High Wind in California, May 1, 2014

Name: High Wind in California, May 1, 2014
Start: 2014-05-01T04:00
End: 2014-05-01T10:00
Location: California

May 1, 2014 · NWS SGX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Strong surface high pressure over the Great Basin continued the hot and dry Santa Ana winds that began April 29. The winds on this day were focused in the mountains of San Diego County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 SGX wrote it up.

Strong surface high pressure over the Great Basin continued the hot and dry Santa Ana winds that began April 29. The winds on this day were focused in the mountains of San Diego County.

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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 1, 2:00 AM PST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 2:00 AM PST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
300 AM PDT THU MAY 1 2014

.SYNOPSIS...
HOT AND WINDY SANTA ANA WEATHER WILL CONTINUE FOR ONE MORE DAY
TODAY. WINDS WILL DIMINISH LATE TODAY AND BECOME LIGHT TONIGHT AND
FRIDAY...BUT IT WILL REMAIN VERY WARM. ON SATURDAY A RETURN TO ONSHORE
FLOW WILL BRING COOLING WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. THE COOLING TREND WILL
ACCELERATE NEXT WEEK WITH A DEEPENING MARINE LAYER AND STRONGER ONSHORE
FLOW.

&&

.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...

THE MONTH OF MAY HAS STARTED OFF WITH CLEAR AND BALMY WEATHER...AND
STRONG FOOTHILL WINDS. THE WINDS IN THE FOOTHILLS HAVE BEEN GUSTING
INTO THE 40-50 MPH RANGE. THESE WILL INCREASE LATER THIS MORNING AND
EXTEND FARTHER WESTWARD. PEAK GUSTS IN THOSE FOOTHILLS THIS MORNING
WILL EXCEED 60 MPH WITH A FEW SPOTS TOPPING 70 MPH. IN THE COASTAL
BASIN SOME SPOTS WILL GUST UP TO 50 MPH...BUT MOSTLY AROUND 35 MPH OR
LESS. THE WINDS WILL DIMINISH THIS AFTERNOON AND GO LIGHT BY EVENING.
MAX TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL BE IN THE 90S FOR ALL LOWER ELEVATIONS.
FRIDAY WILL START WITH ISOLATED POCKETS OF OFFSHORE BREEZES...BUT THE
TRANSITION TO WEAK ONSHORE FLOW WILL BEGIN. THAT WILL BRING A START OF
A COOLING TREND AT THE COAST...BUT HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE
QUITE STRONG SO MAX TEMPS INCREASE INLAND. THIS TREND TO THE MORE
TYPICAL CONFIGURATION WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY...COOLING AT THE COAST
WHILE WARMING IN THE DESERT. THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL BEGIN TO
BREAK DOWN IN FRONT OF A BROAD LOW PRESSURE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN
PACIFIC. THIS WILL GRADUALLY PUSH INTO THE WEST COAST SUNDAY AND
MONDAY. THE MARINE LAYER WILL TAKE TIME TO REDEVELOP SATURDAY...BUT
SOME COASTAL LOW CLOUDS AND FOG SHOULD APPEAR BY SUNRISE SUNDAY. THE
COOLING TREND WILL THEN EXTEND TO ALL AREAS. AS THE TROUGH DEEPENS THE
MARINE LAYER WILL ALSO DEEPEN TO ALLOW COASTAL CLOUDS FARTHER INLAND
MONDAY. THE TROUGH AXIS MOVES THROUGH CALIFORNIA ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY
NIGHT. LOW CLOUDS WILL PROBABLY FILL THE COASTAL BASIN AND INTO COASTAL
SLOPES TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY MORNINGS. TEMPS WILL DROP BELOW AVERAGE
THOSE DAYS WITH 60S AND LOWER 70S COMMON IN THE COASTAL BASIN AND UPPER
DESERT...WITH 80S IN THE LOWER DESERTS. THIS HOT DRY WEATHER WILL
BECOME A DISTANT MEMORY.

