California, 2014Strong Wind and Dust Devil in California, March 11 to 12, 2014
March 11 to 12, 2014 · NWS STO · 3 events in 3 counties and zones
Gusty northerly and easterly winds increased over the Central Valley, Delta, Southern Lake County, and Sierra Nevada and foothills. The event began early Tuesday March 11 and continued for some areas as late as mid-day Wednesday.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
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- 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.
Gusty northerly and easterly winds increased over the Central Valley, Delta, Southern Lake County, and Sierra Nevada and foothills. The event began early Tuesday March 11 and continued for some areas as late as mid-day Wednesday.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 10, 8:09 PM PST, 3 hours 51 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 8:09 PM PST, 3 hours 51 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
909 PM PDT Mon Mar 10 2014
.Synopsis...
Building high pressure will bring dry weather and milder
temperatures for the rest of the week. Breezy to strong northerly
winds are likely Tuesday morning into Tuesday night.
&&
.Discussion...
Surface high pressure building into Oregon this evening is
increasing the north-south pressure gradient. Winds have already
turned to the north and should gradually increase overnight
becoming breezy to locally windy...particularly for the western
side of the Sacramento valley.
The gradient peaks out by late morning before starting to weaken.
As high pressure builds over the Great Basin the winds at 850 mb
level will shift to a more easterly direction. This will allow
the winds within the valley to start to decrease by the late
afternoon to early evening hours to below advisory levels.
Local gusty east to northeast winds are expected in the mountains
as well later tonight and Tuesday morning. The winds will relax
some in the afternoon hours before increasing again Tuesday night.
By Wednesday morning the winds will be lightening up and we can
expect warm dry conditions for the remainder of the week.
&&
.Extended Discussion (Friday through Monday)
Upper level high pressure ridging spreads eastward into the
region late this week, with heights peaking over the weekend. This
will bring a warming trend, with highs peaking on Sunday. Well
above normal temperatures are expected, with low 80s across much
of the Valley. Confidence is lower for next week, with models
diverging on Monday. The 12z ECMWF shows a shortwave brushing to
the north with some precipitation extending into far northern
California. Earlier runs had strong ridging. The GFS for its part just
shifts the ridge axis a little further east of the area. Even if
there is a shortwave, this should be a relatively dry system and
focused more over Oregon. For now will keep weather conditions dry
and just slightly cooler than Sunday. Models diverge even further
beyond Monday, with GFS hinting at precipitation for mid week, while
the ECMWF has a drier pattern. EK
&&
.Aviation...
High pres blds alg the west cst with VFR conds thru Tue. In Cntrl
Vly...lcl Nly sfc wnd gsts up to 25 kts poss ovngt...mnly on west
side of vly bcmg wdsprd Nly sfc wnd up to 30 kts with gsts up to
40 kts Tue mrng. Stgst wnds expcd fm late tmrw mrng thru aftn fm
abt I-80 nwd. Omnts...lcl N to E sfc wnd gsts up to 45 kts poss
ovr hyr trrn nxt 24 hrs.
&&
.STO Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
wind advisory from 9 am to 8 pm pdt tuesday carquinez strait and
delta...central sacramento valley...clear lake/southern lake
county...northern sacramento valley...southern sacramento valley.
&&
Strong Wind, Carquinez Strait and Delta
- When
- March 11, 12:00 AM PST to March 12, 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- Carquinez Strait and Delta forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
Northerly wind gusts up to 35 to 45 mph brought trees down across the delta area Tuesday and Wednesday. Regions near Vallejo gusted up to around 35 mph. California Highway Patrol reported that a downed tree on power wires caused a fire near the intersection of Hargus Avenue and Banning Way in Vallejo early Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported.
Strong Wind, Motherlode/Camptonville to Groveland
- When
- March 11, 3:00 PM PST to March 12, 1:00 PM PST
- Where
- Motherlode/Camptonville to Groveland forecast zone
- Measured
- 35 kt (40 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
Northeasterly to easterly winds were gusting over the Motherlode area Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday afternoon. Wind gusts were reported to be 30-40 mph across the zone. California Highway Patrol reported that a large pine tree fell down on top of a car along Mother Lode Drive located 2 miles NW of Diamond Springs early Wednesday morning, trapping two people inside the vehicle. The crash blocked both lanes of Mother Lode Drive for several hours. No injuries were reported.
Dust Devil, Nevada
- When
- March 12, 2:30 PM PST to 2:32 PM PST
- Where
- Nevada County, 1.28 mi WSW of Grass Vly Alt Sra Ar
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 39.110, -121.070
A dust devil developed on the property near an old tin roofed barn. As the dust devil encountered the barn, a large section of the tin roof was ripped off and the pieces were thrown several hundred feet into the air. A neighbor reported that one of the pieces was found almost a mile down the road. The individual tin sections were about 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. Approximately 35-40 tin panels were ripped off the barn. The dust devil lasted for around 2 minutes.
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
- Dust Devil
- A small rotating column of dust from surface heating that caused damage or injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Wildfire in West Virginia, March 11, 20141 death · $25,000 · 1 event
- Avalanche in Montana, March 11, 20141 death · 1 event
- Drought in Texas, March 11 to 31, 2014$28,000 · 8 events
- High Wind in Texas, March 11, 201455 kt wind · 21 events
- Dust Storm and High Wind in Texas, March 11, 201456 kt wind · 12 events
- Winter Weather in Wyoming, March 11, 20148 events
- Dust Storm and High Wind in Kansas, March 11, 201451 kt wind · 4 events
- High Wind in Oklahoma, March 11, 20143 events
- Dust Storm in Texas, March 11, 20143 events
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 11 to 12, 20143 events
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, March 11, 20142 events
- High Wind in Texas, March 11, 201452 kt wind · 2 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: 506484, 506481, 506584.