This two day wind event began with strong northwest winds following a cold front moving across Southwest California. Then as high pressure built over the Great Basin, a Santa Ana wind developed.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
This two day wind event began with strong northwest winds following a cold front moving across Southwest California. Then as high pressure built over the Great Basin, a Santa Ana wind developed. Most of the wind damage was from trees blowing onto roads, and falling on cars and power lines. A semi-tractor trailer was blown over on Interstate 8 in the San Diego Mountains.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 27, 9:30 PM PST, 6 hours earlier.
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA 930 PM PST THU MAR 27 2003 .SYNOPSIS...OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CAUSE LOCAL GUSTY SANTA ANA WINDS THROUGH AND BELOW MOUNTAIN CANYONS AND PASSES TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND MUCH WARMER WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. LOW PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BRING MORE CLOUDS AND COOLING NEXT WEEK. .DISCUSSION...THERE WERE A FEW HI CLOUDS THIS EVE...OTHERWISE CLEAR SKIES. 00Z NKX SOUNDING HAD A VERY WEAK INVERSION BASED NEAR 1500 FT WITH DRY NW WINDS ALOFT. WARMING ALOFT...ESPECIALLY NEAR 650 MB. GRADIENTS TRENDING OFFSHORE AND ALREADY ABOUT -10 MB SAN-TPH AND SOME N-NE WINDS STARTING TO SHOW UP IN THE INLAND EMPIRE AND SNA MOUNTAINS. UPPER...THERMAL AND GRADIENT SUPPORT FOR SANTA ANA WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THIS OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SAT WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS THROUGH AND BELOW MOUNTAIN CANYONS AND PASSES FRI AND SAT MORNINGS. WEAKER ELY WINDS WILL PERSIST IN THE SAN AREA INTO SUN AM WHILE CONTINUING TO DECREASE IN THE NRN AREAS. CURRENT WIND ADVISORIES LOOK GOOD. MAY GET SOME GUSTS TO WARNING STRENGTH BELOW THE CAJON PASS AND IN SNA MAINTAINS AT TIMES. MUCH WARMER W OF THE MOUNTAINS WITH THE WARMEST DAYS SAT AND SUN. CAA WILL DELAY WARMING IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS UNTIL SUN WHEN THE OFFSHORE FLOW WEAKENS AND UPPER RIDGE OVER THE W COAST SHIFT INLAND. THERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE SOME HI CLOUDS AT TIMES. LONGER RANGE PROGS INDICATE A LARGE UPPER TROUGH WILL GRADUALLY DEEPEN OVER THE WRN US EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL GENERALLY BRING MORE CLOUDS AND COOLING MON THROUGH THU. JUST SLIGHT WARMING FRI AS THE TROUGH SHIFTS E AND HEIGHTS BEGIN TO RECOVER. COULD BE SOME DRIZZLE FROM A DEEP MAINE LAYER THU AM AND WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF MORE WIDESPREAD LIGHT PRECIP THU. HOWEVER...STILL TOO FAR OUT AND UNCERTAIN TO INCLUDE PRECIP IN ZONES. .SAN...WIND ADVISORIES...SEE LAXNPWSGX. ATKIN
CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-281400- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 600 AM PST THU MAR 27 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT WIND ADVISORY FOR APPLE AND YUCCA VALLEYS- WIND ADVISORY FOR SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- HIGH WIND WATCH FOR SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE- SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS- REFER TO LAXNPWSGX WWUS76 KSGX FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY POSSIBLE HIGH WINDS... FOR SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE... SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS... RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS... SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS... SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS... FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. POSSIBLE FIRE WEATHER DANGER DUE TO STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY... FOR SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE... SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS... SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS... FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. MACKECHNIE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2003
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: 5346291, 5346290, 5346294, 5346292, 5346293.