Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- April 26, 9:56 AM PST to 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $55,000
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
Strong Wind in California, April 26, 2012
An upper-level ridge built into California behind the departing trough. Temperatures warmed to near normal by April 16th, then above normal the next day.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $55,000
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.
An upper-level ridge built into California behind the departing trough. Temperatures warmed to near normal by April 16th, then above normal the next day. An upper-level trough moved through the Pacific Northwest on the 18th, briefly flattening the ridge, but the ridge rebounded on April 19th for a sharp warming trend. High temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley on April 20th were 7-10 degrees warmer than the previous day. Temperatures on the 21st continued to warm, and highs were 4-7 degrees warmer than on the 20th. Both Bakersfield and Fresno had their first 90-degree days of the year, with highs of 94 and 93 degrees, respectively.
Temperatures warmed even further on the 22nd; record high maximum and minimum temperatures were either tied or broken at both Fresno and Bakersfield.
The ridge began to weaken by the following evening, with an upper level trough over northern California. This trough ushered in cooler marine air into the San Joaquin Valley and much of interior central California so that temperatures cooled several degrees by the 23rd. (This pattern was similar to what occurs during the summer months.) Temperatures mainly reached the 80s on the 23rd and 24th in the San Joaquin Valley; however, they remained as high as the 90s during these days in the Kern County desert areas where there was little influence from the marine air.|Another low pressure trough approached central California by April 25th, bringing strong thunderstorms to the southern San Joaquin Valley, including Bakersfield and Delano during the afternoon. These storms continued to develop and intensify as they moved northward into Tulare County. The main threat these storms produced was heavy rain; this caused street flooding throughout much of the San Joaquin Valley portion in Tulare County, including Visalia, Tulare, and Porterville. Many locations in Tulare County received from around 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain where the strongest storms developed.
On the 26th, the colder air infiltrated the region behind the upper-level low. A cold air funnel was spotted in a thunderstorm that developed near Exeter, or about 10 miles east-southeast of Visalia, during the afternoon of the 26th. Much cooler air prevailed through the 27th as temperatures were well below seasonal averages. Subsequently, high pressure gradually began to build over the area. Low clouds persisted in the Sierra Nevada foothills until the 28th due to a cool and somewhat moist northwest flow aloft that continued over the area as the upper-level ridge was slow to move inland. Temperatures on April 28th were several degrees warmer than during the previous day and returned to near seasonal averages.
On the afternoon of the 26th, gusty winds developed in the Ridgecrest area. A trained weather spotter reported blowing dust with brown out conditions. Winds were estimated at 55 mph and a small shed was blown over at the Ridgecrest fairgrounds.
The upper-level ridge finally progressed onshore and set up over the region as temperatures warmed back to well above average during the 29th and 30th. The month ended with many locations throughout the San Joaquin Valley and Kern County desert having highs in the 90s due to this upper-level ridge.
THE 2011-2012 RAIN SEASON THROUGH APRIL 30TH|/AMOUNTS IN INCHES/|SITE APR NRML DEP PCT SEASON NORMAL DEP PCT|2012 APR* NRML 4/30 4/30* NRML|MERCED AIRPORT 1.69 0.95 0.74 177.9 7.02 11.79 -4.77 59.5|MERCED CITY 2.23 0.94 1.29 237.2 7.89 12.42 -4.53 63.5|MADERA AIRPORT 1.59 0.95 0.64 167.4 7.87 11.35 -3.48 69.3|FRESNO 2.02 0.95 1.07 212.6 8.15 10.86 -2.71 75.0|HANFORD AIRPORT 1.79 0.79 1.00 226.6 5.79 9.53 -3.74 60.8|HANFORD CITY 1.39 0.78 0.61 178.2 5.71 8.61 -2.90 66.3|BAKERSFIELD 1.62 0.52 1.10 311.5 4.93 6.21 -1.28 79.4|* NORMALS FOR BAKERSFIELD...FRESNO...HANFORD CITY AND MERCED CITY ARE|FOR 1981-2010.|NORMALS FOR HANFORD...MADERA AND MERCED AIRPORTS ARE FOR 2001-2010.|Bakersfield had its 10th wettest April on record. Fresno had its 19th wettest April on record.
