Strong onshore flow from a low pressure system moving inland through northern California created gusty west winds along the desert slopes on the 22nd. Strong surface high pressure built over the Great Basin on the 23rd behind the departing upper-level trough, resulting in strong, gusty east to northeast winds (Santa Ana winds) in the mountains and on the coastal mountain slopes.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
Strong onshore flow from a low pressure system moving inland through northern California created gusty west winds along the desert slopes on the 22nd. Strong surface high pressure built over the Great Basin on the 23rd behind the departing upper-level trough, resulting in strong, gusty east to northeast winds (Santa Ana winds) in the mountains and on the coastal mountain slopes. The strongest gusts were focused in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties on the 22nd when winds were out of the west then shifting around to the north on the 23rd, then shifted to San Diego County as winds turned more easterly later on the 23rd.
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 Nov 22, 8:32 PM PST, 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
832 PM PST SAT NOV 22 2014
.SYNOPSIS...
STRONG ONSHORE FLOW THIS EVENING WILL TURN NORTHERLY OVERNIGHT AS A
WEAK TROUGH PASSES TO THE NORTHEAST. THE WINDS WILL TURN NORTHEAST
AND STRENGTHEN SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH AND BELOW FAVORED PASSES AND
CANYONS...FOLLOWED BY A LULL INTO EARLY MONDAY...AND THEN STRENGTHEN
AGAIN THROUGH MIDWEEK. THE OFFSHORE FLOW WILL BECOME QUITE STRONG
THROUGH AND BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS ALONG THE COASTAL FOOTHILLS
LATE MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WHEN HIGH WIND CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY.
THE DRY...OFFSHORE FLOW WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN INTO THURSDAY. THE
SANTA ANA CONDITIONS WILL PUSH DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WELL ABOVE
NORMAL THROUGH THANKSGIVING DAY BEFORE COOLER MARINE AIR RETURNS
WITH THE SEA BREEZE OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
HIGH WIND WATCH POSTED FOR THE OFFSHORE WIND PRONE AND ADJACENT
VALLEYS AREAS MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
STRONG WESTERLY WINDS WERE BLOWING ACROSS THE DESERTS THIS EVENING.
PEAK GUSTS TOPPED 50 MPH OVER PORTIONS OF THE DESERTS EARLIER IN THE
DAY WITH SOME BLOWING DUST REPORTED. STRONGEST WIND GUSTS OF 45-55
MPH WERE BEING REPORTED IN THE SAN GORGONIO PASS AREA AND OVER THE
NE PORTION OF THE CWA...EAST OF THE APPLE VALLEY. THE SFC PRESSURE
GRADIENTS WERE STILL 4-6 MBS ONSHORE TO THE LOWER DESERTS BUT AT 8
PM PST...HAD TURNED NEUTRAL TO NV WITH A STRONG OFFSHORE TREND.
PATCHY MARINE CLOUDS WERE TRYING TO FORM OVER THE COASTAL BASIN AND
OFFSHORE...OTHERWISE THERE WERE JUST A FEW HIGH CLOUDS PRESENT.
DEWPOINTS WEST OF THE MTNS WERE CLIMBING THROUGH THE 50S THIS
EVENING ONE LAST TIME BEFORE WE PLUNGE BACK INTO THE CONTINENTAL DRY
AIR FOR MUCH OF THE UPCOMING WEEK. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE
STRENGTHENING OVER THE GREAT BASIN AND IS FORECAST TO TOP 1040 MBS
BY TUE MORNING. THE SURFACE HIGH WILL NOSE SOUTHWARD ALONG THE LOWER
COLORADO AND RIO GRANDE VALLEYS SENDING OUR OFFSHORE GRADIENT
SOARING TO NEARLY 10 MBS ACROSS SAN DIEGO AND IMPERIAL COUNTIES.
