California, 2004

High Wind in California, December 16, 2004

December 16, 2004 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 16, 2:32 PM PST, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 2:32 PM PST, 3 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OXNARD
232 PM PST THU DEC 16 2004

.SYNOPSIS...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER UTAH AND NEVADA COMBINED
WITH NORTHEAST WINDS ALOFT WILL CAUSE STRONG OFFSHORE WINDS...
MAINLY THROUGH AND BELOW MOUNTAIN CANYONS AND PASSES INTO
FRIDAY. WEAKER OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND...
WITH WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS PREVAILING. A GRADUAL COOLING TREND
WILL TAKE PLACE DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD...BUT NO PRECIPIATION
IS EXPECTED.

&&

.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES.

.SHORT TERM...STRONG OFFSHORE WINDS CONTINUE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE
CWA THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THE HIGH WIND GUST REPORTS TODAY INCLUDED
ONTARIO AT 50 MPH...RIALTO AT 65 MPH...FREMONT CANYON AT 78 MPH...
AND CAMPO AT 52 MPH.

OVERALL SYNOPTIC PATTERN CONTINUES TO LOOK FAVORABLE FOR STRONG
OFFSHORE WINDS TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. LATEST MSAS ANALYSIS SHOWING A STRONG 1040 MB SURFACE
HIGH CENTERED OVER NEVADA...WITH LITTLE CHANGE EXPECTED INTO FRIDAY.
IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG NORTHEAST SURFACE GRADIENT...THERE IS
STRONG NORTHEAST FLOW UP TO 50 KNOTS AT 850 MB...ALONG WITH SOME
COLD AIR ADVECTION ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS. ISENTROPIC CROSS SECTIONS
CONTINUE TO SHOW GOOD DOWNWARD TRANSPORT OF WIND THROUGH FRIDAY
MORNING...ALONG WITH A LARGE AREA OF STRONG SUBSIDENCE FROM 850 MB
TO NEAR THE SURFACE. LATER TONIGHT AND FRIDAY...THE LOW LEVEL FLOW
BECOMES MORE EASTERLY AND INCREASES ACROSS RIVERSIDE...ORANGE...AND
SAN DIEGO COUNTIES. THE EASTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL FAVOR THE
BANNING PASS AREA...SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS...AS WELL AS THE MOUNTAINS
AND VALLEYS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

CURRENT HIGH WIND WARNINGS LOOK GOOD FOR ALL MOUNTAIN AREAS
AND THE INLAND EMPIRE. THE HIGHEST WIND GUSTS WILL MOST LIKELY
OCCUR ACROSS THE INLAND EMPIRE AND SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS THROUGH
TONIGHT...WHERE WIND GUSTS OF 70 TO 80 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE. GUSTY
OFFSHORE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD ACROSS THE FAVORED PASSES
AND CANYONS OF THE COASTAL AREAS...AND EXTEND INTO THE COASTAL
WATERS. LOCAL WIND GUSTS OVER 35 KNOTS CAN BE EXPECTED OFF THE COAST
OF ORANGE COUNTY...WHERE WINDS WILL BE FOCUSED BELOW PASSES AND
CANYONS.

THE INFLUX OF COLD AIR ADVECTION HAS COOLED SOME OF THE INTERIOR
VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS A FEW DEGREES TODAY...WITH LITTLE CHANGE
EXPECTED ON FRIDAY. THE WARMEST AREAS ON FRIDAY WILL ONCE AGAIN
BE NEAR THE COAST...WHERE TEMPERATURES COULD ONCE AGAIN APPROACH
80 DEGREES. AS OFFSHORE WINDS DIMINISH ON SATURDAY...THE BOUNDARY
LAYER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO WARM A FEW DEGREES. AS A RESULT...
SATURDAY APPEARS TO BE THE WARMEST DAY ACROSS THE CWA...WHERE SEVERAL
COASTAL AND VALLEY AREAS COULD CLIMB ABOVE 80 DEGREES. IN ADDITION...
HUMIDITY VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO BOTTOM OUT INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE CWA ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. NO FIRE
WEATHER WATCHES HAVE BEEN POSTED AT THIS TIME SINCE FUEL MOISTURES
REMAIN ABOVE CRITICAL THRESHOLDS...BUT WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE
SITUATION CLOSELY. BREEZY OFFSHORE CONDITIONS ARE ALSO EXPECTED ON
SUNDAY...WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO CONTINUE.

.LONG TERM...THE UPPER RIDGE OVER THE REGION WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN
EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH WEAKENING OFFSHORE FLOW CONDITIONS. AS A
RESULT...A GRADUAL COOLING TREND WILL OCCUR ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY...
WITH SOME RECOVERY IN HUMIDITY VALUES. THE LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL TREND
ONSHORE WEDNESAY INTO THURSDAY...AS THE LONG RANGE MODELS INDICATE
THE POTENTIAL FOR A BROAD UPPER TROUGH TO DEVELOP IN THE GREAT BASIN.

&&

.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

HIGH WIND WARNINGS FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND INLAND EMPIRE AND WIND
ADVISORIES FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...SAN DIEGO INLAND
VALLEY AND COACHELLA VALLEY UNTIL 200 PM FRIDAY...SEE LAXNPWSGX.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ORANGE AND SAN
DIEGO COUNTY BEACHES...SEE LAXCWFSGX.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR OUTWR WATERS...SEE LAXCWFSGX.

&&

GOMBERG
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 16, 6:00 AM PST, 12 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
600 AM PST THU DEC 16 2004

CAZ042-043-048-050-055-056-057-058-061-171400-
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
COACHELLA VALLEY-
600 AM PST THU DEC 16 2004

.DAY ONE...

STRONG OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CAUSE LOCAL STRONG GUSTY WINDS. AS A
RESULT...HIGH WIND WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT OR THE MOUNTAINS AND
INLAND EMPIRE AND WIND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE ORANGE
COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...SAN DIEGO INLAND VALLEYS AND COACHELLA VALLEY
TONIGHT UNTIL 200 PM FRIDAY. LOCAL NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS 20 TO 40
MPH WITH GUSTS TO OVER 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED...MAINLY THROUGH AND
BELOW CANYONS AND PASSES. PEOPLE SHOULD WATCH FOR BROKEN TREE
LIMBS...DOWNED TREES AND DOWNED POWER LINES. THERE COULD ALSO BE
TRAFFIC SIGNAL OUTAGES AND LOCAL VISIBILITY REDUCED IN BLOWING DUST
AND SAND. SEE LAXNPWSGX FOR DETAILS.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS TODAY. SEE LAXSRFSGX.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THE STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING OFFSHORE WINDS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH AND BELOW MOUNTAIN CANYONS AND PASSES INTO
FRIDAY...DECREASING FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WEAKER OFFSHORE WINDS WILL
CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS FRIDAY.

MACKECHNIE

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, San Diego County Mountains

When
December 16, 6:00 PM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where
San Diego County Mountains forecast zone
Measured
57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Consistent wind gusts over 60 mph blew over many trees. A peak wind gust of 66 mph was recorded 5 miles north of Pine Valley. One big rig was blown over on Interstate 8.

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 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2004

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: 5431488.