Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert
- When
- March 19, 12:00 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind in California, March 19, 2013
With abundant ground water, patchy dense fog developed in parts of the central and southern San Joaquin Valley. This was not unexpected, as climatologically March 8th-10th marks the end of the dense fog season.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
With abundant ground water, patchy dense fog developed in parts of the central and southern San Joaquin Valley. This was not unexpected, as climatologically March 8th-10th marks the end of the dense fog season. Dense fog developed in the Los Banos area during the morning of the 10th, with the visibility at the Los Banos Municipal Airport falling to less than a quarter mile.
The fog formed further south the next morning, with dense fog in the Selma to Hanford area. The morning of March 12th also saw some fog development, mainly west of the Highway 99 corridor.
Beginning on the 10th, the east Pacific ridge returned once again, bringing a warming trend to the region over the next several days. By the 13th, temperatures reached around 15-20 degrees above average. In fact, Fresno set a new record high temperature of 85 degrees on the 13th; this beat the old record of 84 degrees set back in 2007. Another record high temperature was broken on the 14th in Fresno. The observed high was 84 degrees, and this broke the former record of 83 degrees set back in 2007. Bakersfield tied its second warmest March 14th on record with a high of 85 degrees.
An upper-level disturbance brought high clouds to the region on March 15th, as well as gusty winds to the Kern County mountains and deserts. Another disturbance brought another round of gusty winds to the higher terrain of Kern County during the late evening of March 16th and the early morning of the 17th; Jawbone Canyon had a gust to 59 mph shortly after midnight. Winds redeveloped the following night, but were not quite as strong.
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 Mar 18, 8:42 PM PST, 3 hours 18 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 18, 8:42 PM PST, 3 hours 18 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
942 PM PDT MON MAR 18 2013
.UPDATE...
HAVE INCREASED CLOUD COVER TONIGHT AND TUESDAY AND ADDED A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS NEAR THE CREST LATE TONIGHT.
&&
.SYNOPSIS...
PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
EXPECTED THROUGH TUESDAY. A FAST MOVING STORM WILL REACH THE
REGION LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...INCREASING
THE CHANCES FOR SOME VALLEY AND FOOTHILL RAIN SHOWERS AND SNOW TO
THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS ALONG WITH THE KERN
COUNTY DESERT AREAS COULD ALSO SEE WINDY CONDITIONS WITH THIS SYSTEM.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
OUR NEXT WEATHER MAKER IS STREAMING ABUNDANT MID AND HIGH CLOUDS
OUT AHEAD ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST.
CLOUD COVER IS FILLING IN ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA THIS EVENING
AND HAVE INCREASED OUR SKY COVER FORECAST AS A RESULT. WITH THE
ADDED CLOUDINESS HAVE BUMPED TEMPS A COUPLE OF DEGREES OVERNIGHT
AND DROPPED A COUPLE DEGREES ACROSS THE NORTHERN SECTORS FOR
TOMORROW. SOME WEAK ECHOES...MAINLY VERGA...ARE ALSO MOVING
ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST ATTM. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME
WEAK WARM ADVECTION SHOWERS DEVELOP IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA LATE
TONIGHT SO HAVE ADDED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS THERE.
THE MAIN IMPACT FROM THIS APPROACHING STORM WILL BE LIGHT PRECIP
AND GUSTY WINDS. THE FAR SOUTH VALLEY MAY BE COMPLETELY RAIN
SHADOWED ALTHOUGH FRESNO COUNTY NORTH SHOULD STILL SEE A DECENT
WETTING RAIN. SNOWFALL WILL BE RELEGATED TO 6500 FEET AND HIGHER
WITH POSSIBLY AROUND A HALF FOOT OF NEW SNOW MAINLY FROM KINGS
CANYON TO YOSEMITE. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE STILL LIKELY LATE
WEDNESDAY...HOWEVER THE LATEST NAM FORECAST IS GENERATING SOME
VERY STRONG WINDS...AROUND 65 KNOTS AT 700 MB...ACROSS KERN COUNTY
TUESDAY NIGHT. WILL ADVISE THE NEXT SHIFT TO LOOK AT THIS FURTHER
AND CONSIDER INCREASING OUR WIND FORECAST IN KERN COUNTY FOR
TUESDAY NIGHT IF NECESSARY. THAT SAID WED AFTN AND NGT STILL LOOK
TO BRING THE STRONGER WINDS POSSIBLY IN THE 50-60 MPH RANGE ACROSS
THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS.
&&
.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.
&&
.PREV DISC... /ISSUED 308 PM PDT MON MAR 18 2013/
DISCUSSION...A COUPLE OF LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS IN THE EPAC WILL
USHER IN INCREASING MID AND UPPER LEVEL SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE TOWARDS
CALIFORNIA TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. THE INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER
SHOULD KEEP TEMPERATURE A BIT WARMER TONIGHT AND A TAD COOLER
TUESDAY. MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM. MODELS
TRENDING TOWARDS LOWER QPF AMOUNTS WITH THIS STORM SYSTEM.
