California, 2013High Wind in California, December 29, 2013
December 29, 2013 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone
There was one last round of north to northeast winds to end the year with 1036 mb surface high pressure rebuilding over Utah on the 29th, resulting in a 25 mb pressure gradient from Salt Lake City to San Diego. This event was not as widespread as those earlier in the month.
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.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
There was one last round of north to northeast winds to end the year with 1036 mb surface high pressure rebuilding over Utah on the 29th, resulting in a 25 mb pressure gradient from Salt Lake City to San Diego. This event was not as widespread as those earlier in the month. The highest winds occurred where mountain waves surfaced below the Cajon pass and the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills.
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 Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 29, 3:33 AM PST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 29, 3:33 AM PST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
333 AM PST SUN DEC 29 2013
.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE GREAT BASIN TODAY WILL CREATE
GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS IN THE USUAL PRONE AREAS. STRONGEST WINDS ARE
LIKELY BELOW THE CAJON PASS AND THROUGH THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAIN
PASSES AND CANYONS. WINDS WILL DIMINISH SUNDAY EVENING..BUT REMAIN
BREEZY SUNDAY NIGHT. NEARLY STATIONARY HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT OVER THE
SOUTHWEST WILL CONTINUE TO CREATE UNSEASONABLY WARM...DRY WEATHER
THROUGH FRIDAY...WITH SLIGHTLY COOLER WEATHER EXPECTED NEXT WEEKEND.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
AT 2 AM PST...WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY DISPLAYED AN UPPER-
LEVEL TROUGH STRETCHING FROM CENTRAL COLORADO TO CENTRAL BAJA
CALIFORNIA...AND AN UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE CENTERED AROUND 400 MILES SW
OF SAN FRANCISCO. FOG SATELLITE SHOWED PATCHY FOG OVER THE COASTAL
WATERS...AND OVER NW ORANGE COUNTY. OFFSHORE PRESSURE GRADIENTS
WERE INCREASING...WITH -9.2 MB SAN DIEGO TO TONOPAH AND -3.9 MB
FROM SAN DIEGO TO EDWARDS AFB. WINDS WERE GUSTING FROM THE NE AT
46 MPH AT SANTIAGO PEAK AND FROM THE NNE AT 33 MPH IN SAN BERNARDINO.
PATCHY FOG ALONG THE COAST WILL CLEAR OUT TO THE COASTAL WATERS BY
LATE THIS MORNING. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD
OVER NE NEVADA TODAY...CREATING GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS IN THE
FAVORED WINDY LOCATIONS...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS THROUGH CANYONS
AND PASSES IN ORANGE AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. NE WIND GUSTS
AROUND 60 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE...WITH GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH EXPECTED
IN WINDY LOCATIONS IN SAN DIEGO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES. STRONGER
WINDS REACHING UP TO 850 MB WILL SUPPORT GUSTIER CONDITIONS IN THE
LOCATIONS WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. THE HIGH WIND WARNING AND WIND
ADVISORY CURRENTLY IN EFFECT WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM THIS EVENING.
ALTHOUGH WINDS WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH THIS EVENING...BREEZY
CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY NIGHT.
UPPER-LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE REGION AND WEAK SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE OVER THE GREAT BASIN WILL CREATE WEAK OFFSHORE FLOW
ACROSS THE CWA THROUGHOUT THE WEEK...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...AND HIGH
TEMPERATURES AROUND 5 TO 10 DEGREES F ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH FRIDAY.
BY LATE FRIDAY...THE 29/0000 UTC ECMWF AND GFS ARE IN GENERAL
AGREEMENT WITH THE UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE BEGINNING TO BREAK DOWN...AND
HEIGHTS FALLING OVER CA AS A POTENTIAL TROUGH MOVES ACROSS SW CA
NEXT WEEKEND. ONLY THE ECMWF IS HINTING AT A SMALL AMOUNT OF
PRECIPITATION...WITH THE OTHER MODELS REMAINING DRY. FOR NOW...KEPT
PRECIP OUT OF THE FORECAST. EITHER WAY...NEAR NORMAL HIGH TEMPS
WITH A RETURN OF THE MARINE LAYER STRATUS LOOKS LIKELY FOR NEXT
WEEKEND.
&&
.AVIATION...
