Strong Wind in California, March 12 to 17, 2014

Name: Strong Wind in California, March 12 to 17, 2014
Start: 2014-03-12T05:00
End: 2014-03-17T10:00
Location: California

March 12 to 17, 2014 · NWS HNX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $207,000
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.

Another storm approached California on March 5th. This system brought gusty winds to the mountains and deserts of Kern County on the 6th, with gusts to 55 mph recorded at Cache Creek and 53 mph at Indian Wells Canyon and the Mojave Air and Spaceport. March 6th also saw Fresno receive 0.02 inch of rain, the only measurable rain during the first 24 days of the month.

The second week of March saw high pressure return to California, bringing another round of warm, dry weather. An offshore flow developed over the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains on March 11th-12th, resulting in a mini-Mono event during the morning of the 12th. Trees and power poles were blown down near Oakhurst, and gusts of 50-55 mph were recorded from Hetch Hetchy near Yosemite south to Bear Valley Springs and Grapevine Peak in the Tehachapi Mountains.

The offshore flow also provided orographic forcing over the east slopes of the Southern Sierra Nevada. Clouds that formed east of the crest spilled over the summits into the Hanford warning/ forecast area. Isolated showers developed near Giant Forest, and while in-cloud lightning was detected with one of the cells, there was no cloud-to-ground lightning.

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 12, 1:18 AM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 1:18 AM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
218 AM PDT WED MAR 12 2014

.SYNOPSIS...
LOW PRESSURE OVER THE GREAT BASIN AND A STRONG JET STREAM WILL
COMBINE TO BRING GUSTY WINDS TO THE SIERRA AND KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS TODAY. THE LOW WILL EJECT EAST ON THURSDAY WITH HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND. WARMING TO
WELL ABOVE NORMAL BY SUNDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS LOW PRESSURE ALOFT
DEVELOPING AND RETROGRADING TO THE WEST ACROSS NEVADA AS A STRONG
JET MOVES SOUTHWEST INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. WINDS EARLY THIS
MORNING ARE GUSTING WELL INTO THE MID 40S AT OBSERVATION SITES IN
THE SIERRA. UNDOUBTEDLY THE WINDS ARE STRONGER BUT NOT MEASURED DO
TO LACK OF OBS. MEANWHILE OVER KERN COUNTY GUSTS INTO THE MID 40S
ARE OCCURRING OVER BEAR VALLEY AND THE GRAPEVINE AS THE SURFACE
PRESSURE GRADIENT INCREASES. FOR TODAY HIGH RESOLUTION FORECAST
MODELS KEEP THE WIND UP OVER THE SIERRA THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON
AND OVER KERN COUNTY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. BY TONIGHT THE WINDS ARE
PROGGED TO DIMINISH EVEN OVER KERN COUNTY. THE WIND ADVISORY WILL
REMAIN IN PLACE. THE UPPER LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WINDS IS WELL
AGREED UPON BY ALL MODELS TO MOVE EAST THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY
INTO ARIZONA WITH RIDGING BUILDING IN FROM THE NORTHWEST. THE
RIDGE WILL REACH ITS PEAK HEIGHTS ON SUNDAY AT AROUND 5850-5880
METERS AT THE 500 MB PRESSURE LEVEL GIVING THE AREA A LEGITIMATE
SHOT AT NEAR RECORD OR RECORD HIGHS.

THE RIDGE IS THEN PROJECTED TO WEAKEN AND MOVE EAST BY TUESDAY AS
A WEAKENING SHORTWAVE TROUGH TAKES AIM ON NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BE
MID WEEK. STILL LOOKS DRY OVER THIS FORECAST AREA HOWEVER.

&&

.AVIATION...
WIND GUSTING TO 45 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA CREST AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...ALONG WITH THE KERN COUNTY
DESERTS THROUGH 20Z WEDNESDAY. MVFR CEILINGS WITH LOCAL MOUNTAIN
OBSCURATION IFR OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NORTH OF KERN COUNTY
THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL
ACROSS THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

&&

.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 03-12       84:1910     50:1952     55:2005     28:1950
KFAT 03-13       84:2007     53:1981     59:1932     31:1950
KFAT 03-14       83:2007     48:1975     55:1995     29:1944

KBFL 03-12       88:1910     51:2006     56:1979     25:1907
KBFL 03-13       88:2007     53:1969     59:1979     21:1907
KBFL 03-14       88:1916     53:1944     62:1900     28:1907
&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON CAZ093-096.

WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON CAZ095-098-099.

&&

PUBLIC...DUDLEY
AVN/FW...MOLINA
SYNOPSIS...PJ

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

4 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, S Sierra Foothills

When: March 12, 5:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Strong Wind, S Sierra Mtns

When: March 12, 5:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: March 17, 5:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: March 17, 5:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
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

Every storm in California in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 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: 509444, 509445, 509446, 509447.