Strong Wind in California, February 14 to 15, 2006

Name: Strong Wind in California, February 14 to 15, 2006
Start: 2006-02-14T21:00
End: 2006-02-15T20:00
Location: California

February 14 to 15, 2006 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Gusty west-northwest wind occurred across the Kern County mountains and deserts on the 15th.

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.

Gusty west-northwest wind occurred across the Kern County mountains and deserts on the 15th.

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 14, 2:30 PM PST, 6 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 2:30 PM PST, 6 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
230 PM PST TUE FEB 14 2006

.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...MAJOR CHANGE
TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE WESTERN US. COLD UPPER TROF ACROSS THE
PACIFIC NW AND NORTHERN ROCKIES IS MOVING SOUTH. IT IS FCST TO REACH
NORCAL THIS EVE...THEN CENTRAL CA WED MORNING. BOTH GFS AND NAM ARE
INDICATING WHOPPING THICKNESS DROPS OF 300+ METERS BY 18Z WED WITH
H85 TEMPS LOWERING NEARLY 15 DEGS/C IN THE SAME TIME FRAME. THIS IS
GOING TO BRING AN ABRUPT END TO THE MILD WEATHER OF THE PAST SEVERAL
WEEKS. PRECIP-WISE HOWEVER...THIS LOW WILL BE MOISTURE STARVED AND
DO NOT EXPECT ANYTHING MORE THAN A FEW SNOWSHOWERS HIGHER ELEVATIONS
OF THE SRN SIERRA. SFC GRADS SFO-LAS ALSO INCREASE TO ABOUT 16 MB/S
LATE TONITE AND WED. THIS WILL BRING WINDY CONDS TO THE KERN MTNS
AND DESERTS...ESPECIALLY THROUGH AND BELOW PASSES. SOME LOCALLY
GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE SJV...BUT WILL STAY BELOW ADVISORY
LEVEL. AS WINDS DIMINISH WED EVE...CLEAR TO PTCLDY SKIES WILL ALLOW
THE TEMPERATURES IN THE VALLEY TO DROP...WITH FREEZING TEMPERATURES
POSSIBLE IN MANY AREAS.

ON THURS...THE COLD UPPER LOW WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA. WHILE STILL
COOL...THE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN DRY AND NO PRECIP IS EXPECTED OVER
THE AREA. MORE ENERGY MOVES AROUND THE LOW THURS NITE AND
FRI...WHICH WILL BRING A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS TO THE REGION
FRI...MAINLY NORTH OF KERN CO. VALLEY TEMPS TO REMAIN COLD THURS
NITE...BUT NOT AS COLD AS WED NITE DUE TO INCREASING CLOUDS. MAX
TEMPS MAY WARM A COUPLE OF DEGS FRI AS H85 TEMPS RISE A DEGREE OR
TWO. HOWEVER...STILL BELOW NORMAL.

.LONG TERM...FOR FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...MEDIUM RANGE
CONTINUE IN GOOD AGREEMENT FOR MUCH OF THE PERIOD. A COLD UPPER
LOW OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL MOVE SOUTH FRIDAY NIGHT PUSHING
EAST OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA LATE SUNDAY. ADDITIONAL COLD AIR AND
UPPER ENERGY WILL REINFORCE THE TROUGH BRINGING THE BEST CHANCES FOR
MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION FRIDAY NIGHT TO SATURDAY NIGHT.
SOME PRETTY COLD AIR ALOFT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM AND WOULD
LOWER SNOW LEVELS POSSIBLY DOWN TO AROUND 3000-3500 FEET. GFS
BEGINNING TO SHOW DEEPER MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM AND A COUPLE OF
TENTHS OF QPF DOWN TO THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. HEAVY
PRECIPITATION THREAT MAY BE LIMITED AS THE SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE
CONNECTION APPEARS TO REMAIN WELL SOUTH NEAR BAJA. THE UNSTABLE
AIRMASS WARRANTS PRECIP CHANCES THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD.

&&

.AVIATION...AREAS OF MVFR VISIBILITIES DUE TO HAZE IN THE SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY THROUGH 02Z WED...OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED
THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY. FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS...PLEASE REFER
TO TAFS FOR KMCE...KFAT AND KBFL.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE KERN
      COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.
  ...FREEZE WATCH FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
      VALLEY WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

&&

WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/

BINGHAM/MV

Event by event

3 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: February 14, 9:00 PM PST to February 15, 8:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: February 15, 3:00 AM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: February 15, 8:30 AM PST to 5:30 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 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

Every storm in California in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in California, February 2006

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: 5490095, 5490096, 5490097.