Dust Storm and High Wind in California, March 26 to 27, 2014

Name: Dust Storm and High Wind in California, March 26 to 27, 2014
Start: 2014-03-26T01:00
End: 2014-03-27T17:00
Location: California

March 26 to 27, 2014 · NWS HNX · 9 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $109,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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.

Warm, dry weather continued until March 25th. In fact, on the 24th, a record high maximum temperature of 85 degrees was reached in Fresno, which broke the previous record high of 83 degrees set back in 1930. On the 25th, a developing low approached the coast. While the approaching storm did bring some cooling to the central California interior on the 25th, temperatures were still several degrees above normal.

The storm brought showers, thunderstorms and strong winds to the central California interior on March 26th. Hail up to a quarter-inch in diameter fell during a thunderstorm at Ballico in Merced County, and in Coarsegold in the foothills of Madera County.

Winds gusted to 76 mph at Inyokern producing areas of near-zero visibility in blowing dust that closed Highways 178 and 14 and U.S. Highway 395. Wind reports in the nearby mountains only a few miles west of Inyokern gusted to 102 mph at 16:26 PST at the Indian Wells Canyon RAWS weather station.

Nine inches of snow fell at Camp Nelson in the Southern Sierra Nevada, 5 inches fell at Lodgepole, and nearly 6 inches was reported at Grant Grove. Further north, up to a foot of new snow fell on the high country of the Southern Sierra Nevada from Kings Canyon to Yosemite National Park.

Temperatures fell as the cold airmass moved into the central California interior. The high at Fresno on March 26th was only 62 degrees, down 16 degrees from the previous day. This also was the first day that the high temperature was below normal for the month. Bakersfield reached 67 degrees, for its second day in March when the high was below normal (the first day being March 7th).

With available surface moisture, the morning of March 27th saw the return of Tule fog to the region. Fog developed initially near Porterville and spread westward to Tulare and Visalia by daybreak. In the central San Joaquin Valley, clearing skies allowed temperatures to recover from the previous day. Fresno matched both its normal high and low. Further south, clouds pooled over the south end of the San Joaquin Valley and were slow to dissipate. Bakersfield was only one degree warmer than the previous day, and the high was below normal for the second consecutive day.

Winds gusted to 45-50 mph over the mountains and desert areas of Kern County on March 27th, but diminished during the evening hours. Warm and dry weather returned to the region on March 28th, but this proved to be short-lived, as the pattern finally shifted to a wetter regime and another storm reached the area late on March 29th and the early morning hours of the 30th. Rainfall from this storm mostly was between a third and two-thirds of an inch, although training showers in the slow-moving front gave Chowchilla 1.57 inch of rain. Bakersfield received 0.25 inch of rain during the morning of March 30th, only 0.03 inch short of the record for the date of 0.28 inch, set in 1946. New snowfall reports included an estimated 10-11 inches from the SNOTEL sites in the Southern Sierra Nevada high country. Lodgepole reported 7 inches of new snow, and Camp Nelson had 4 inches.

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 25, 1:15 PM PST, 11 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 25, 1:15 PM PST, 11 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
215 PM PDT TUE MAR 25 2014

.SYNOPSIS...A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION LATE
TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...BRINGING COOLER TEMPERATURES AND
PRECIPITATION TO THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH WEDNESDAY
NIGHT. A FEW SHOWERS LINGERING IN THE SIERRA THURSDAY...OTHERWISE
DRY AND WARMER BY FRIDAY BEFORE ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES
THROUGH ON SATURDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...WHILE MUCH OF OUR AREA IS EXPERIENCING YET ANOTHER
DAY OF BALMY SPRING LIKE WEATHER AND MUCH ABOVE NORMAL DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES...A CHANGE IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE TONIGHT AS A
COMPLEX STORM SYSTEM TAKES AIM AT CENTRAL CA. WV AND IR ARE
SHOWING THE UPPER LOW OFF THAT WAS SITUATED OFF THE PAC NW COAST
THIS MORNING HAS LIFTED NORTHWARD AND IS BEING PULLED UPWARD AHEAD
OF A LARGER UPPER LOW CURRENTLY SITUATED NEAR 50N/140W. THIS
SYSTEM IS PROGGED TO DROP SOUTHEAST TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY WITH AN
UNDERCUTTING UPPER JET WHICH IS WELL NOTED BY WV IMAGERY AND
POISED TO REACH CENTRAL CA BY TONIGHT.

MEANWHILE...IR IMAGERY INDICATES A COLD FRONT JUST OFF THE CA
COAST WHICH IS PROGGED BY THE 12Z WRF TO PUSH INLAND TONIGHT BRING
WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION ALONG WITH INCREASED CLOUDS...GUSTY WINDS
AND MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES TO OUR AREA. AT THIS TIME...RADAR
COMPOSITES ARE INDICATING A BAND OF SHOWERS EXTENDING FROM THE
SACRAMENTO VALLEY SOUTHWEST TO THE SOUTH BAY AREA TO OFF THE
CENTRAL CA COAST. SOME SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE WILL
BRUSH MERCED...MADERA AND MARIPOSA COUNTIES LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND THIS EVENING. A STRONG UPPER SHORTWAVE WILL THEN FOLLOW THE
COLD FRONT AND PROVIDE FOR A PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION
ACROSS THE AREA EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING.
MUCH OF THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY IS EXPECTED TO PICK UP
BETWEEN A QUARTER INCH TO A HALF INCH OF RAINFALL WITH A TENTH OF
AN INCH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH IN THE SOUTH VALLEY.
OROGRAPHICALLY FAVORED AREAS IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NORTH
OF KINGS CANYON ARE EXPECTED TO PICK OF OVER AN INCH OF LIQUID
PRECIPITATION WITH MUCH OF THE PRECIPITATION FALLING AS SNOW ABOVE
6000 FEET. AS A RESULT...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT
FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM KINGS CANYON NORTHWARD FROM
MIDNIGHT TONIGHT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS UP TO A FOOT OF
FRESH SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS POSSIBLE NEAR THE CREST. IN ADDITION...THIS SYSTEM WILL
BRING A PERIOD OF GUSTY WINDS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND KERN COUNTY
DESERTS WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. A WIND
ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
WHERE GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE. A MUCH COOLER AIRMASS
WILL ALSO PUSH INTO OUR AREA ON WEDNESDAY WITH DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO BE 12-20 DEG F BELOW TODAY AT MOST
LOCATIONS IN OUR AREA. ALTHOUGH INSTABILITY WILL BE MARGINAL ON
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...CANNOT RULE OUT MENTION OF ISOLATED
AFTERNOON T-STORMS NORTH OF KERN COUNTY IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
AND THE ADJACENT FOOTHILLS IF ENOUGH CLEARING TAKES PLACE IN THE
AFTERNOON.

