California, 2009Strong Wind in California, March 22, 2009
March 22, 2009 · NWS MTR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones
A storm from the Northern Pacific Ocean brought strong winds to the Central Coast of California.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $7,000
- 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.
A storm from the Northern Pacific Ocean brought strong winds to the Central Coast of California.
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 San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 22, 9:15 AM PST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 22, 9:15 AM PST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CA
1015 AM PDT SUN MAR 22 2009
.DISCUSSION...AS OF 8:30 AM SUNDAY...A COLD AND BLUSTERY AIR MASS
HAS SETTLED OVER THE SAN FRANCISCO AND MONTEREY BAY AREAS THIS
MORNING...A RESULT OF THE COLD FRONT THAT MOVED THROUGH OVERNIGHT.
THE DRAMATIC COOLING CAN BE SEEN ON THIS MORNING/S OAKLAND SOUNDING
WITH 5 TO 12 DEGREES CELSIUS OF COOLING ABOVE 900 MB AS COMPARED TO
YESTERDAY. THIS WILL TRANSLATE INTO TEMPERATURES ONLY REACHING
INTO THE 50S TO NEAR 60 TODAY...EXCEPT IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN WHERE
ELEVATIONS ABOVE 3000 FEET WILL MAINLY BE IN THE 30S.
ALSO IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT IS AMPLE MOISTURE AND WEAK
INSTABILITY WHICH WILL ALLOW SCATTERED SHOWERS TO CONTINUE THIS
MORNING. THE SREF FORECASTS LIFTED INDICES AROUND ZERO AND CAPE JUST
LESS THAN 250 J/KG...WHICH AGREES WITH A MODIFIED KOAK SOUNDING.
THEREFORE...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY.
ANOTHER CONCERN FOR TODAY IS GUSTY WINDS. SINCE THE PASSAGE OF THE
COLD FRONT WINDS HAVE BEEN GUSTING TO 35 MPH WITH ISOLATED
LOCATIONS GUSTING UP TO 40 MPH. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THE DAY AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT AT THE SURFACE
REMAINS TIGHT. AT 15Z THE ONSHORE PRESSURE GRADIENT WAS ON THE RISE
WITH 3.0 MB FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO SACRAMENTO AND 12.3 MB FROM SAN
FRANCISCO TO WINNEMUCCA...NV.
AS TODAY PROGRESSES THE SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT THE COLD AND BLUSTERY
CONDITIONS WILL SCOOT QUICKLY TO THE EAST AS A RIDGE BUILDS
OFFSHORE. THEREFORE...SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL DIMINISH BY SUNSET WITH
THE WIND SUBSIDING SHORTLY THEREAFTER. THE RIDGE WILL BUILD OFFSHORE
PLACING CALIFORNIA IN A NORTH TO NORTHWESTERLY FLOW THROUGH THE WEEK
AND PROVIDING A RETURN TO EARLY SPRING LIKE CONDITIONS.
&&
.AVIATION...AS OF 10:15 AM PDT SUNDAY...RADAR SHOWS A FEW ADDITIONAL
SHOWERS PASSING ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. THE MAJORITY OF MID
LEVEL DYNAMICS HAVE SHIFTED EAST TO THE CENTRAL VALLEY AND SIERRA
NEVADA. INHERITED 12Z TAFS LOOK IN GOOD SHAPE. ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS
WERE MADE TO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF SHOWERS FORECAST IN THE 18Z TAF
PACKAGE.
PRIMARY MESSAGE TODAY IS STRONG AND GUSTY W-NW WINDS. THE LATEST
OBSERVATION FROM KSFO INDICATES GUSTS TO 37 KNOTS. THE WRF MODEL HAS
CONSISTENTLY SHOWN NEAR ALIGNMENT OF SURFACE WINDS WITH WINDS IN THE
LOWER TO MID LEVELS THROUGH THE DAY. THEREFORE AS MIXING GAINS MORE
TRACTION TODAY MOMENTUM TRANSFER OF GUSTY WINDS ALOFT TO THE SURFACE
IS EXPECTED. LOCALIZED WIND GUSTS WELL INTO THE 30 KNOTS RANGE CAN BE
EXPECTED. ON A SEASONAL BASIS THIS OFTEN OCCURS WITH POST FRONTAL
AIRMASSES.
GUSTY WINDS COULD LINGER WELL INTO THE EVENING. THEY SHOULD START TO
DIMINISH VERY LATE TONIGHT BUT LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS COULD KICK UP
AGAIN MONDAY MORNING AS WELL THEN DIMINISH LATER IN THE AFTERNOON.
OTHERWISE THE AIRMASS IS EXPECTED TO DRY OUT AS THE LOW LEVEL WINDS
VEER TO A NORTHERLY DIRECTION. VFR IS FORECAST AT AREA TERMINALS FOR
THE 18Z TAF CYCLE.
&&
.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.TDA...SCA...ALL COASTAL WATERS AND BAYS.
...SCA...SAN FRANCISCO BAR
PUBLIC FORECAST: EVANS
AVIATION/MARINE: CANEPA
NWS ON THE WEB AT WEATHER.GOV/SANFRANCISCOStrong Wind, Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore
- When
- March 22, 11:00 AM PST to 11:30 AM PST
- Where
- Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore forecast zone
- Measured
- 43 kt (49 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 38.290, -122.835 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong winds caused an estimated 100 foot tall, five foot diameter based pine tree to fall onto power lines at the junction of Shoreline Highway and Panoramic Highway around 11:10 a.m. PDT. The intersection was closed for five hours as crews removed the debris. The seven customers who lost power had it restored by 6:30 p.m. PDT.
Strong Wind, Northern Salinas Valley / Hollister Valley / Carmel Valley
- When
- March 22, 1:45 PM PST to 2:15 PM PST
- Where
- Northern Salinas Valley / Hollister Valley / Carmel Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 43 kt (49 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 36.423, -121.192 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong winds toppled a pine tree at the Saddle Ranch Resort onto a trailer trapping the occupant inside for an hour before he was extricated uninjured. Also, in and around Carmel Valley, there were many roads temporarily blocked due to trees and limbs blown down by the wind.
- 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.
- Dust Storm and High Wind in Arizona, March 22, 20093 injured · $250,000 · 59 kt wind · 14 events
- Flash Flooding in South Dakota, March 22 to 23, 2009$295,000 · 4 events
- Flash Flooding and Blizzard in North Dakota, March 22 to 25, 2009$40,000 · 58 kt wind · 36 events
- Flooding in North Dakota, March 22 to 31, 2009$85,000 · 17 events
- Wildfire and Dust Storm in California, March 22, 2009$121,000 · 63 kt wind · 9 events
- High Wind in Colorado, March 22 to 23, 2009$65,000 · 85 kt wind · 1 event
- Wildfire in Colorado, March 22, 2009$20,000 · 1 event
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Colorado, March 22 to 24, 200910 events
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Wyoming, March 22 to 24, 200910 events
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Wyoming, March 22 to 24, 20098 events
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, March 22 to 24, 20098 events
- High Wind in California, March 22 to 23, 200964 kt wind · 5 events
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: 158976, 158983.