High Wind in California, September 26 to 27, 2014

Name: High Wind in California, September 26 to 27, 2014
Start: 2014-09-26T23:00
End: 2014-09-27T02:00
Location: California

September 26 to 27, 2014 · NWS SGX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A trough of low pressure moved inland over central California, bringing strong onshore flow to southern California and resulting in strong and gusty west to southwest winds in the mountains and deserts of Riverside County during the early morning of the 27th.

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.

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 Sep 26, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 26, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
930 PM PDT FRI SEP 26 2014

.SYNOPSIS...
COOLER SATURDAY AS A DEEP TROUGH MOVES INLAND ACROSS CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA. THE TROUGH WILL DEEPEN THE MARINE LAYER WITH LOW CLOUDS
SPREADING INTO THE VALLEYS...AND ALSO BRING GUSTY WEST WINDS TO THE
MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS SATURDAY. A SHOWER OR TWO MAY OCCUR OVER THE
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS LATE SATURDAY THROUGH LATE SUNDAY.
THE WEATHER WILL TURN WARMER EARLY NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT
SLOWLY BUILDS OVER THE REGION.

&&

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

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ERUPTED IN THE UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER IMPERIAL
COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON. MEANWHILE...JUST 70 MILES TO THE WEST OVER
THE RIVERSIDE AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...STANDING LENTICULAR
CLOUDS WERE INDICATIVE OF A MORE STABLE AIRMASS ALOFT.

THE 00Z NKX SOUNDING WAS DRIER AND COOLER THAN THE 12Z SOUNDING IN
RESPONSE TO THE ADVANCING LONG WAVE TROUGH DEEPENING ALONG THE WEST
COAST. THE WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS A SPEED MAX ROUNDING THE BASE OF
THE TROUGH NEAR PT CONCEPTION THIS EVENING. THIS TROUGH DEVELOPS
INTO A CLOSED LOW OVERNIGHT WITH SEVERAL STRONG VORT MAXES
PINWHEELING AROUND THE CLOSED LOW THIS WEEKEND. ONE STRONG VORT MAX
MOVES ACROSS SOCAL SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOLLOWED BY A SECOND VORT MAX
SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE LACK OF MOISTURE IS THE LIMITING FACTOR FOR
PRECIP THIS WEEKEND AS THE AIRMASS OVER SOCAL DRIES OUT QUICKLY
TONIGHT. PWATS FALL TO 0.50"-0.75" SATURDAY MORNING...SO CHANCES FOR
SHOWERS WILL BE SMALL AND LIKELY LIMITED TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MTNS.
PWATS INCREASE SLIGHTLY ON SUNDAY TO BETWEEN 0.75"-1.00" AHEAD OF
THE SECOND VORT MAX FOR SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCES FOR SHOWERS IN THE
SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS.

WHILE THE PRECIP CHANCES WILL BE SMALL THIS WEEKEND...GUSTY MTN AND
DESERT WINDS ARE LIKELY. THE JET CORE ALOFT...STRONGER MID LEVEL
WESTERLY WINDS AND INCREASING ONSHORE SFC GRADIENTS ALL LEND SUPPORT
TO A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE RIVERSIDE AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS. STRONGEST WINDS WILL FUNNEL THROUGH THE SAN GORGONIO
PASS INTO THE NORTHERN COACHELLA VALLEY. WEAK ROTORS ARE POSSIBLE IN
THE COACHELLA VALLEYS THIS WEEKEND BUT SURFACING MOUNTAIN WAVES ARE
UNLIKELY.

THE TROUGH WILL BRING MUCH COOLER WEATHER AND A DEEPER MARINE LAYER
TO AROUND 4000 FEET THIS WEEKEND.

MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...THE TROUGH LIFTS NORTHEAST WITH
INCREASING HEIGHTS AND WARMER DAYS. THE MODELS ARE IN DECENT
AGREEMENT WITH A RIDGE MOVING OVER THE REGION THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY
FOR WEAK TO MODERATE OFFSHORE FLOW AND EVEN GREATER WARMING TOWARD
THE END OF THE WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION...
270300Z...LOW CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO FORM ALONG THE COAST THIS
EVENING...GRADUALLY PRODUCING CIGS AT THE COASTAL AIRPORTS BY 27/07Z
AND INTO THE INLAND VALLEYS OVERNIGHT. BASES WILL BE AROUND
1500-2000 FEET MSL...LIFTING TO 2000-2500 FEET OVERNIGHT. LOCAL VIS
4SM OR LESS WHERE CLOUDS MEET HIGHER TERRAIN INLAND. SCATTERING OF
LOW CLOUDS EXPECTED BY 27/18-19Z WITH AN EARLY RETURN AGAIN SATURDAY
EVENING.

&&

.MARINE...
800 PM...NORTHWEST WINDS 15-20 KT WITH GUSTS TO 25 KT LIKELY OVER
THE OUTER COASTAL WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT...STRONGEST NEAR SAN
CLEMENTE ISLAND. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 2 AM
PDT SATURDAY MORNING FOR THE OUTER WATERS. NO HAZARDOUS MARINE
WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE REST OF SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

&&

.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.

&&

.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PDT SUNDAY FOR THE COACHELLA VALLEY...
     RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS...SAN
     DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS.

PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 2 AM PDT SATURDAY FOR THE
     WATERS FROM SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER EXTENDING
     30 TO 60 NM OUT INCLUDING SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND.

&&

PUBLIC...MOEDE
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 Bernardino County Mountains

When: September 26, 11:00 PM PST to September 27, 2:00 AM PST
Where: San Bernardino County Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds occurred at the Burns Canyon RAWS between 2300 PST on the 26th and 0200 PST on the 27th, with southwest winds sustained between 30 and 40 mph and gusting to over 60 mph. The peak gust of 66 mph was recorded between 0000 and 0100 PST on the 27th.

High Wind, Coachella Valley

When: September 27, 12:00 AM PST to 2:00 AM PST
Where: Coachella Valley forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Whitewater RAWS measured a peak gust of 59 mph between 0050 and 0150 PST on the 27th. Winds had gusted in the mid to upper 50s for the past 2 hours.

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, September 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: 544109, 544108.