12Z WRF INDICATING A SHORTWAVE RIDGE BUILDING OFF THE CA COAST ON
THURSDAY WHICH WILL BRING A WARMING AND DRYING TREND TO OUR AREA
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK. SOME RESIDUAL MOUNTAIN SHOWERS
WILL BE POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY WITH DRY CONDITIONS PREVAILING ON
FRIDAY. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL REBOUND TO NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS
ON THURSDAY AND RISE ABOVE NORMAL ON FRIDAY.

THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS AND THEIR ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ARE SHOWING
BETTER AGREEMENT TODAY WITH A FAST MOVING SYSTEM PUSHING THROUGH
THE PAC NW AND NORCAL ON SATURDAY WHICH MAY BRING A BRIEF PERIOD
OF PRECIPITATION TO OUR AREA ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
ANOTHER SHORTWAVE RIDGE WILL BRING A DRYING TREND TO OUR AREA ON
SUNDAY BEFORE A COLDER AND POTENTIALLY WET UPPER TROUGH PUSHES
THROUGH CA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...BRINGING ANOTHER PERIOD OF
UNSETTLED WEATHER TO OUR AREA AND POSSIBLY SOME SIGNIFICANT
BENEFICIAL RAINS AND MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL.

&&

.AVIATION...IN THE MOUNTAINS...IFR CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP FROM
NORTH TO SOUTH ACROSS THE SIERRA BETWEEN 03Z AND 06Z THIS EVENING
AND IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS BY 09Z AS PRECIPITATION MOVES INTO
THESE REGIONS. IFR CONDITIONS AND MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS CAN BE
EXPECTED THEREAFTER THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY.

IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS... MVFR CEILINGS WILL DEVELOP BY 06Z THIS
EVENING WITH MVFR CONDITIONS PREVAILING THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY.

IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...LOCAL MVFR CEILINGS ARE POSSIBLE BETWEEN
15Z AND 20Z WEDNESDAY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS NORTH
OF KERN COUNTY.

VFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ADDITIONALLY...WIND
GUSTS OF 35 KNOTS OR GREATER CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS AND DESERT AFTER 12Z WEDNESDAY. STRONG WINDS CAN ALSO BE
EXPECTED ALONG THE SIERRA CREST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...NONE.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS MEDIUM.
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 03-25       85:1997     52:1980     59:1896     32:1964
KFAT 03-26       87:1988     49:1991     57:1928     34:1942
KFAT 03-27       87:1986     52:1924     56:1930     31:1972

KBFL 03-25       90:1997     48:1977     59:1909     32:1907
KBFL 03-26       87:1997     52:1936     61:1971     21:1907
KBFL 03-27       90:1986     50:1991     57:1978     32:1908
&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 5 AM PDT
THURSDAY CAZ096.

WIND ADVISORY FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT WEDNESDAY CAZ095-098-099.

&&

PUBLIC...DS
AVN/FW...DURFEE
SYNOPSIS...BEAN

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 25, 4:49 AM PST, 20 hours 11 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
549 AM PDT TUE MAR 25 2014

CAZ089-090-093-261300-
WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
549 AM PDT TUE MAR 25 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY AND THE ADJACENT FOOTHILLS.

...SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

* TIMING: WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: MERCED...LOS BANOS...CHOWCHILLA...OAKHURST...
  COARSEGOLD...AUBERRY...MADERA...FRESNO...KERMAN.

* IMPACTS: LOCAL PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS WITH TRAVEL
  DELAYS...CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL.

* 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.

JDB

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 strong wind, 2 winter weather, 2 heavy rain, 1 high wind, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, S Sierra Mtns

When: March 26, 1:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Weather, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: March 26, 1:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: March 26, 6:30 AM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind, Indian Wells Vly

When: March 26, 10:55 AM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Measured: 89 kt (102 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Dust Storm, Indian Wells Vly

When: March 26, 11:40 AM PST to 11:50 AM PST
Where: Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Rain, Kern

When: March 26, 6:16 PM PST
Where: Kern County, Glennville
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.730, -118.700

Trained spotter reported heavy rainfall.

Heavy Rain, Kings

When: March 26, 10:15 PM PST
Where: Kings County, 1.38 mi S of Shirley
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 36.380, -119.650

Off duty NWS Meteorologist reported 0.44 inches of rainfall in only 15 minutes.

Strong Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When: March 27, 12:00 PM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 44 kt (51 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert

When: March 27, 12:00 PM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
Measured: 44 kt (51 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Mesonet

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Dust Storm: Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.
Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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: 509448, 509449, 509452, 509451, 509450, 509455, 509456, 509453, 509454.