High Wind in California, April 5 to 8, 2013

Name: High Wind in California, April 5 to 8, 2013
Start: 2013-04-05T22:00
End: 2013-04-08T22:00
Location: California

April 5 to 8, 2013 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $20,000
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.

April began with an upper-level low tracking eastward across the central California interior. This system, which brought thunderstorms to the region the last two days of March, kept temperatures near average on April 1st. Showers developed over the Temblors and Diablo Range, bringing light rain to parts of the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, and showers also developed along the Southern Sierra Nevada. A tenth of an inch of rain fell at Bodfish, southwest of Lake Isabella, while well to the north, 0.06 inch of rain fell at Ponderosa Basin in Mariposa County.

As the low moved into the Great Basin, an upper-level ridge moved onshore, bringing a short-lived warming trend. Temperatures warmed over the northern parts of the San Joaquin Valley on the 2nd, then over the whole region of the 3rd. However, this was the last day of above-normal temperatures as the next Pacific storm rode over the ridge, pushing the ridge back over the Pacific Ocean.

The night of April 3rd-4th saw an upper-level trough along the California coast. A fetch of subtropical moisture pushed north along the leading edge of the trough and into the west side of the central California interior. Moderate showers developed over the northern half of the San Joaquin Valley, with a sharp fall-off in rain from Madera to Fresno. The Madera Municipal Airport recorded 0.55 inch of rain, while the Fresno-Yosemite International Airport only recorded 0.06 inch of rain.

This moisture moved east across the region as the low pressure system tracked toward the coast, with light showers reaching the Southern Sierra Nevada by the afternoon of the 4th. Clouds associated with this moisture, as well as the subtropical nature of the airmass, kept overnight temperatures well above normal. Fresno tied its record high minimum temperature for April 4th of 57 degrees.

Gusty winds developed across the Kern County mountains and deserts in the wake of the low. Winds gusted as high as 65 mph at Mojave, and the strongest winds of the event were from Jawbone Canyon to the Mojave area. A series of upper-level disturbances riding a westerly flow aloft kept these gusty winds going afternoons and evenings through April 7th.

Another storm system moved into northern California on April 7th, and dropped south during the day and evening. Precipitation was light, with 0.03 inch of rain falling at the Fresno-Yosemite International Airport, and 0.02 inch at the Madera Municipal and Merced Regional Airports. In contrast to the storm of April 4th which left the south end of the San Joaquin Valley dry, this storm brought measurable rain throughout the Valley. Of the major cities, Bakersfield had the highest rainfall, with 0.05 inch falling at Meadows Field.

The highest rainfall amounts were in the Southern Sierra Nevada. Yosemite Village had 0.71 inch of rain, and Isabella Dam had 0.57 inch. Ponderosa Basin had 0.29 inch of rain, Mountain Mesa reported 0.21 inch, and 0.39 inch fell at Glennville. Snow fell on the higher elevations, with an inch of new snow falling on Ponderosa (elevation 7200 feet in Tulare County). A couple of thunderstorms developed over the Southern Sierra Nevada during the morning of the 8th.

The storm brought very strong winds to the central California interior. Winds gusted to 75 mph at Mojave, 66 mph at Rosamond, 46 mph at Naval Air Station Lemoore and 39 mph at Fresno.

A cold airmass associated with the storm dropped high temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley into the mid 60s to around 70 on April 8th.

A high pressure ridge built into California from the Pacific Ocean beginning on April 9th. This high brought several degrees of warming to the region, with the warmest temperatures on the 12th and 13th. Bakersfield saw its high temperatures rise from 64 on April 8th to 84 on the 12th, and a degree warmer the next day.

