High Wind in California, October 4, 2009

Name: High Wind in California, October 4, 2009
Start: 2009-10-04T03:30
End: 2009-10-04T04:10
Location: California

October 4, 2009 · NWS VEF · 4 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system and associated cold front brought high winds to the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin.

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
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 VEF wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system and associated cold front brought high winds to the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin.

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 4, 2:54 AM PST, 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 4, 2:54 AM PST, 36 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 3, 10:02 PM PST, 5 hours 28 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
1102 PM PDT SAT OCT 03 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1030 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SSW MERCURY           36.62N 116.02W
10/03/2009  M58 MPH          NYE                NV   MESONET

&&

MORGAN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Owens Valley

When: October 4, 3:30 AM PST
Where: Owens Valley forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

This gust occurred 6 miles E of Independence.

High Wind, Owens Valley

When: October 4, 3:42 AM PST
Where: Owens Valley forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

This gust occurred 4 miles NW of Independence.

High Wind, Owens Valley

When: October 4, 3:50 AM PST
Where: Owens Valley forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

This gust occurred 4 miles ESE of Independence.

High Wind, Eastern Sierra Slopes of Inyo County

When: October 4, 4:10 AM PST
Where: Eastern Sierra Slopes of Inyo County forecast zone
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.511, -117.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

This gust occurred 5 miles WSW of Independence.

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 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in California, October 2009

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: 192060, 192061, 192062, 192063.