&&

.AVIATION...
010900Z...LIGHT WINDS AT THE SURFACE AND NORTHEASTERLY FLOW
CONTINUING ALOFT WILL CREATE LLWS OVER THE COASTAL SITES AND
PORTIONS OF THE INLAND EMPIRE THROUGH AROUND 01/12Z...WHEN THE
STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS SURFACE. THE VALLEYS WILL EXPERIENCE NE WINDS
30 TO 40 KT GUSTING TO OVER 60 KT IN WIND PRONE AREAS...WITH KONT
ONCE AGAIN GUSTING TO OVER 40 KT AT TIMES. CONFIDENCE IS MODERATE.
KSNA...KCRQ...AND KSAN WILL EXPERIENCE NORTHEASTERLY WINDS AS
WELL...THOUGH NOT QUITE AS STRONG AS WEDNESDAY. MTN WAVE ACTIVITY
WILL CREATE THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG UDDFS ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE OF
COASTAL MOUNTAIN SLOPES. BLOWING DUST WILL REDUCE VIS TO LESS TO 3-5
SM IN PORTIONS OF THE INLAND EMPIRE AND COACHELLA VALLEY.
OTHERWISE...VFR AND SKC THROUGH THU AFTN. WINDS DECREASING AFT
02/0100Z.

&&

.MARINE...
200 AM...NE WIND GUSTS TO 20 KT COULD PRODUCE CHOPPY SEAS OVER THE
COASTAL WATERS TODAY...MAINLY AROUND LA JOLLA AND NORTH OF OCEANSIDE
THIS MORNING...DECREASING THROUGH THE EVENING. OTHERWISE...NO MARINE
CONCERNS THROUGH SUNDAY.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
EXTREME FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TODAY WITH STRONG
WINDS AND VERY LOW HUMIDITY. WINDS WILL INCREASE EARLY THIS MORNING
AND PEAK BY LATE MORNING. WIDESPREAD GUSTS OF 40-50 MPH IN THE
MOUNTAINS...VALLEYS AND ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...WITH GUSTS IN
EXCESS OF 60 MPH IN THE WIND PRONE FOOTHILLS. WIDESPREAD SINGLE
DIGIT HUMIDITY ALL THE WAY TO THE COAST. HOT AND DRY AGAIN FRIDAY
WITH MUCH LIGHTER OFFSHORE WINDS IN THE MORNING TRANSITIONING TO A
WEAK ONSHORE SEA BREEZE IN THE AFTERNOON. FOR THE WEEKEND...HIGH
PRESSURE ALOFT WILL WEAKEN AND THE RETURN OF ONSHORE FLOW WILL BRING
COOLING...INCREASING HUMIDITY...AND THE RETURN OF A MARINE LAYER
THAT WILL DEEPEN THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE ORANGE
     COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN
     BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE
     COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE...SAN DIEGO COUNTY
     MOUNTAINS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS...SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS
     AND FOOTHILLS.

     RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR THE ORANGE
     COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INCLUDING
     THE SAN JACINTO RANGER DISTRICT OF THE SAN BERNARDINO
     NATIONAL FOREST...SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY
     VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE...SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
     MOUNTAINS-INCLUDING THE MOUNTAIN TOP AND FRONT COUNTRY
     RANGER DISTRICTS OF THE SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST...
     SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS-INCLUDING THE TRABUCO RANGER DISTRICT
     OF THE CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE SAN DIEGO
     COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.

PZ...NONE.

&&

PUBLIC/FIRE WEATHER...MM
AVIATION/MARINE...TS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, San Diego County Mountains

When: May 1, 4:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: San Diego County Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds began at the Sill Hill SDGE mesonet between 0610-0620 PST on the 1st and ended between 0940-0950 PST the same day. During this period, winds were sustained out of the ENE at 30-40 mph with most gusts above 60 mph. This included a peak gust of 74 mph recorded between 0920-0930 PST. High winds occurred at the Campo ASOS between 0752-0952 PST on the 1st with a peak gust of 63 mph recorded between 0900 and 0930 PST. High winds began at the Crestwood SDGE mesonet between 0610-0620 PST on the 1st and ended between 0930-0940 PST the same day. During this period, winds were sustained out of the NE at 35-45 mph with most gusts above 60 mph. This included a peak gust of 64 mph recorded between 0810-0820 PST. High winds began at the Lucky Five Ranch SDGE mesonet between 0430-0440 PST on the 1st and ended between 0950-1000 PST the same day. During this period, winds were sustained out of the ENE around 35 mph with gusts off and on above 58 mph, including the peak gust of 62 mph which was recorded three different times.

High Wind, Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills

When: May 1, 8:00 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 33.483, -116.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds occurred at the Pleasants Peak mesonet between 0800 and 1000 PST on the 1st. During this time, winds were sustained out of the east around 45 mph, with a peak gust of 63 mph measured between 0900 and 0930 PST.

What these are

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, May 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: 519447, 519366.