High Wind and Strong Wind in California, February 6 to 7, 2012

Name: High Wind and Strong Wind in California, February 6 to 7, 2012
Start: 2012-02-06T09:00
End: 2012-02-07T17:00
Location: California

February 6 to 7, 2012 · NWS HNX · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $36,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

February began with an upper-level trough moving through California. The trough brought gusty winds to the mountain and desert areas, with gusts to 40 mph continuing below the Tehachapi Pass into the evening hours of the 1st. However, it had no effect on the above-normal temperatures across the region, as highs at both |Bakersfield and Fresno were 7 degrees above normal.

An upper-level ridge built into the state behind the trough. With a stable airmass in place, a stratus layer formed over the San Joaquin Valley on February 2nd. A dry northwest flow set up over California, with the central California interior between the departing trough to the east and the ridge to the west. This flow helped dissipate the stratus as the day progressed, with the last vestiges of the stratus lingering over the east side of the San Joaquin Valley and the adjacent foothills.

The ridge remained over California through February 6th, and then it gave way to an approaching upper-level trough. Patchy fog developed over Merced and Madera Counties during the morning of the 3rd; otherwise mostly clear skies prevailed across the region. Overnight temperatures fell into the 30s under the clear skies, but highs in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley warmed into the mid 60s to mid 70s each day from the 3rd through the 5th.

The upper-level trough moved into the central California interior on February 6th. Temperatures over the northern parts of the region cooled, but the south end of the San Joaquin Valley warmed into the mid 70s in strong pre-frontal warming. Strong southeast winds funneled through the passes of the Tehachapi Mountains into the far south end of the Valley, spreading as far north as Bakersfield. Winds gusted to 73 mph at Grapevine Peak on the 6th, and to 45 mph at Meadows Field. A dust storm was created near Lamont by the gusty winds with near-zero visibility. Gusts between 35-45 mph continued over the central and southern San Joaquin Valley continued on February 7th, and sustained wind speeds of 53 mph near Pine Mountain Club in the Tehachapi Mountains.

On the afternoon of the 6th, strong winds in the Bakersfield area caused blowing dust. Winds estimated around 35 mph at around 545 pm caused blowing dust and a school bus and big rig collided at Fairfax Road and Panorama Boulevard in Bakersfield due to blowing dust.

On the morning of the 7th, strong winds knocked down power poles in both the Fresno and Bakersfield areas.

Clouds associated with the trough spread over the San Joaquin Valley on the 7th and kept night-time temperatures mild. Both Bakersfield and Fresno set record high minimum temperatures for the date of 53 degrees, with the low at Meadows Field occurring only 25 minutes before midnight.

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 Feb 6, 5:52 AM PST, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 5:52 AM PST, 3 hours 8 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
552 AM PST MON FEB 6 2012

.SYNOPSIS...
AFTER MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES TONIGHT...CLOUDS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE
ON MONDAY...AND THEN GUSTY WINDS...LIGHT RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW
ARE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE REGION TUESDAY DUE TO AN APPROACHING
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY AND THE
REST OF NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE RETURNS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...LOOKS LIKE I MAY HAVE TO EAT CROW ON THIS ONE. AFTER
SEVERAL DAYS OF FOLLOWING THE DRIER MODELS...THEY TURNED ON ME AND
NOW ALL...ECMWF/GEM/GFS/NAM...PRODCE SOME LIGHT PRECIP ACROSS
CENTRAL CA. BEST CHANCE AND MOST QPF WILL STILL BE ALONG AND WEST
OF THE I-5 CORRIDOR...BUT MOST EVERYONE SHOULD GET SOME LIGHT
AMOUNTS. THE EXCEPTION BEING THE FAR SOUTH END OF THE SJV WHERE
RAINSHADOW WILL BE IN PLACE...AT LEAST UNTIL SOUTH WINDS DIE OFF
TUES AFTERNOON OR EVE. SPEAKING OF WINDS...GFS AND NAM SHOW STRONG
LOW LEVEL SUBSIDENCE DEVELOPING FROM THE TEHACHAPI MTNS INTO THE
FAR SOUTH END OF THE SJV. MOST VULNERABLE TO STRONG WIND GUSTS
WILL BE I-5 OVER THE GRAPEVINE TO THE JUNCTION OF HWY 99. GUSTS
COULD APPROACH 70 MPH AT TIMES TOWARD DAYBREAK TUES...ESP
WINDPRONE AREAS THRU AND BELOW NORTH FACING PASSES AND CANYONS.

