Winter Storm and High Wind in California, April 25 to 26, 2014

Name: Winter Storm and High Wind in California, April 25 to 26, 2014
Start: 2014-04-25T05:00
End: 2014-04-26T02:00
Location: California

April 25 to 26, 2014 · NWS HNX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $600,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

The storm that moved into northern California during the evening of April 24th brought thunderstorms to the northern part of the state. This was an indicator of the highly unstable airmass accompanying the storm. Thunderstorms developed over central California around midday and had strengthened to near severe levels by the middle of the afternoon. Three Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued by WFO Hanford on the 25th, two of which were for a particularly long-lasting storm. Eleven Significant Weather Advisories were issued for non-severe thunderstorms due to the threats of hail and strong outflow winds. Hail estimated at al least a half inch in diameter was reported from these storms, as were wind damage and at least two funnel clouds. The thunderstorms brought appreciable rains to Fresno, giving the city its fourth wettest April 25th on record (0.55 inch; wettest is 0.93 inch in 1952). Bakersfield had a storm total of 0.36 inch. This brought its monthly total to 0.50 inch, just under the average rainfall for April of 0.52 inch. The rainfall from this storm ensured that neither Bakersfield nor Fresno would have its driest rain season on record, although conditions for the season remained much below normal.

A very cold airmass moved into central California behind the cold front. By late on April 25th, snow was being reported down to the 3800-foot elevation, and storm-total snow estimates were as high as 25 inches in the high country of the Southern Sierra Nevada, and up to 3.5 inches in the Tehachapi Mountains. High temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley on the 26th were only in the 60s, compared to the mid 80s only a week earlier.

Very strong winds developed during the afternoon of April 25th in eastern Kern County. Particularly strong gusts of wind struck a semi truck trailer around 3 PM in the afternoon and caused it to flip. There were then two additional flipped tractor trailers. The CHP closed US 395 as a result of the dangerous cross winds for high profile vehicles. Winds were estimated at 60-70 mph at the time of the event.

An upper-level ridge built along the coast during the last days of April. Temperatures warmed to near normal by April 28th, and continued warming through the end of the month. The last day of the month saw high temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley reach the low to mid 90s, or 10-15 degrees above normal.

April 2014 tied for the fifth warmest April on record for Fresno. For Bakersfield, April tied for the 14th warmest April on record; one of the Aprils it tied with was from last year.

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 25, 2:10 AM PST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 25, 2:10 AM PST, 2 hours 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
310 AM PDT FRI APR 25 2014

.SYNOPSIS...
A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO AND ACROSS THE REGION LATE
TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY BRINGING MOUNTAIN SNOW AND LOWER ELEVATION
RAIN SHOWERS ALONG WITH GUSTY WINDS. SOME THUNDER IS ALSO POSSIBLE
ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND SIERRA NEVADA
FOOTHILLS. BEGINNING SUNDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL START TO MOVE IN
BRINGING A RETURN TO DRY AND WARMING CONDITIONS FOR NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
PACIFIC STORM PUSHING INTO CALIFORNIA THIS MORNING. CURRENTLY...
REGIONAL DOPPLER RADAR MOSAIC/S WERE SHOWING THE PRECIP MOVING
INTO MERCED...MARIPOSA AND YOSEMITE NP. WHILE ONLY TRACE AMOUNTS
WERE BEING REPORTED ACROSS MERCED AND MARIPOSA THIS MORNING...
MEASURABLE AMOUNTS WILL BE OBSERVED AROUND THE YOSEMITE NP AREA
BEFORE DAY BREAK THIS MORNING. A COLD FRONT..CURRENTLY OVER THE
NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE DISTRICT...WILL PUSH SOUTH AND OVER
FRESNO COUNTY BY 5 AM PDT. THE COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
PUSHING INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THIS EVENING. SHORT RANGE MODELS
PROGGING THE BULK OF THE PRECIP MOVING SOUTH WITH THE COLD FRONT
DURING THE DAY. BEFORE 5 PM PDT...THE COLD FRONT WILL HAVE MOVED
FAR ENOUGH SOUTH TO ALLOW FOR SOME CLEARING OVER MERCED/MADERA AND
POSSIBLY FRESNO COUNTIES. MODELS ARE PROGGING AN AREA OF BETTER
INSTABILITY OVER THE AREA MENTIONED ABOVE BY 2 PM PDT. THEREFORE
...WILL KEEP A MENTION OF AFTERNOON CONVECTION OVER THE SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY UNTIL AROUND SUNSET.

