Santa Ana winds gusted over 50 mph across the area causing minor damage to trees. A peak wind gust of 66 mph was recorded at Fremont Canyon.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Santa Ana winds gusted over 50 mph across the area causing minor damage to trees. A peak wind gust of 66 mph was recorded at Fremont Canyon. 60 mph winds were also encountered in Waterman Canyon. Elsewhere, a peak wind gust of 59 mph was measured in Devore.
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 23, 4:15 AM PST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 415 AM PST THU DEC 23 2004 .SYNOPSIS...COLD SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE GREAT BASIN AND A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER NORTHWEST MEXICO WILL COMBINE TO BRING STRONG SANTA ANA WINDS AT TIMES TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. FAIR AND WARMER FOR CHRISTMAS DAY UNDER WEAK HIGH PRESSURE. A DEVELOPING TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WILL BRING COOLER WEATHER AND A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A SHORTWAVE MOVING SOUTH JUST OFF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. SUBSIDENCE AND WINDS ALOFT WILL STRENGTHEN OVER SOUTHWEST CALIORNIA TODAY BEHIND THIS SHORTWAVE. SUPPORT FOR STRONG SANTA ANA WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN THROUGH TONIGHT...PEAKING LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. SURFACE REPORTS STILL SHOW FAIRLY LOCALIZED SANTA ANA WINDS EARLY THIS MORNING WITH A FEW GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH IN THE WINDIEST LOCATIONS. WINDS SHOULD STRENGTHEN AND BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD DURING THE DAY TODAY. WINDS MAY WEAKEN A LITTLE THIS EVENING...THEN BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AND STRONGER LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO DECREASE FRIDAY AFTERNOON...THOUGH WINDS...MOSTLY BELOW ADVISORY LEVELS...WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AND BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS INTO SATURDAY MORNING. COOL TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TODAY FOR INLAND AREAS. TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN TO WARM FRIDAY...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE COAST. GREATER WARMING IS EXPECTED FOR MOST AREAS CHRISTMAS DAY AS OFFSHORE FLOW WEAKENS AND HIGH PRESSURE BRIEFLY BUILDS ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST. FOR SUNDAY THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK...MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW A PATTERN CHANGE BUT DIFFER ON THE DETAILS. UKMET IS NOW MUCH CLOSER TO THE GFS IN SHOWING A STRONG COLD GULF OF ALASKA STORM MOVING INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONDAY INTO TUESDAY WITH ANOTHER STORM PASSING NEAR OR JUST NORTH OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. ECWMF REMAINS FARTHER OFFSHORE AND SLOWER...BUT IS TRENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ECMWF/UKMET. CURRENT FORECAST TEMPERATURES AND POPS GENERALLY FOLLOW THE GLOBAL ENSEMBLE MODEL WITH CHANCE OR SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR MUCH OF THE PERIOD FROM LATE SUNDAY INTO THURSDAY. LATER FORECASTS MAY ADD SOME DEFINITION FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK AS/IF MODELS BEGIN TO CONVERGE ON A SOLUTION. && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM FRIDAY...ZONES 48/55/56/57/58. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM FRIDAY.......ZONES 43/50. WIND ADVISORY NOON TO 6 PM TODAY......ZONE 60. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL NOON FRIDAY.......ZONE 61. && MARTIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 430 AM PST THU DEC 23 2004 CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-241400- 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- APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS- COACHELLA VALLEY- SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS- 430 AM PST THU DEC 23 2004 .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND THE INLAND EMPIRE. WIND ADVISORY FOR ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS...AND THE COACHELLA VALLEY. WIND ADVISORY FROM NOON UNTIL 6 PM TODAY FOR THE APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. FOR FRIDAY...HIGH WIND WARNINGS AND WIND ADVISORIES FOR STRONG SANTA ANA WINDS. FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY...A STRONG COLD GULF OF ALASKA STORM MAY PASS THROUGH OR NEAR SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA. MARTIN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2004
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: 5431506, 5431507, 5431508.