A broad area of high pressure aloft became established over the eastern Pacific, with surface high pressure over the Great Basin, resulted in offshore flow (Santa Ana winds). The gusty easterly winds were mostly confined to the San Diego County mountains and coastal slopes.
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.
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.
A broad area of high pressure aloft became established over the eastern Pacific, with surface high pressure over the Great Basin, resulted in offshore flow (Santa Ana winds). The gusty easterly winds were mostly confined to the San Diego County mountains and coastal slopes.
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 3, 8:48 PM PST, 6 hours 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
848 PM PST MON NOV 3 2014
.SYNOPSIS...
WARM AND DRY WEATHER IS ON TAP THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND UNDER A BUILDING
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE AND LOCALLY GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS. EASTERLY
WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST THROUGH AND BELOW CANYONS AND ALONG THE
COASTAL FOOTHILLS. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE 5 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE
AVERAGE. SKIES WILL REMAIN CLEAR...SO WHERE WINDS DROP OFF OVERNIGHT
IT WILL BE QUITE COOL. PATCHY FROST IS POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGH
DESERTS TONIGHT. THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE IS FORECAST TO WEAKEN NEXT
WEEK...ALLOWING THE MARINE AIR TO RETURN ALONG WITH COOLER DAYS.
&&
DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING
ORANGE...SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN
BERNARDINO COUNTIES...
SKIES ARE CLEAR ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING...EVEN WELL
OFFSHORE. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS ARE ACCELERATING OFFSHORE...
ESPECIALLY FROM NV. LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS ARE OCCURRING AT SOME REMOTE
GAGES BELOW THE CAJON PASS AND OVER THE SANTA ANA MTS.
IT WILL BE ANOTHER COOL NIGHT WITH SOME PATCHY FROST POSSIBLE OVER
THE HIGH DESERTS. OTHERWISE...THE FORECAST REMAINS ON TRACK FOR
WARMER DAYS...GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS THROUGH AND BELOW THE PASSES AND
CANYONS...AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY UNDER A BUILDING RIDGE OF HIGH
PRESSURE ALOFT. 500 MB HEIGHTS PEAK OVER SOCAL AT AROUND 591 DM ON
THU...BUT THE SFC HIGH PEAKS AT AROUND 1031 MBS OVER THE GREAT BASIN
TUE/WED MORNINGS WHEN OFFSHORE WINDS WILL BE MOST WIDESPREAD ALONG
AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS. STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR OVER NORTHERN
PORTIONS OF THE CWA ON TUE...SHIFTING TO SAN DIEGO COUNTY ON WED.
THE WINDS WILL WEAKEN ON THU...BUT REMAIN LOCALLY GUSTY NEAR THE
FOOTHILLS THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
THE LATEST GLOBAL MODEL RUNS SHOW A WEAKENING RIDGE ALOFT NEXT WEEK
WHICH SHOULD ALLOW SURFACE GRADIENTS TO TURN BACK ONSHORE. A GRADUAL
RETURN OF THE MARINE LAYER AND ASSOCIATED CLOUDS/FOG IS THEN
EXPECTED BY MON NIGHT.
&&
.AVIATION...
040430Z...MOSTLY CLEAR WITH UNRESTRICTED VIS THROUGH TUESDAY
EVENING. GUSTY N-NE WINDS AFFECTING THE INLAND FOOTHILLS AND OTHER
WIND PRONE AREAS BELOW THE CAJON PASS IN THE INLAND EMPIRE. KONT MAY
EXPERIENCE BRIEF NE WINDS GUSTING TO 10-20 KT AFT
04/0600Z...CONTINUING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. OTHERWISE NO AVIATION
CONCERNS.
&&
.MARINE...
830 PM...NO HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH FRIDAY.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FROM 6 AM PST WEDNESDAY THROUGH
10 PM PST THURSDAY.
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE GREAT BASIN WILL GENERATE
LOCALLY GUSTY SANTA ANA WINDS MUCH OF THIS WEEK. THE WINDS WILL
COMBINE WITH VERY LOW RH TO CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
FOR SEVERAL HOURS EACH DAY TUE THROUGH THU. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY
ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE MOST CRITICAL DAYS AFTER THE FUELS DRY ON
TUE. EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS OF 15-30 MPH...WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH
WILL BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. ISOLATED GUSTS TO 55 MPH
ARE POSSIBLE IN THE MOST WIND PRONE AREAS OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY
MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS ON WEDNESDAY. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL
DROP BELOW TEN PERCENT TUE THROUGH THU FOR A TIME...AND OVERNIGHT
RECOVERY WILL BE POOR WHERE WINDS STAY UP.
CONDITIONS WILL BEGIN TO IMPROVE THURSDAY EVENING...ALTHOUGH THE
DAYS WILL REMAIN WARM AND DRY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY
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...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.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC/FIRE WEATHER...JAD
AVIATION/MARINE...JTThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds occurred at the Sill Hill SDGE mesonet site between 0330-0830 PST on the 4th, with a several gusts over 60 mph. The peak gust of 69 mph was recorded between 0625-0655 PST.
High winds occurred at the Sill Hill SDGE mesonet site between 0440-0510 PST on the 4th, with a peak gust of 63 mph. High winds occurred at the Crestwood SDGE mesonet site between 0750-0830 PST on the 4th, with a peak gust of 61 mph. High winds occurred at the Lucky Five Ranch SDGE mesonet site between 0600-0630 PST on the 4th, with a peak gust of 61 mph.
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: 548562, 548561.