250MB UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWING THE JET STREAM DIGGING SOUTH JUST
OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST. SATELLITE IR IMAGERY CONFIRMING THE
SOUTHERLY SURGE OF COLD AIR WHICH WILL INVADE THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR DURING THE DAY. THEREFORE...SNOW WILL BE
FALLING ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA...MOSTLY ABOVE 6000 FEET...WITH
HEAVIER SNOW FALL IN THE 7000 TO 8000 FEET LEVEL. THE STORM WILL
CONTINUE THROUGH OUT THE DAY AND INTO FRIDAY EVENING. WHILE THE
BULK OF THE SNOW WILL FALL DURING THE DAY ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA
RANGE...SNOW WILL LINGER INTO THE EVENING. AT WHICH TIME...THE
SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER TO NEAR 4000 FEET AS MODELS PROG A SURGE OF
COLD AIR PUSHING INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA WITH 850MB TEMPS AT
AROUND 0 DEG-C TOWARD SATURDAY MORNING. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES
WHICH CURRENTLY COVER THE SIERRA NEVADA RANGE...HAVE BEEN EXPANDED
TO COVER THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAIN ABOVE 4000 FEET FOR THE FRIDAY
NIGHT TO THE SATURDAY MORNING PERIOD. AGAIN...THIS IS BASED ON
COLD AIR DROPPING INTO THE AREA WHEN LINGERING PRECIP CONTINUES
AROUND THE SOUTH END OF THE DISTRICT. FURTHERMORE...MODELS ARE
SHOWING A SIGNIFICANT TEMPERATURE GRADIENT FROM FROM THE SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY TO THE MOJAVE DESERT. THEREFORE...SURFACE PRESSURE
GRADIENTS CONTINUE TO TIGHTEN...STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE
KERN MOUNTAINS AND ACROSS THE MOJAVE DESERT. WILL ALLOW THE WIND
ADVISORY TO REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR KERN COUNTY UNTIL THE COLD AIR
REACHES THE DESERT. TIMING FOR THIS EVENT IS AROUND SUNSET THIS
EVENING.

EXCEPT FOR LINGERING SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS THIS WEEKEND...
THE TREND IS A RETURN TO DRY AND CLEAR CONDITIONS. ENSEMBLES
SHOWING BETTER CERTAINTY WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRONG RIDGE
PATTERN TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THEREFORE...WILL TREND
TEMP/S TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL WITH LITTLE CHANGE GOING INTO THE END
OF THE WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION...
IFR CONDITIONS AND MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS DEVELOPING ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA BY 18Z FRIDAY AND OVER THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS
BY 00Z SATURDAY IN PRECIPITATION. AREAS MVFR AND LOCAL IFR WILL
DEVELOP OVER THE FOOTHILLS. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ELSEWHERE
ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
ADDITIONALLY...WINDS OF 35 KNOTS OR GREATER WILL OCCUR ALONG THE
SIERRA CREST AND THROUGH AND BELOW MOUNTAIN PASSES OF KERN COUNTY.

&&

.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 MEDIUM.

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 04-25      101:1898     55:1952     64:1898     36:1964
KFAT 04-26       98:1926     57:1955     68:1926     37:1975
KFAT 04-27       98:2004     56:1894     65:1926     36:1955

KBFL 04-25       97:1946     60:1951     65:1910     32:1893
KBFL 04-26       98:1926     57:1904     67:1926     32:1893
KBFL 04-27       98:2004     60:1932     67:1965     34:1984
&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 AM EARLY THIS MORNING TO 5 AM PDT
SATURDAY ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR THE CAZ096-097.

WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING
CAZ095-098-099.

&&

PUBLIC...MOLINA
AVN/FW...DCH
SYNOPSIS...ANDERSEN

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 24, 9:20 AM PST, 19 hours 40 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1020 AM PDT THU APR 24 2014

CAZ089-091-251730-
WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
1020 AM PDT THU APR 24 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WEST SIDE OF THE SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY.

...WINDY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...
...THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE FRIDAY...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

* WINDS: NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH
  POSSIBLE...STRONGEST GUSTS EXPECTED BELOW THE PASSES.

* TIMING: WINDS INCREASING FRIDAY...STRONGEST GUSTS EXPECTED
  FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WINDS DIMINISHING SATURDAY
  MORNING.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: TAFT...LEMOORE...HANFORD...LOS BANOS.
  STRONGEST WINDS ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 5...INCLUDING NEAR
  PASSES ON HIGHWAYS 41 AND 152.

* THUNDER: THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
  FRIDAY...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* IMPACTS: DRIVERS OF HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES WILL NEED TO TAKE
  CAUTION IF ENCOUNTERING AREAS OF GUSTY WINDS...STRONG CROSSWINDS
  ARE POSSIBLE AT TIMES. SMALL HAIL...LIGHTNING...GUSTY
  WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN.

* STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
  SOURCE...FOR FURTHER 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.

CAZ090-092>094-251730-
EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
1020 AM PDT THU APR 24 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN AND EAST
CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AS WELL AS THE SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS.

...THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE FRIDAY...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

* THUNDER: THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY.

* TIMING: FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: FRESNO...BAKERSFIELD...MADERA...CHOWCHILLA...
  MERCED...ATWATER...MARIPOSA...OAKHURST...THREE RIVERS...NORTH
  FORK...SPRINGVILLE.

* IMPACTS: SMALL HAIL...LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY
  RAIN.

* STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
  SOURCE...FOR FURTHER 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.

BSO

Event by event

2 winter weather, 1 winter storm, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, S Sierra Mtns

When: April 25, 5:00 AM PST to April 26, 2:00 AM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

Winter Weather, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: April 25, 5:00 AM PST to April 26, 2:00 AM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

Winter Weather, S Sierra Foothills

When: April 25, 5:00 AM PST to April 26, 2:00 AM PST
Where: S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: April 25, 2:00 PM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $600,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, 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

Every storm in California in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in California, April 2014

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: 510133, 510134, 510135, 510287.