Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- April 19, 6:00 PM PST to April 20, 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind in California, April 19 to 20, 2008
An upper-level trough moved into the state of California on the 19th, and plunged high temperatures to their coldest values of the month on the 20th. This cold airmass brought isolated freezing to sub-freezing temperatures to the east side of the San Joaquin Valley on the morning of April 21st, with one report of a low of 27 degrees near the Sierra foothills.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- $4,000
- Events
- 4
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.
An upper-level trough moved into the state of California on the 19th, and plunged high temperatures to their coldest values of the month on the 20th. This cold airmass brought isolated freezing to sub-freezing temperatures to the east side of the San Joaquin Valley on the morning of April 21st, with one report of a low of 27 degrees near the Sierra foothills.
In contrast to the trough at the beginning of April, this trough brought precipitation to the northern half of the WFO Hanford’s warning/forecast area. Tuolumne Meadows received 3 inches of new snow on April 22nd, while light rain spread as far south as Hanford and Lemon Cove. Although the Fresno-Yosemite International Airport recorded only a trace of rain from the storm on the 22nd-23rd, the Fresno Air National Guard’s rain gauge had 0.02 inch, evidence of the spotty nature of the precipitation.
Winds in the Kern County mountains and deserts gusted to 50-55 mph on April 19th-20th, as the surface cold front moved through the area.
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 Apr 19, 1:01 PM PST, 4 hours 59 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 19, 1:01 PM PST, 4 hours 59 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 201 PM PDT SAT APR 19 2008 .DISCUSSION...A DEEP UPPER LOW PRESSURE CENTER OVER WESTERN WA PUSHED A COLD FRONT THROUGH OUR AREA EARLIER TODAY. THE POST FRONTAL SUBSIDENCE ALONG WITH INCREASED SURFACE P-GRADS HAVE BROUGHT INCREASED WINDS TO OUR AREA TODAY. WITH THIS SYSTEM BEING A SLOW MOVER...THE INCREASED WINDS AND CAA WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. THUS EXPECT WINDS TO REACH ADVISORY CRITERIA BY THIS EVENING IN THE MOUNTAINS AND KERN DESERTS AND A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED FOR THESE AREAS FOR THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING. TEMPERATURES HAVE FALLEN 10 TO 15 DEG F SINCE YDAY AND ADJUSTED BC GUIDANCE INDICATES TEMPERATURES WILL LOWER BY ANOTHER 5 TO 10 DEG F ON SUNDAY. WITH P-GRADS EXPECTED TO RELAX SUNDAY NIGHT AS THE LARGE UPPER LOW MOVES INTO THE INTER-MOUNTAIN WEST. WITH SKIES REMAINING MOSTLY CLEAR ACROSS OUR AREA AS THIS SYSTEM IS MOISTURE STARVED...RADIATIONAL COOLING WILL ALLOW FOR MINIMUM TEMPERATURES TO APPROACH RECORD LOWS ON MONDAY MORNING. PATCHY FROST WILL BE POSSIBLE AT SOME OF THE COOLER SHELTERED LOCATIONS IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THIS IN A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT. MEDIUM RANGE PROGS ARE IN BETTER AGREEMENT INDICATING ANOTHER LARGE UPPER LOW APPROACHES THE PAC NW COAST ON TUESDAY AND MOVES ONSHORE TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. AN UNDERCUTTING VORT MAX IS PROGGED TO STREAM THROUGH CENTRAL CA DURING THIS TIME FRAME ALTHOUGH THE MODELS DIFFER WITH THE EXACT TIMING AND SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THE DEEP MOISTURE AND UVM. FOR NOW WILL KEEP MENTION OF A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS NEAR YOSEMITE UNTIL THE MODELS AND THEIR ENSEMBLE MEMBERS COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THIS FEATURE. BEHIND THIS SYSTEM...THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS HAVE COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT WITH A LARGE DRY UPPER RIDGE BUILDING INLAND OVER CA ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THIS WILL BRING INCREASING HEIGHTS AND THICKNESSES TO OUR AREA RESULTING IN TEMPERATURES RISING TO WELL ABOVE CLIMO BY THE END OF THE WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...GUSTY WINDS ACROSS THE REGION WILL PRODUCE LOCAL MVFR VISIBILITIES DUE TO BLOWING DUST...OTHERWISE EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS ACROSS INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA THROUGH 00Z MONDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES...NONE. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 PM PDT SUNDAY FOR CAZ095>099. && PUBLIC...DS AVN/FW...JEB WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 19, 3:42 AM PST, 14 hours 18 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 442 AM PDT SAT APR 19 2008 CAZ095>099-201145- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 442 AM PDT SAT APR 19 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR GIVE SPECIFIC AREA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERT...IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 PM SUNDAY EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST NON PRECIPITATION STATEMENT /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR SFONPWHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM SUNDAY EVENING FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. JMB WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Event by event
4 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- April 19, 6:00 PM PST to April 20, 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- April 19, 6:00 PM PST to April 20, 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert
- When
- April 19, 6:00 PM PST to April 20, 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
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
- Frost and Freeze in Washington, April 19 to 22, 2008
- Wildfire in North Dakota, April 19 to 20, 2008
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 19, 2008
- Flood in Maine, April 19 to 30, 2008
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, April 19, 2008
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Montana, April 19 to 20, 2008
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Montana, April 19 to 20, 2008
- Dust Storm and High Wind in California, April 19 to 20, 2008
- Frost and Freeze in Oregon, April 19, 2008
- High Wind in California, April 19 to 20, 2008
- High Wind in Utah, April 19, 2008
- Hail in West Virginia, April 19, 2008
More
Every storm in California in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2008
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: 97812, 97813, 97814, 97815.