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 5, 9:03 PM PST, 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 9:03 PM PST, 57 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1003 PM PDT FRI APR 5 2013

.UPDATE...
ADJUSTED A FEW SPOT TEMPERATURES AS MOST LOCALES RUNNING A BIT
COOLER THAN 24 HOURS AGO. THE ONE EXCEPTION IS THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS IN THE SIERRA. INCREASED CLOUD COVER TOWARDS KERN
COUNTY FOR TONIGHT.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
MIDDLE AND HIGH CLOUDS EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS DUE TO
WEAK HIGH PRESSURE. WINDY CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO PERSIST OVER THE
KERN COUNTY DESERT THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS WELL. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY OVER THE NORTHERN FORECAST REGION AS
A FAST MOVING WEAK SYSTEM BRUSHES BY THE AREA.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
MOST LOCALES RUNNING A BIT COOLER THAN 24 HOURS AGO. EXCEPT FOR
THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS IN THE SIERRA. HAVE ADJUSTED A FEW SPOT
TEMPERATURES A BIT LOWER. SOME CLOUD COVER FORMING THIS EVENING
OVER KERN COUNTY THIS EVENING. A MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW WILL LIKELY
RESULT IN UPSLOPE CLOUDS REDEVELOPING TOWARDS THE SOUTH END OF THE
VALLEY AND NW FACING SLOPES OF THE TEHACHAPIS OVERNIGHT.

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...ISSUED AT /255 PM PDT FRI APR 5 2013/ A
BRISK WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL RESIDE OVER CENTRAL CA
THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH DRY WEATHER PREVAILING THROUGH AT LEAST
SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THIS IS A PATTERN THAT FAVORS LOW CLOUDS TO BANK
UP ALONG WINDWARD FACING SLOPES...MUCH AS THEY ARE THIS AFTN. SO
RESIDENTS IN THE SIERNEV FOOTHILLS AND ON THE VALLEY SIDE OF THE
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS WILL HAVE TO GET USED TO SEEING THEM EACH
NIGHT AND MORNING THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SUNSHINE WILL BE A REAL
BONUS IN THESE AREAS DURING THE NEXT 2-3 DAYS. EVEN THE REMAINDER
OF THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR WILL BE PERIODICALLY VISITED BY MID AND
HIGH CLOUDS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. HIGH CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK
COLD FRONT CURRENTLY OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC ARE STREAMING INTO
THE DISTRICT THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO DURING THE
NEXT 24 TO 36 HRS EVEN THOUGH THE COLD FRONT ITSELF WASHES OUT
OVER THE CWA SATURDAY MORNING. ON SUNDAY...A HEALTHY SHORT WAVE
TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO THE PAC NW THEN TRACK SOUTHEASTWARD INTO THE
GREAT BASIN SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. THE MODELS DISAGREE ON THE
EXACT TRACK OF THIS SYSTEM LATE IN THE WEEKEND. THE GFS...NAM AND
GEM SOLNS TRACK THIS TROUGH AS AN INSIDE SLIDER SUNDAY NIGHT AND
MONDAY WHILE THE ECM AND SREF FORECAST A TRACK FARTHER WEST. IF
THE ECM AND SREF SOLNS END UP BEING RIGHT...MUCH OF THE CENTRAL CA
INTERIOR WILL BE SHOWERY AND UNSETTLED DURING THIS TIME...PARTICULARLY
OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THIS AGREES WITH THE LATEST QPF FROM HPC.
HOWEVER...THE REMAINING SOLNS ARE DRY DURING THE SUNDAY
NIGHT/MONDAY PERIODS. UNTIL THE MODELS COME INTO BETTER
AGREEMENT...WILL LEAVE THE FORECAST UNCHANGED FOR NOW WITH SLIGHT
CHANCE POPS IN THE VALLEY AND MOUNTAIN ZONES SUNDAY NIGHT AND
MONDAY. REGARDLESS OF THE EXACT OF THIS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH...ONE
THING IS CERTAIN. A MUCH COOLER AIRMASS WILL SETTLE INTO THE CWA
BY THE START OF NEXT WEEK. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER TO 5K FEET IN
THE SOUTHERN SIERRA EARLY MONDAY MORNING AND MIN TEMPS COULD BE AS
LOW AS THE MID 30S IN THE COLDEST WIND SHELTERED LOCATIONS OF THE
SJ VLY BY TUE MORNING.

