California, 2007

High Wind in California, October 17, 2007

October 17, 2007 · NWS VEF · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Strong jet stream winds helped enhance surface wind gusts across the Sierra Nevada mountain range. There was a brief period of strong downslope winds along the eastern slopes and into the Owens Valley.

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.

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 VEF wrote it up.

Strong jet stream winds helped enhance surface wind gusts across the Sierra Nevada mountain range. There was a brief period of strong downslope winds along the eastern slopes and into the Owens Valley.

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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 16, 8:55 PM PST, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 16, 8:55 PM PST, 4 hours 5 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 16, 9:42 PM PST, 3 hours 18 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 16, 11:36 PM PST, 1 hour 24 minutes before
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      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
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        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
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        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Sierra Slopes of Inyo County

When
October 17, 1:00 AM PST
Where
Eastern Sierra Slopes of Inyo County forecast zone
Measured
69 kt (79 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
36.511, -117.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Occurred 5 miles WSW of Independence, CA.

High Wind, Owens Valley

When
October 17, 3:00 AM PST
Where
Owens Valley forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

Occurred 6 miles S of Independence, CA.

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 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in California, October 2007

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 59282, 59283.