High Wind in California, February 7, 2008

Name: High Wind in California, February 7, 2008
Start: 2008-02-07T08:45
End: 2008-02-07T08:45
Location: California

February 7, 2008 · NWS REV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A cold front that moved through the northern Sierra brought strong damaging winds to the area.

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $3,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 REV wrote it up.

A cold front that moved through the northern Sierra brought strong damaging winds to 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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 7, 8:31 AM PST, 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 8:31 AM PST, 14 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
831 AM PST THU FEB 7 2008

.UPDATE...
STRONG UPPER JET MAX OVER OREGON IS SAGGING SLIGHTLY TO THE SOUTH
THIS MORNING AS A WEAK SHORTWAVE PASSES OVER THE PACNW. A
RELATIVELY WEAK SURFACE COLD FRONT IS SKIRTING NRN CA/NV AT THIS
TIME WITH TEMPERATURE PROFILE BRIEFLY ALLOWING FOR STRONGER WINDS
ALOFT TO REACH THE SURFACE. MEDFORD SOUNDING THIS MORNING SHOWING
A STRONG INVERSION BETWEEN 750 AND 800 MB WITH WIND SPEEEDS OF
AROUND 60 KTS. THIS IS ALL ADDING UP TO CREATE A DOWNSLOPE WIND
EVENT IN THE LEE OF THE WARNERS. HAVE RECEIVED HIGH WIND REPORTS
AROUND EAGLEVILLE HOWEVER THEY SEEM TO BE QUITE LOCALIZED. WENT
AHEAD AND ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY TO COVER THE WIND THREAT BUT
WORDED FOR STRONGER GUSTS IN THE EAGLEVILLE AREA. ALL UPDATES AND
PRODUCTS OUT. JORDAN

&&

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 330 AM PST THU FEB 7 2008/

SHORT TERM...
SYSTEM SCRAPING BY TO THE NORTH TODAY TO KICK WIND GUSTS UP TO THE
30-40 MPH RANGE...MAINLY NORTH OF PYRAMID LAKE WHERE THE SURFACE
GRADIENT WILL BE THE STRONGEST. SHOWERS LOOK CONFINED TO FAR
NORTHERN LASSEN/WASHOE COUNTIES AS A COLD FRONT FALLS APART MOVING
INTO NORTHWEST NEVADA.

A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE REGION FOR FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY...BRINGING TRANQUIL WEATHER WITH HIGHS AROUND NORMAL (MID
40S TO MID 50S). SNYDER

LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
STORM TRACK NORTH OF AREA EARLY IN PERIOD WILL BEGIN TO AMPLIFY A
BIT AND ALLOW SYSTEMS TO BRUSH AREA AGAIN BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT
WEEK. SHORTWAVE SUNDAY IS NOT IMPRESSIVE WHILE THE ONE TUESDAY AT
LEAST APPEARS STRONG ENOUGH TO AT LEAST DRIVE SOME COOLER AIR DOWN.
HOWEVER IT TOO DOES NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF MOISTURE WITH
MAIN TRACK OF DYNAMICS STAYING EAST OF AREA. THERE IS GENERALLY GOOD
AGREEMENT IN THIS OVERALL PATTERN. IT IS DETAILS SUCH AS AMOUNT OF
AMPLIFICATION THAT ARE CONTINUING TO SHOW A WIDE RANGE OF SOLUTIONS.
LITTLE CHANGE WAS MADE TO ONGOING FORECAST. TEMPERATURES WILL
GENERALLY BE NEAR NORMAL...MAYBE BRIEFLY RISING ABOVE NORMAL TUESDAY
AHEAD OF SECOND SHORTWAVE. OTHERWISE GENERALLY DRY WITH ONLY A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS FAR NORTHERN AND EASTERN AREAS SUNDAY AND
AGAIN TUESDAY. HOHMANN

AVIATION...
PATCHY FOG AROUND KTRK WILL BE SHALLOW AND RESTRICT VSBY FOR SHORT
PERIOD THIS MORNING. OTHERWISE VFR AS WEST-NORTHWEST FLOW INCREASES
TODAY IN ASSOCIATION WITH UPPER LEVEL TROUGH THAT WILL BRUSH AREA TO
THE NORTH. OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 25KT AT AREA TAF SITES WITH RIDGE
WINDS GUSTING AS HIGH AS 60KT. HOHMANN

&&

.REV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NV...LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR NVZ004.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR NVZ005.

     LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR NVZ002.

CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR CAZ070.

     LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR CAZ072.

&&

HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENO

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Surprise Valley

When: February 7, 8:45 AM PST
Where: Surprise Valley forecast zone
Measured: 91 kt (105 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 41.590, -120.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A person living one mile southeast of Eagleville reported very strong winds the morning of February 7th. This person's home weather station recorded wind gusts of 65 to over 90 mph. The strongest gust was reported to be 105 mph. Localized damage occurred in the area. A barbeque grill was picked up by the wind and thrown through a glass sunroom. A 500-gallon diesel fuel tank was blown off of its pedestal. Shingles were peeled from roofs and branches were broken off trees.

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

Every storm in California in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in California, February 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: 76974.