Strong Wind in California, April 29 to 30, 2008

Name: Strong Wind in California, April 29 to 30, 2008
Start: 2008-04-29T14:00
End: 2008-04-30T23:59
Location: California

April 29 to 30, 2008 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $6,000
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.

A dry cold front moved into California on April 29th, plunging San Joaquin Valley high temperatures as much as 17 degrees from the previous day. Gusty winds accompanied the cold front as it moved through California. Gusts to 60 mph were reported in the Kern County mountains and deserts, and a few gusts between 35-40 mph occurred in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley. High temperatures in the central and south Valley continued to cool, falling several degrees below normal on the last day of April with readings in the upper 60s to mid 70s.

April was an exceptionally dry month for the central and southern San Joaquin Valley, with neither Bakersfield nor Fresno reporting measurable rain. For Bakersfield, it has been an extremely dry rain season so far, the third driest July-April in 119 years of records. As April historically marks the end of the wettest months of the rain season, Bakersfield could end with this season as one of the five driest on record; if no more measurable rain were to fall, only the 1933-34 rain season would be drier.

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 29, 9:10 AM PST, 4 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 29, 9:10 AM PST, 4 hours 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1010 AM PDT TUE APR 29 2008

.DISCUSSION...

COLD FRONT IS NOW MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR.
WINDS ARE PICKING UP ACROSS THE VALLEY AND WILL SPREAD INTO THE
DESERT BY THIS AFTERNOON. A FEW CLOUDS MAY DEVELOP AS THE FRONT
PASSES BY. THE UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS TONIGHT WITH STRONG
CAA OVERNIGHT AND SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER TEMPS ON WED FROM WHAT WE
HAVE BEEN USED TO OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. THE COOL SNAP WILL
BE SHORT LIVED AS ZONAL FLOW WILL SET UP BY LATE THIS WEEK. A WEAK
RIDGE WILL SET UP FRIDAY BEFORE ANOTHER SHORTWAVE WILL DROP IN THE
NW FLOW AND COOL THINGS DOWN AGAIN ON SAT AND SUNDAY. ANOTHER
TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH ON TUESDAY WITH NORMAL TEMPS
EXPECTED.

&&

.AVIATION...WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR TODAY WITH LOCAL MVFR
CONDITIONS IN BLOWING DUST. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS CAN BE
EXPECTED ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 18Z
WEDNESDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR CAZ095-098-099.

&&

PUBLIC...MOLINA
AVN/FW...JDB

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS PARTNERING WITH THE VALLEY AIR DISTRICT
TO PROMOTE AIR QUALITY AWARENESS WEEK, WHICH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
THIS FRIDAY, MAY 2. DURING THIS WEEK WE FEATURE DAILY INFORMATIONAL
MESSAGES, PRESS RELEASES, AND MORE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS EVENT,
PLEASE SEE OUR LATEST PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT /NOUS46 KHNX/ OR
/SFOPNSHNX/. OR VISIT WWW.AIRQUALITY.NOAA.GOV.

CLEANER AIR STARTS WITH YOU FOR MORE TIPS ON HOW TO LIVE A HEALTHY AIR LIFE
CONTACT THE VALLEY AIR DISTRICT OR VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.VALLEYAIR.ORG.

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 29, 1:45 PM PST, 15 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
245 PM PDT TUE APR 29 2008

CAZ095-098-099-301200-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
245 PM PDT TUE APR 29 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT WEDNESDAY. PLEASE
REFER TO THE LATEST NON PRECIPITATION STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HANFORD AT /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR
/SFONPWHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THE WIND ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 11 PM PDT WEDNESDAY. AFTER

11 PM WEDNESDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

MORSE

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

3 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: April 29, 2:00 PM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
Crop damage: $2,000
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: April 29, 2:00 PM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
Crop damage: $2,000
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: April 29, 2:00 PM PST to April 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 49 kt (56 mph) measured gust
Crop damage: $2,000
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

Every storm in California in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 97816, 97817, 97818.