High Wind and Strong Wind in California, March 26 to 27, 2003

Name: High Wind and Strong Wind in California, March 26 to 27, 2003
Start: 2003-03-26T10:47
End: 2003-03-27T06:00
Location: California

March 26 to 27, 2003 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Gusty northwest wind again swept the Kern County Desert. Government Peak reached 79 knots from the north near evening on the 26th.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
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.

Gusty northwest wind again swept the Kern County Desert. Government Peak reached 79 knots from the north near evening on the 26th. Other reports included 30 knots at Inyokern Airport, 50 knots at Mojave and Edwards AFB Rocket Lab, and 48 knots on Laural Mountain. In the Kern Mountains wind speeds to around 40 knots were prevalent during the same time period.

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 26, 9:20 AM PST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 26, 9:20 AM PST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
920 AM PST WED MAR 26 2003

VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY TELLS THE WEATHER STORY TODAY. A
BAND OF CLOUDS...APPROXIMATELY 100 MILES WIDE...IS CENTERED
OVER THE SOUTHERN SAC VALLEY THIS MORNING AND EXTENDS INTO
THE BAY AREA. THESE CLOUDS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD FRONT
THAT WILL MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE CWA DURING THE NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS. MOISTURE IS RATHER LIMITED WITH THIS FRONT
ALREADY AND AS OF THIS WRITING...HAS ONLY MANAGED TO PRODUCE A
HUNDREDTH OF AN INCH OF RAIN IN YNP. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE
HIGH SIERRA NORTH OF KINGS CANYON...THIS FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH
THE CWA WITHOUT A DROP OF PRECIP TODAY.

SOME CLOUDS HAVE RECENTLY FORMED AT THE SOUTH END OF THE SJ
VLY AND ALONG THE UPSLOPE SIDE OF THE TEHACHAPI MTNS. MOUNTAIN
WAVE CLOUDS ARE ALREADY VISIBLE ON THE LATEST SATELLITE PICTURE...
AN INDICATION THAT NW WINDS ALOFT ARE ALREADY PRETTY STRONG.
SFC PRESSURE GRADIENTS HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED DURING THE PAST
24 HRS...UP TO 9.4 MB NOW BETWEEN SFO AND LAS. THE MODELS SHOW
PERSISTENCE AND FORECAST POST FRONTAL GRADIENTS TO INCREASE
ACROSS THE CWA THIS AFTN AND BECOME ALIGNED FROM SFC TO ALOFT.
IN ADDITION...A STRONG MID LEVEL JET (700 MB) IS PROJECTED TO
STREAK ACROSS KERN CO THIS EVENING. COUPLED WITH COLD ADVECTION
AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE...THE STAGE IS SET FOR VERY STRONG WINDS
THRU THE KERN CO MTN PASSES AND DESERT LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.
WINDS ARE ALREADY STARTING OUT RATHER BRISK IN MOJAVE WITH THE
FIRST OB AROUND DAYBREAK REPORTING SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 KTS.
UPDATES WERE MADE ACCORDINGLY TO ADJUST WIND SPEEDS IN ZONES
95...98 AND 99.  THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK.

.HNX...A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KERN COUNTY
       MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

DURFEE

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 25, 5:55 PM PST, 16 hours 52 minutes before

CAZ089>099-261345-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
555 PM PST TUE MAR 25 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

A DRY COLD FRONT WILL BRING GUSTY WEST WINDS TO THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE
STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE OVER THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...
WHERE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH AND BELOW
THE PASSES...WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS AS HIGH AS 90 MPH. A HIGH WIND
WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS FOR
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. /SEE SFONPWHNX...WWUS76
KHNX./

AFTER WEDNESDAY NIGHT...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS
TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

SANGER

Event by event

2 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: March 26, 10:47 AM PST to March 27, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 79 kt (91 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: March 26, 5:25 PM PST to March 27, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 79 kt (91 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: March 26, 8:46 PM PST to March 27, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
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.
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: 5349231, 5349230, 5349232.