POSSIBLE RAIN AMOUNTS AROUND A TENTH OF AN INCH TOWARDS MERCED
COUNTY WITH LITTLE AMOUNTS TOWARDS KERN COUNTY. THE HIGHER SNOW
AMOUNTS IN THE SIERRA MAY ACCUMULATE TOWARDS TUOLUMNE MEADOWS
SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN RELATIVELY HIGH PERHAPS 6-7KFT
WITH THE COLDER AIR PUSHING THROUGH NCAL AND THE GREAT BASIN.
A COUPLE OF WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL AFFECT MUCH OF WEST COAST THROUGH MID
WEEK. AN INITIAL UPPER-LEVEL LOW OFF THE NCAL COAST WILL MOVE NE
TOWARDS THE PAC NW TUESDAY. THE THREAT OF RAIN SHOULD BEGIN
TUESDAY NIGHT IN YOSEMITE AND MERCED AREA AND CONTINUE WEDNESDAY.
THE STRONGER DYNAMICS WILL BE FOCUSED TOWARDS NCAL WITH SOME
OROGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT OVER THE SIERRA FROM MODERATE WSW WINDS.
PRECIPITATION SHOULD DIMINISH WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA REMAINING IN BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS. THE A COLDER LOW
WILL MOVE THROUGH NCAL INTO THE GREAT BASIN WHILE ANOTHER LOW
DIVES TOWARDS SOCAL AND BAJA. STRONG ONSHORE PRESSURE GRADIENTS
WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG
GUSTY WINDS ACROSS THE SIERRA AS WELL AS THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A RIDGE IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP OFF THE
CALIFORNIA COAST BEHIND THE TROUGH. SHORT-WAVES DROPPING INTO THE
TROUGH ARE FORECAST TO KEEP THE RIDGE OVER THE OCEAN THROUGH
SATURDAY NIGHT...AND THEN THE RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE STATE FOR THE
FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.
&&
.CERTAINTY...
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH.
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS HIGH.
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 03-18 87:2004 50:1991 57:1910 32:1898
KFAT 03-19 86:1928 50:1894 58:1916 32:1898
KFAT 03-20 89:1960 52:1897 59:1896 33:1982
KBFL 03-18 92:2004 51:1919 58:2004 23:1900
KBFL 03-19 90:1928 49:1919 60:1934 31:1903
KBFL 03-20 93:2004 52:1919 59:1909 32:1935
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...BROTHERTON
AVN/FW...JDB
PREV DISCUSSION...MV
SYNOPSIS...ANDERSEN
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORDHazardous weather outlook, Mar 18, 3:57 AM PST, 20 hours 3 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 457 AM PDT MON MAR 18 2013 CAZ095-099-181300- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 457 AM PDT MON MAR 18 2013 ...WIND ADVISORY HAS EXPIRED... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. SANGER WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Mar 18, 8:29 PM PST, 3 hours 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 929 PM PDT MON MAR 18 2013 CAZ095-098-099-191230- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 929 PM PDT MON MAR 18 2013 ...MIDWEEK WEATHER SYSTEM TO BRING STRONG WINDS TO KERN COUNTY... A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE WEST COAST TOMORROW AND MOVE INTO THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING STRONG WINDS TO THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE LIKELY WEDNESDAY EVENING WITH GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST MAY ALSO DEVELOP...REDUCING VISIBILITY AND CAUSING TRAVEL DIFFICULTY. STAY TUNED TO LATER FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE ALERTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. CAZ096-097-191230- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 929 PM PDT MON MAR 18 2013 ...ACCUMULATING SNOW AND STRONG WINDS TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT... A FAST MOVING PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING MODERATE PRECIPITATION TO THE REGION ALONG WITH STRONG WINDS. THE BEST CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE NORTH OF SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHERE 3 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ABOVE 6500 FEET. IN ADDITION...GUSTY WINDS OF 60 TO 70 MPH ARE EXPECTED IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND NEAR THE SIERRA CREST. JMB WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Local storm report, Mar 18, 10:59 PM PST, 1 hour 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1159 PM PDT MON MAR 18 2013
...TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
...DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1152 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 5 NW MOJAVE 35.11N 118.24W
03/18/2013 M51 MPH KERN CA MESONET
REPORTED AT APRSWXNET STATION AU563
&&
IRIS SYSTEMLocal storm report, Mar 18, 11:03 PM PST, 57 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
1203 AM PDT TUE MAR 19 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1053 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 13 NW CALIFORNIA CITY 35.30N 118.00W
03/18/2013 M49 MPH KERN CA OFFICIAL NWS OBS
AT JAWBONE CANYON SP VISITOR CENTER.
&&
BSOEvent by event
3 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- March 19, 12:00 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Strong Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- March 19, 12:00 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Mesonet
What these are
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Kentucky, March 19 to 24, 2013
- Lake-Effect Snow in New York, March 19 to 21, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, March 19 to 20, 2013
- Heavy Snow and Damaging Winds in Washington, March 19 to 20, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, March 19 to 20, 2013
- High Wind in West Virginia, March 19, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Maine, March 19 to 20, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Maine, March 19 to 20, 2013
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 19 to 20, 2013
- Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, March 19 to 20, 2013
- Flooding in Illinois, March 19 to 27, 2013
- Drought in Texas, March 19 to 31, 2013
More
Every storm in California in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 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: 442680, 442681, 442682.