HIGH CLOUDS WILL BE ON A SLOW INCREASE TODAY...HOWEVER SOUTHERLY
FLOW SHOULD SOMEWHAT OFFSET THIS...AND TEMPS TODAY WILL CONT WELL
ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGE. TEMPS WILL BE CLOSER TO NORMAL TUES MOST
AREAS...THE EXCEPTION BEING THE SOUTH END OF THE VALLEY WHERE
DOWNSLOPE WILL LINGER ONE MORE DAY. PRECIP SHOULD BEGIN LATE
TONITE OR EARLY TUES ON THE FAR WEST SIDE OF THE SJV...GRADUALLY
SPREADING EAST TO THE SIERRA DURING THE DAY. QPF VALUES WILL RANGE
FROM A QUARTER OF AN INCH ALONG AND WEST OF I-5...TO A TENTH OF AN
INCH OR LESS REMAINDER OF THE AREA. THE HIGHEST QPF VALUES ARE
LIKELY IN THE WESTERN TEHACHAPI MTNS WHERE STRONGEST UPSLOPE ALONG
THE COAST RANGES COULD PRODUCE A HALF TO ONE INCH IN THE CUDDY
VALLEY/FRAZIER PARK AREA. SNOWFALL IN THE SIERRA WILL BE LIGHT AND
GENERALLY IN THE 1-3 INCH RANGE ABOVE 7000-8000 FT. SNOW IN THE
KERN COUNTY MTNS WILL BE CONFINED TO THE HIGHER PEAKS AND NO
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IS EXPECTED.

THE UPPER LOW WILL BE SOUTHEAST OF THE REGION TUES NIGHT AS IT
MIGRATES TOWARD NORTHERN OR CENTRAL BAJA CA. PRECIP WILL END AND
SHOULD MOSTLY BE OVER WITH BY MDNT. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK
A HIGH AMPLITUDE UPPER RIDGE WILL QUICKLY REBUILD OVER THE WEST.
THIS WILL AGAIN BRING A MODEST WARMING TREND. SHORTWAVE TROFS WILL
FLATTEN THE RIDGE OVER THE WEEKEND...BUT AT THIS TIME IT LOOKS
LIKE ANY PRECIP WILL BE NORTH OF THIS FCST AREA THRU AT LEAST SUN.

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR
THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY. STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS GUSTING TO 35 KNOTS
OR GREATER WILL DEVELOP OVER THE GRAPEVINE AND AT THE SOUTH END OF
THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY BY 06Z TUESDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON PST TUESDAY
CAZ091-092-095.

&&

PUBLIC...BINGHAM
AVN/FW...DURFEE
SYNOPSIS...ANDERSEN

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 6, 5:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
530 AM PST MON FEB 6 2012

CAZ091-092-095-071330-
SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
530 AM PST MON FEB 6 2012

...HIGH WIND WARNING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NORTH AND WEST FACING
SLOPES OF THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS AND THE FAR SOUTHERN PORTION OF
THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM PST TONIGHT UNTIL
NOON PST WEDNESDAY. SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS INCREASING TO 35 TO
45 MPH WITH POSSIBLE GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH NEAR RIDGE TOPS. PLEASE
REFER TO WWUS76 SFONPWHNX FOR MORE INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST WEDNESDAY. SOUTH
TO SOUTHEAST WINDS INCREASING TO 35 TO 45 MPH WITH POSSIBLE GUSTS
UP TO 70 MPH NEAR RIDGE TOPS. PLEASE REFER TO WWUS76 SFONPWHNX FOR
MORE INFORMATION.

.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.

ANDERSEN

Event by event

4 strong wind, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: February 6, 9:00 AM PST to February 7, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Strong Wind, Se S.J. Valley

When: February 6, 3:42 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: Se S.J. Valley forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: February 6, 5:48 PM PST to February 7, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind, W Central S.J. Valley

When: February 7, 2:27 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
Where: W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Strong Wind, Sw S.J. Valley

When: February 7, 2:27 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
Where: Sw S.J. Valley forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
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

Dense Fog in Virginia, February 6, 20122 events

Every storm in California in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in California, February 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: 367958, 367959, 367955, 367956, 367957.