THIS GRADIENT WILL COMBINE WITH MODERATE NE FLOW ALOFT AROUND A
BUILDING RIDGE JUST OFF THE COAST...TO PRODUCE A MODERATE TO STRONG
SANTA ANA ACROSS THE SOUTHLAND LATE MON THROUGH WED. THE RIDGE IS
FORECAST TO WEAKEN THROUGH THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND...ALLOWING MARINE AIR
TO RETURN OVER THE COASTAL BASIN...BUT THE MODELS STILL DO NOT
SUPPORT ANY WET WEATHER ACROSS SOCAL THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH.
WINDS...WINDS ARE THE STORY FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE GUSTY
WESTERLY WINDS THIS EVENING WILL TURN NNE BY MORNING AND BECOME
GUSTY THROUGH AND BELOW THE CAJON PASS TO THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS
FOR A TIME. ONCE THE WIND ADVISORY THROUGH 3 AM PST FOR THE WESTERLY
WINDS EXPIRES...THERE WILL LIKELY BE ONE POSTED FOR THE OFFSHORE
WIND PRONE AREAS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TO COVER THE GUSTY NE
WINDS ON SUN. THESE COULD TOP 50 MPH THROUGH THE WIND PRONE CANYONS
OF THE SANTA ANA MTS FOR A TIME.
SOME WEAKENING IS FORECAST AS THE EAST WINDS DEVELOP FARTHER SOUTH
LATER SUN INTO MON BEFORE STRENGTHENING RAPIDLY AGAIN LATE MON AND
MON NIGHT. A HIGH WIND WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED TO COVER EXPECTED WIND
GUSTS OVER 58 MPH...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE WIND PRONE FOOTHILLS OF SAN
DIEGO COUNTY...BUT IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE WIND SPEEDS MAY MEET CRITERIA
OVER WIND PRONE NORTHERN AREAS FOR A TIME SO THOSE PORTIONS OF SAN
BERNARDINO AND ORANGE COUNTIES HAVE BEEN INCLUDED.
&&
.AVIATION...
230330Z...COASTS/VALLEYS...SCATTERED TO BROKEN MARINE STRATUS WITH
BASES 1000-1500 FT MSL AND TOPS AROUND 2000 FT THROUGH 16Z...MAINLY
ALONG THE COASTAL STRIP. NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BE STRONG
SUNDAY IN VICINITY OF THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND THE COASTAL
FOOTHILLS WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 KNOTS POSSIBLE...ALONG WITH MOD-STG
UP/DOWNDRAFTS...POSSIBLE ROTORS AND LLWS. LLWS LIKELY AT KONT AND
KSNA STARTING AROUND 23/1400 UTC.
MOUNTAINS/DESERTS...WEST WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 KNOTS THROUGH SUNDAY
MORNING...ALONG WITH MOD-STG UP/DOWNDRAFTS...POSSIBLE ROTORS AND
LLWS. BLOWING DUST MAY REDUCE SFC VIS TO 1 SM AT TIMES IN THE
DESERTS THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. NORTH TO NORTHEAST GUSTS 50 TO 60
KNOTS POSSIBLE IN THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE COACHELLA VALLEY 12 TO
18Z SUNDAY.
&&
.MARINE...
730 PM...WEST TO NORTHWEST GUSTS UP TO 20 KNOTS THROUGH SUNDAY
MORNING OVER THE OUTER COASTAL WATERS AS A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH MOVES
NORTH OF THE AREA.
ON TUESDAY...EASTERLY GUSTS MAY REACH 25 KNOTS OVER THE WATERS DUE
TO STRONG OFFSHORE FLOW...WHICH WOULD RESULT IN HAZARDOUS SMALL
CRAFT CONDITIONS. HOWEVER...CONFIDENCE IS LOW IN THIS OCCURRING AT
THE MOMENT.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FOR GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS AND LOW
RELATIVE HUMIDITY MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON FOR
THE MOUNTAINS...COASTAL FOOTHILLS...AND VALLEY AREAS OF SAN
BERNARDINO...ORANGE...RIVERSIDE...AND SAN DIEGO COUNTIES.