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 26, 8:00 AM PST, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 8:00 AM PST, 1 hour 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 900 AM PDT THU APR 26 2012 .SYNOPSIS...AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO EXIT THE REGION TODAY AND AS IT DOES WILL CONTINUE PRODUCING SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE AREA. ANY REMAINING PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN LIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN THIS WEEKEND BRINGING DRY CONDITIONS AND NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES. && .DISCUSSION...THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRECIPITATION ACROSS OUR AREA YDAY AND OVERNIGHT AND THE LATE EVENING T-STORMS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF OUR AREA LATE LAST EVENING...IS NOW CENTERED OVER SOCAL NEAR THE INLAND EMPIRE AREA AND MOVING EAST. HOWEVER...SOME RESIDUAL MOISTURE FROM THIS SYSTEM ALONG WITH SOME INSTABILITY OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS HAS KEPT SHOWERS GOING ACROSS THESE AREAS THIS MORNING. MEANWHILE...IR IS INDICATING ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CENTERED OFF THE WA COAST NEAR 47N/131W WHICH IS MOVING EAST AND PUSHING AN UPPER TROUGH INLAND IVER THE PAC NW AND NORCAL. 12Z WRF INDICATING AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WITH THIS COLDER SYSTEM WILL CROSS CENTRAL CA LATER TODAY AND KEEP A CHANCE OF SHOWERS ACROSS OUR AREA THROUGH LATE THIS AFTERNOON. MESOWEST OBSERVATIONS ARE INDICATING SNOW LEVELS ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING AROUND 9000 FEET BUT WILL LOWER TO AROUND 7000 FEET BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. THE MAIN IMPACT THAT THIS INCOMING SYSTEM WILL HAVE HOWEVER...IS IT WILL BRING AN INCREASE IN SURFACE P-GRADS AND PROVIDE FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF WINDY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS LATER TODAY. THE PREVIOUS SHIFT ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY FOR THESE AREAS FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND AT THIS TIME IT LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK. MEANWHILE... THE RESIDUAL MOISTURE FROM YDAY/S STORM AND THE INCOMING SYSTEM WILL KEEP OUR AREA UNDER MOSTLY CLOUDY TO CLOUDY SKIES TODAY WHICH WILL INHIBIT MUCH IN THE WAY IF DAYTIME WARMING FROM TAKING PLACE AND RESULT IN AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES BEING WELL BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS ACROSS OUR AREA TODAY. THE CURRENT FORECAST FOR TODAY LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK SO AM NOT PLANNING ANY UPDATES THIS MORNING. THE 12Z WRF AND PRIOR GFS RUNS ARE INDICATING THE TROUGH MOVING ACROSS THE PAC NW TONIGHT THEN REMAINING QUASI-STATIONARY OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS IT RUNS INTO A BLOCKING RIDGE AHEAD OF IT. MEANWHILE...AN UPPER RIDGE WILL AMPLIFY OFF THE CA COAST RESULTING IN A COOL A DRY NORTHWEST FLOW OVER CENTRAL CA. THIS WILL KEEP OUR AREA DRY FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH RISING HEIGHTS AND THICKNESSES RESULTING IN A SLOW WARMING TREND. TEMPERATURES WILL APPROACH SEASONAL NORMALS BY SATURDAY AND RISE TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL ON SUNDAY. THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE INDICATING SOME DAMPENING IN THE UPPER FLOW EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE OFFSHORE RIDGE FLATTENS AND A DRY WESTERLY FLOW BECOMES ESTABLISHED OVER CENTRAL CA. THIS WILL KEEP DRY CONDITIONS AND TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY ABOVE SEASONAL NORMALS FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY. && .AVIATION...OVER THE SRN SIERRA AND TEHACHAPI MTNS...AREAS OF IFR AND MTN OBSCURATIONS IN CLOUDS/PRECIP CONTINUING THRU 21Z THURSDAY BEFORE IMPROVING. IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND DESERT AREAS OF KERN COUNTY...CIGS AROUND 3000-4000 FT AGL WITH SCT SHOWERS CONTINUING THRU 21Z THURSDAY. A FEW AREAS OF MVFR/LOCAL IFR CIGS/VSBY IN HEAVIER SHOWERS. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL UNTIL 18Z FRIDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES...NONE. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM PDT THIS EVENING CAZ095-098-099. && PUBLIC...DS AVN/FW...MENDENHALL SYNOPSIS...ANDERSEN WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 26, 4:03 AM PST, 5 hours 53 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 503 AM PDT THU APR 26 2012 CAZ095-098-099-270400- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 503 AM PDT THU APR 26 2012 ...GUSTY WINDS... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM PDT. PLEASE REFER TO /SFONPWHNX/ FOR MORE INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. WP
The radar
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 46 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:45 UTC.
Event by event
1 strong wind, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Funnel Cloud, Tulare
- When
- April 26, 10:45 AM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, 0.89 mi SE of Exeter
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 36.290, -119.120
Local law enforcement reported a cold air funnel near Exeter.
What these are
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Hail in Tennessee, April 26, 2012
- Tornado and Hail in Tennessee, April 26, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 26, 2012
- High Wind in New Mexico, April 26 to 27, 2012
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kentucky, April 26, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, April 26, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, April 26, 2012
- Flash Flooding and Hail in West Virginia, April 26, 2012
- Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, April 26, 2012
- Flash Flood and Hail in West Virginia, April 26, 2012
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kentucky, April 26, 2012
- High Wind in California, April 26, 2012
More
Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2012
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: 380302, 380308.