291045Z...PATCHY LOW CLOUDS AND DENSE FOG ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST
WILL SLOWLY PUSH OFFSHORE THIS MORNING. AREAS CIGS AOB 500 FT MSL
AND VSBY 1SM OR LESS LIKELY TO CONTINUE IN NORTHERN ORANGE COUNTY
THROUGH ABOUT 15Z. OTHERWISE CLEAR WITH UNRESTRICTED VSBY THROUGH
MONDAY MORNING.
NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS 15-25KT WITH SFC GUSTS 35-50 KT WILL DEVELOP
12-15Z AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON. ASSOCIATED STG-SVR
UDDFS AND LLWS POSSIBLE OVER AND WEST OF THE MTNS...INCLUDING VCNTY
KONT...KSNA...KPSP...AND KTRM. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN IN THE
LATE AFTERNOON...DIMINISHING LATE TONIGHT.
&&
.MARINE...
A SERIES OF LONG PERIOD WEST-NORTHWEST SWELLS WILL GENERATE STRONG
RIP CURRENTS AND SURF OF 3 TO 5 FT WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER SETS AT
FAVORED LOCATIONS. SWELL AND SURF WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY. RIP CURRENTS WILL BE STRONGEST IN THE MORNING THROUGH
EARLY AFTERNOON WHEN THE TIDE IS FALLING.
MORNING HIGH TIDES MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WILL BE ABOVE 7
FEET...PEAKING WED AT 7.5 FEET. THE HIGH TIDES COMBINED WITH
ELEVATED SURF MAY RESULT IN MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW AT LOW-LYING BEACH
AREAS AND BEACH PARKING LOTS.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
DRY AND GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS WILL INCREASE TODAY IN THE FAVORED
WINDY LOCATIONS...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS EXPECTED IN SAN
BERNARDINO AND ORANGE COUNTIES. NE WIND GUSTS AROUND 60 MPH WILL
BE POSSIBLE...WITH GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH FORECAST IN THE USUAL WINDY
LOCATIONS OF RIVERSIDE AND SAN DIEGO COUNTIES. WINDS WILL SLIGHTLY
DIMINISH THIS EVENING...BUT REMAIN BREEZY OVERNIGHT SUNDAY.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL LOWER CLOSE TO THE SINGLE DIGITS FOR
THE BEGINNING PART OF THE WEEK...WITH SLOW RECOVERY BY NEXT
WEEKEND. ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT
THE WEEK.
NO ISSUANCE OF FIRE WEATHER PRODUCTS IS ANTICIPATED...DUE TO
FUEL MOISTURE CONDITIONS PER COORDINATION WITH FIRE AGENCIES.
&&
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR THE COACHELLA
VALLEY...RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY
MOUNTAINS.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR THE ORANGE
COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND
EMPIRE...SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC/FIRE...JJT
AVIATION/MARINE...SSHigh Wind, Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills
- When
- December 29, 5:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills forecast zone
- Measured
- 68 kt (78 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
- Coordinates
- 33.483, -116.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High winds began at the Pleasants Peak mesonet between 0500-0530 PST and ended between 1100-1130 PST on the 29th. During this time, winds were out of the northeast and east-northeast with gusts over 60 mph and several over 70 mph. The peak gust of 78 mph was measured twice between 0700-0900 PST.|High winds began at the Fremont Canyon RAWS between 0551-0651 PST and ended between 1051-1151 PST on the 29th. During this time, winds were out of the east-northeast sustained around 40 mph with a peak gust of 70 mph was measured twice between 0751-0851 PST.
- 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.
- Winter Weather in Texas, December 29, 20131 death · 5 injured · $50,000 · 1 event
- Winter Storm in Vermont, December 29 to 30, 2013$30,000 · 3 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Hawaii, December 29 to 31, 2013$5,000 · 0.75 in hail · 13 events
- High Wind in Wyoming, December 29 to 30, 201350 kt wind · 13 events
- Cold in Nebraska, December 29, 20139 events
- Heavy Snow in Maine, December 29 to 30, 20137 events
- Heavy Snow in Maine, December 29 to 30, 20135 events
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, December 29, 20134 events
- Strong Wind in New Jersey, December 29, 2013$10,000 · 4 events
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, December 29 to 30, 20134 events
- Cold in Iowa, December 29, 20133 events
- High Wind in California, December 29, 201376 kt wind · 3 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: 489661.