MEANWHILE...ONSHORE GRADIENTS WILL REMAIN MODERATELY ROBUST THROUGH
MONDAY...INCREASING SLIGHTLY EACH DAY THROUGH THE PERIOD. THIS WILL
SUPPORT STRONG WINDS THROUGH AND BELOW THE MOUNTAIN PASSES OF KERN
COUNTY...ESPECIALLY DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS.
EVEN THE WEST SIDE OF THE SJ VLY MAY BE SUBJECTED TO STRONG AND
GUSTY WINDS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND AGAIN MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
THE FLOW ALOFT WILL VEER TO A NORTHERLY DIRECTION BY TUESDAY AND
FEED DRIER BUT STILL RATHER COOL AIR INTO THE CWA.

A BIG WARMUP IS SLATED FOR THE MID TO LATER PART OF NEXT WEEK AS
A HIGH AMPLITUDE EPAC RIDGE BUILDS INTO CA. WEDNESDAY...THURSDAY
AND NEXT FRIDAY WILL BECOME TOASTY IN THE SJ VLY...LOWER FOOTHILLS
AND THE KERN COUNTY DESERT WITH MAXIMUM TEMPS EACH DAY SOLIDLY IN
THE 80S.

&&

&&

.AVIATION...
EXPECT AREAS OF MVFR AND LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS IN UPSLOPE CLOUDS
ALONG TERRAIN ADJACENT TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...OTHERWISE VFR
CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR.
LOOK FOR PERIODS OF GUSTY NORTHWESTERLY SURFACE WINDS UP TO AROUND
55 KT THROUGH AND BELOW MOUNTAIN PASSES...WITH POSSIBLE REDUCED
VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING DUST.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS MEDIUM.
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS LOW.

THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED AS PART OF A TRIAL PROJECT CONDUCTED
BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD.
CERTAINTY LEVELS INCLUDE LOW...MEDIUM...AND HIGH. PLEASE VISIT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HNX/CERTAINTY.PHP /ALL LOWER CASE/ FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND/OR TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK.

&&

.CLIMATE...
             RECORDS
SITE DATE    HI_MAX:YEAR LO_MAX:YEAR HI_MIN:YEAR LO_MIN:YEAR

KFAT 04-05       92:1971     53:1929     58:2007     34:1895
KFAT 04-06       92:1989     51:1982     58:1939     36:1964
KFAT 04-07       94:1989     49:1999     58:1939     32:1982

KBFL 04-05       95:1971     55:2006     61:2007     34:1914
KBFL 04-06       96:1989     55:1943     61:1960     35:1929
KBFL 04-07       96:1989     50:1919     64:1909     30:1929
&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY CAZ095-099.

&&

PUBLIC...MV
AVN/FW...DUDLEY
PREV DISCUSSION...DURFEE
SYNOPSIS...WP

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 5, 9:42 PM PST, 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1042 PM PDT FRI APR 5 2013

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

1035 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 NE MOJAVE             35.07N 118.15W
04/05/2013  M60 MPH          KERN               CA   AWOS

            REPORTED AT AWOS STATION MHV

&&

IRIS SYSTEM

Local storm report, Apr 5, 9:50 PM PST, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1050 PM PDT FRI APR 5 2013

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

1041 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 E MOJAVE              35.06N 118.15W
04/05/2013  M59 MPH          KERN               CA   MESONET

            REPORTED AT APRSWXNET STATION AT407

&&

IRIS SYSTEM

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: April 5, 10:00 PM PST to April 8, 10:00 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: April 8, 4:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

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 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in California, April 2013

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: 510120, 510114.