Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- February 18, 10:13 AM PST to February 19, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Measured
- 47 kt (54 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Strong Wind in California, February 18 to 19, 2004
Post-frontal northwest wind affected the Kern County Mountains and Deserts beginning late on the 18th.
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.
Post-frontal northwest wind affected the Kern County Mountains and Deserts beginning late on the 18th.
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 Feb 18, 10:00 AM PST, 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 10:00 AM PST, 13 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 1000 AM PST WED FEB 18 2004 .SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...BUSY MORNING WITH UPDATES TO ZONE PACKAGE. SATELLITE AND RADAR IMAGERY SHOWING PREFRONTAL PRECIP ACROSS KERN CO. HEAVY OROGRAPHICAL PRECIP STILL CONTINUING ACROSS THE SIERNEV UNDERNEATH MOIST SW JET ALOFT. SFC OBS SUGGEST COLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS NOW ALIGNED ROUGHLY FROM COALINGA TO MADERA WHERE WINDS HAVE SHIFTED TO A MORE WESTERLY DIRECTION. ALSO EVIDENT ON SAT IMAGERY IS PARTIAL CLEARING ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE SJ VLY WITH CELLULAR CU FORMATION. WILL NEED TO WATCH THIS PARTICULAR AREA FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HRS WHILE UPR LVL TROF MOVES INLAND. MODEL SOUNDINGS FORECAST LIFTED INDICES BETWEEN -1 AND -2 BY 21Z WITH CAPES APPRCHG 700 JOULES/KG ON THE WEST SIDE. 500 MB TEMPS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TROF ARE NEAR -26C. ALTHO THE BRUNT OF COLD ADVECTION ALOFT WILL BE ESSENTIALLY OVER WITH AFTER 21Z...CONTINUED WARMING IN THE VALLEY WITH STEEPENING LAPSE RATES COULD TRIGGER ISOLD TSTMS THIS AFTN WITH POTENTIALLY LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN. THE TRIGGER TEMP FOR VALLEY CONVECTION IS 62 DEGREES...SO WILL KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE SITUATION. THE LATEST FORECAST FROM SPC PUTS MUCH OF OUR CWA... WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE KERN CO MTNS AND DESERT...UNDER A SLIGHT RISK OF SVR TSTMS TODAY. MEANWHILE...SPOTTER REPORTS CONFIRM SNOW LEVELS HAVE FALLEN BETWEEN 5K AND 6K FT IN THE SIERNEV...AND DOWN TO 6K FT IN THE TEHACHAPI MTNS. TEMP ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE ACCORDINGLY TO THE ZONES. PRECIP SHOULD BEGIN TO DIMINISH IN THE MTNS EARLY TONIGHT AS THE UPR LEVEL TROF MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN. AS THE ATMOSPHERE STABILIZES... SHOWER AND/OR TSTM ACTIVITY WILL ALSO COME TO AN END OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA. .LONG TERM...FOR SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...PROGS INDICATE AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE PACIFIC DURING THIS PERIOD. THE POLAR JET OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WILL CONTINUE NEAR SUBTROPICAL LATITUDES ALLOWING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEMS TO MOVE FURTHER SOUTH TOWARD SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. PRECIPITATION SHOULD DIMINISH IN THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR SATURDAY AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE INTERIOR SOUTHWEST. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE TO THE CALIFORNIA COAST SUNDAY. THIS SYSTEM IS A PROGRESSIVE SYSTEM AND SHOULD QUICKLY PASS THROUGH. A BRIEF BREAK MONDAY. A DEEPER AND POSITIVE TILTED LOW WILL AFFECT CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TUESDAY. TIMING OF THESE SYSTEMS STILL A LITTLE UNCERTAIN ...SO WILL CONTINUE WITH A BROAD BRUSH APPROACH WITH CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION EACH DAY SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE UNTIL 600 PM TODAY. && DURFEE/MV
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 18, 5:00 AM PST, 5 hours 13 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 500 AM PST WED FEB 18 2004 CAZ089>095-098-099-191300- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 500 AM PST WED FEB 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...THE SIERRA NEVADA AND TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS...AND THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ096-097-191300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 429 AM PST WED FEB 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON AND THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM UNTIL 6 PM TONIGHT FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE. FOR FURTHER DETAILS SEE THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE... SFOWSWHNX OR WWUS46 KHNX. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
Event by event
3 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert
- When
- February 18, 11:16 AM PST to February 19, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- February 18, 5:44 PM PST to February 19, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 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
- Cold in Illinois, February 18, 2004
- Flash Flooding in California, February 18, 2004
- Winter Storm in Massachusetts, February 18, 2004
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 18 to 19, 2004
- Winter Storm in Rhode Island, February 18, 2004
- Heavy Snow in California, February 18 to 19, 2004
- Heavy Snow in California, February 18 to 19, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, February 18 to 19, 2004
- Dust Storm in California, February 18, 2004
More
Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 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: 5384951, 5384952, 5384950.