Strong Wind in California, March 16 to 19, 2003

Name: Strong Wind in California, March 16 to 19, 2003
Start: 2003-03-16T19:33
End: 2003-03-19T04:00
Location: California

March 16 to 19, 2003 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Gusty northwest wind plagued the Kern County Mountain and Desert areas consistently during mid-March. Generally winds ranged from 25 MPH upwards to around 50 MPH with isolated gusts higher in the vicinity of Mojave.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $3,000
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.

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 16, 2:20 PM PST, 5 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 16, 2:20 PM PST, 5 hours 13 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
220 PM PST SUN MAR 16 2003

BAND OF SHOWERS WAS MOVING E-SE FROM THE CENTRAL COAST AT AROUND 15
KTS WITH SOME COOLING OF CLOUD TOPS NORTHWEST OF THE CWA. ALTHOUGH
PROGS PROJECT BEST INSTABILITY REMAINING NORTH AND WEST OF THE
DISTRICT THIS EVE...CWA WILL REMAIN UNDER LFQ OF STRONG UPPER JET
WITH SB/MUCAPE INCREASING TO 200-400 J/KG. WILL THEREFORE MAINTAIN
POSSIBILITY OF EVE TSTMS IN VALLEY AND FOOTHILL ZONES.

CURRENT WAD FOR KERN MTNS/DESERTS IS A BIT MORE UNCERTAIN. HOWEVER
SFO-LAS P-GRAD HAS INCREASED FROM 4.6 TO REMAINS 7.3 MB DURG THE
PAST FEW HOURS...AND PROGS INDICATE H85 WINDS STRENGTHENING TO
AROUND 25 KTS BY 03Z. GIVEN UNCERTAINTY...WILL MAINTAIN ADVISORY BUT
ADJUST WORDING FOR TONIGHT. BETTER POTENTIAL FOR WAD LEVEL WINDS
EXISTS FOR MON AS SUBSIDENCE STRENGTHENS AND UPPER FLOW ALIGNS WITH
AN 18 MB SFO-LAS P-GRAD. WADS MAY ALSO BE REQUIRED IN CENTRAL AND
SOUTH VALLEY ZONES...HOWEVER AT THIS TIME WILL KEEP SPEEDS JUST
BELOW WAD LEVELS AND MONITOR RATE AT WHICH P-GRADS TIGHTEN.

CWA WILL REMAIN DRY TUES/WED AS RIDGE REMAINS OVERHEAD AND TEMPS
WARM ALOFT.

IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD...THE NEXT PACIFIC SYSTEM IS PROGGED BY THE
GFS TO MOVE INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ON WEDNESDAY AND INTO NORTHERN
PARTS OF THE FORECAST AREA WEDNESDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THE 12Z
RUN THIS MORNING IS A LITTLE DEEPER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS AND WILL
EXTEND THE PRECIPITATION FIELD A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH...BUT LIMIT TO
AREAS NORTH OF KERN COUNTY AND INTO THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS.
HIGH PRESSURE IS AGAIN PROGGED TO BUILD OVER THE AREA LATER ON
THURSDAY AND REMAIN IN CONTROL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. WILL NEED TO UP
TEMPERATURES IN THE GRIDS TO REFLECT HIGHER HEIGHTS FOR THE
WEEKEND.

.HNX...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
       TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY.

JSN/DUDLEY

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 16, 5:30 AM PST, 14 hours 3 minutes before

CAZ089>099-171345-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
530 AM PST SUN MAR 16 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND
DESERTS TODAY THROUGH MONDAY.(WWUS76 KHNX).  ISOLATED AFTERNOON
THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THE WIND ADVISORY WILL BE CONTINUED THROUGH MONDAY FOR THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS.(WWUS76 KHNX)

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

MORSE

Event by event

3 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: March 16, 7:33 PM PST to March 17, 10:00 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 43 kt (49 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: March 16, 7:33 PM PST to March 17, 10:00 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 75 kt (86 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: March 16, 11:15 PM PST to March 19, 4:00 AM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 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: 5349228, 5349229, 5349227.