MODERATE TO STRONG OFFSHORE FLOW WILL DEVELOP ACROSS MOST AREAS OF
THE COASTAL MOUNTAIN SLOPES/FOOTHILLS/WESTERN VALLEYS SUNDAY THROUGH
TUESDAY. EASTERLY WIND GUSTS OF 45 TO 60 MPH...AND LOCALLY 75
MPH...WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR THE FAVORED WINDY LOCATIONS. STRONGEST
WINDS ARE FORECAST FROM LATE MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. RELATIVE
HUMIDITY OVER AND WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS AND INLAND AREAS WILL LOWER
INTO THE TEENS SUNDAY...AND INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS MONDAY AND
TUESDAY. HIGHS WILL RISE INTO THE LOW TO MID 80S IN THE VALLEYS BY
MIDWEEK. BEST CHANCE FOR ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE ON
MONDAY AND TUESDAY...WITH CONDITIONS SLOWLY IMPROVING THROUGH THE
END OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 3 AM PST SUNDAY FOR THE COACHELLA VALLEY...
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS...SAN
DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS.
FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
AFTERNOON 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...SAN DIEGO COUNTY INLAND VALLEYS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY
MOUNTAINS-INCLUDING THE PALOMAR AND DESCANSO RANGER
DISTRICTS OF THE CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST...SANTA ANA
MOUNTAINS-INCLUDING THE TRABUCO RANGER DISTRICT OF THE
CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST.
HIGH WIND WATCH FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY 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.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 3 AM PST SUNDAY FOR THE APPLE AND LUCERNE
VALLEYS...SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC/FIRE WEATHER...JAD
AVIATION/MARINE...JMBPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
653 PM PST SAT NOV 22 2014
...TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
...DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0150 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 7 ENE CABAZON 33.95N 116.66W
11/22/2014 M55 MPH RIVERSIDE CA MESONET
MESONET STATION WHITEWATER RAWS /WWAC1/
&&
NWS SAN DIEGO CA
IRIS SYSTEMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds occurred at the Whitewater RAWS between 2100 PST and 0000 PST on the 23rd, with sustained winds out of the west-northwest at 35-45 mph and gusting over 60 mph. The peak gust of 63 mph was recorded between 2050-2150 PST on the 22nd.
High winds began at the Sill Hill SDGE mesonet between 2100-2110 PST on the 24th and ended between 0340-0350 PST on the 25th. During this time, winds were sustained out of the east at 40-60 mph with several gusts over 75 mph, including the peak gust of 87 mph recorded between 2300-2310 PST. High winds occurred at the Big Black Mountain mesonet between 2330 PST on the 24th and 0330 PST on the 25th. During this time, winds were sustained out of the east at 50-60 mph with gusts over 60 mph, including the peak gust of 78 mph recorded between 0007-0027 PST on the 25th. High winds occurred off and on at the Boulder Creek SDGE mesonet station between 2050 PST on the 24th and 0030 PST on the 25th with winds out of the east-northeast around 35 mph, gusting around 60, including a peak gust of 66 mph recorded near the beginning of the high wind period. High winds occurred at the Lucky Five Ranch SDGE mesonet between 2300 PST on the 24th and 0000 PST on the 25th, with ENE winds around 40 knots, gusting around 60 mph with a peak gust of 64 mph. Crestwood mesonet also had a peak gust of 58 mph between 2300 PST on the 24th and 0000 PST on the 25th.
High winds began at the Pleasants Peak SDGE mesonet between 0629-0659 PST on the 23rd and ended between 1151-1251 PST the same day. During this time, winds were sustained out of the east-northeast at 35-45 mph with several gusts over 60 mph, including the peak gust of 68 mph recorded between 0629-0659 PST. High winds began at the Fremont RAWS between 0651-0751 PST on the 23rd and ended between 1151-1251 PST the same day. During this time, winds were sustained out of the east-northeast at 35-45 mph with gusts over 60 mph, including the peak gust of 67 mph recorded between 0851-0951 PST.
The Otay Mountain and Lyons Peak mesonet sites each had a peak gust of 59 mph between 0215-0400 PST on the 25th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in California, November 2014
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: 548679, 548681, 548680, 548682.