the South California coast provided for gusty southeast wind over the Tehachapi Mountains and on the South San Joaquin Valley floor during the 11th. At the base of the Grapevine at the foot of the Tehachapi Mountains adjacent to the South San Joaquin Valley floor, wind gusts to 71 knots and steady wind of 57 knots were reported. In the adjacent Tehachapi Pass area of the Kern Mountains gusts to 43 knots were observed. On the South Valley floor Meadows Field at Bakersfield had wind gusts to 43 MPH.
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 11, 9:15 AM PST, 7 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 9:15 AM PST, 7 minutes before
INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 915 AM PST TUE FEB 11 2003 PRECIP PUSHED NORTH FASTER THEN PREVIOUS THINKING. WITH THE UNCERTAINLY OF THE SUCH A CUTOFF UPPER LOW...TIMING REMAINED THE MOST DIFFICULT ISSUE. +100KT JET ROUNDED THE UPPER LOW WITH THE LEFT FRONT QUAD PROVIDING THE DYNAMICS FOR THIS MORNING PRECIPITATION. BASED ON EDW UPPER AIR OBSERVATIONS AND PROFILER DATA FROM NOAA-ETL SNOW LEVEL CAME IN MUCH LOWER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED. DATA SHOWED LEVELS DOWN TO 3500-4500 FEET OVER THE SOUTHERN END OF THE DISTRICT. LATEST DOPPLER RADAR IMAGERY SHOWING LINGERING SHOWERS OVER THE FOOTHILLS OF MADERA/FRESNO AND TULARE COUNTIES. ADDITIONAL PRECIP WAS FALLING IN THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS. THE CURRENT PIECE OF ENERGY OVER THE DISTRICT NOW AND TRACKING NORTH. MOISTURE SHEARING APART AS IT TRAVELS NORTH...SO EXPECTING SHOWERS TO DIMINISH LATER THIS MORNING. THE NEXT PIECE OF ENERGY STILL SOUTHWEST OF SAN DIEGO AND HEADING NORTHEAST. UPPER AIR AND SATELLITE ANALYSIS SHOWS THE MOISTURE PLUME STREAMING NORTHEAST INTO THE KERN DESERTS TO CONTINUED THE SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. WILL EXPECT A CONTINUATION OF THE PRECIP OVER THE REST OF THE DISTRICT WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEXT DISTURBANCE. WILL UPDATE FORECAST LATER ON FLOODING SITUATION NEAR MARICOPA. MOLINA .HNX...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 11, 4:30 AM PST, 4 hours 52 minutes before
CAZ089>099-121030- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 430 AM PST TUE FEB 11 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY RAIN SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE AREA BY EARLY WEDNESDAY...BUT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
Event by event
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Se S.J. Valley
- When
- February 11, 9:22 AM PST to 7:30 PM PST
- Where
- Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- February 11, 9:22 AM PST to February 12, 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 71 kt (82 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
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
- Flooding in California, February 11 to 14, 2003
- High Wind in Iowa, February 11, 2003
- Flood and Heavy Rain in California, February 11 to 12, 2003
- Flood in California, February 11, 2003
- Blizzard in Minnesota, February 11, 2003
- Blizzard in North Dakota, February 11, 2003
- Blizzard in Minnesota, February 11, 2003
- High Wind in Minnesota, February 11, 2003
- High Wind in Iowa, February 11, 2003
- High Wind in Iowa, February 11, 2003
- Winter Storm in Michigan, February 11 to 12, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, February 11 to 12, 2003
More
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2003
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: 5342704, 5342705, 5342706.