A trough of low pressure brought strong winds to the desert slopes of the Riverside County mountains, impacting the Coachella Music Festival during the evening of the 22nd.
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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 trough of low pressure brought strong winds to the desert slopes of the Riverside County mountains, impacting the Coachella Music Festival during the evening of the 22nd.
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 Apr 22, 12:44 PM PST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
144 PM PDT FRI APR 22 2016
.SYNOPSIS...
A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT,
CREATING COOLER WEATHER, MORE CLOUDS, STRONG WINDS IN THE
MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS, AS WELL AS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS
TONIGHT. THE WEEKEND WILL CONTINUE RELATIVELY COOL, BUT SEASONAL.
ON SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL MOVE
ACROSS CALIFORNIA AND CREATE A SMALL CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND GUSTY
WINDS. PRECIPITATION CHANCES RETURN THURSDAY, WITH GREATER CHANCES
OF HEAVIER MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
AT 1 PM PDT, WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY DISPLAYED AN UPPER-
LEVEL LOW CENTERED OFF THE OR COAST, WITH THE ASSOCIATED TROUGH
MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN/CENTRAL CA. VISIBLE SATELLITE SHOWED
MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES, WITH A FEW LOW CLOUDS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS.
THE AFOREMENTIONED UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH WILL SWING ACROSS THE
REGION TONIGHT, CREATING A DEEP MARINE LAYER, THE POSSIBILITY OF
DRIZZLE/LIGHT SHOWERS OVER INLAND VALLEYS/FOOTHILLS AND BREEZY
WESTERLY WINDS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. PRECIPITATION
ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM A TRACE TO A FEW HUNDREDTHS OF AN
INCH. STRONGEST WIND GUSTS NEAR 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED OVER THE
MOUNTAIN RIDGES AND ALONG DESERT MOUNTAINS SLOPES TONIGHT. A WIND
ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS FROM THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. ZONAL FLOW THIS WEEKEND
WILL KEEP HIGH TEMPERATURES NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS.
A SLIGHTLY DEEPER UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH WILL DIG ACROSS THE AREA
MONDAY. THIS WILL CREATE HIGH TEMPERATURES 5 TO 15 DEG F BELOW
NORMAL, AND ANOTHER ROUND OF WIND ADVISORY-LEVEL WESTERLY WINDS
OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. THE ECMWF CONTINUES TO DEVELOP
PRECIP OVER NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA, WHILE THE GFS CONTINUES
TO BE MOSTLY DRY. GIVEN THE DIFFERENCE IN THE SOLUTIONS, ONLY A
SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE OF PRECIP REMAINS IN THE FORECAST FOR
MONDAY. SNOW LEVELS COULD LOWER TO AROUND 7000 FT BY MONDAY
AFTERNOON. ZONAL FLOW TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WILL RAISE HIGH
TEMPERATURES TO NEAR NORMAL.
MODELS CONTINUE TO DIG A DEEP UPPER-LEVEL LOW ACROSS THE REGION
NEXT THURSDAY INTO EARLY NEXT FRIDAY, BUT ALSO CONTINUE TO DIFFER
IN THE DETAILS. THE 22/1200 UTC ECMWF IS QUICKER AND DRIER WITH
THE SYSTEM, WHILE THE 22/1200 UTC GFS IS SLOWER AND SOMEWHAT WETTER.
SINCE PRECIPITATION HAS BEEN CONSISTENT OVER CERTAIN AREAS OVER
TIME, POPS HAVE BEEN RAISED TO CHANCE IN SOME AREAS. SNOW LEVELS
COULD LOWER TO AROUND 6000 FT WHEN THE LOW IS CENTERED OVER THE
REGION.
&&
.AVIATION...
222000Z...COAST/VALLEYS...LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WILL RETURN TO COASTAL
TAF SITES AFTER 23/02Z WITH BKN-OVC CIGS AROUND 2000 FT. LOCAL VIS 3-
5 MI IN BR/FG WHERE CLOUDS MEET HIGHER TERRAIN. EARLIER CLEARING OF
LOW CLOUDS EXPECTED SATURDAY MORNING...LIKELY BY 16-17Z FOR MOST
COASTAL LOCATIONS.
MOUNTAINS/DESERTS...INCREASING WEST WINDS TODAY WITH SURFACE GUSTS
30-40 KT POSSIBLE WILL PRODUCE MODERATE UP/DOWNDRAFTS AND LLWS OVER
AND EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE
NIGHT, DROPPING OFF AROUND SUNRISE SATURDAY MORNING.
&&
.MARINE...
100 PM...GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15-20 KT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
SATURDAY NIGHT WITH GUSTS FROM 20-25 KT AS A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH
MOVES THROUGH CENTRAL CA. CONTINUED BREEZY SATURDAY.
SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING, A LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL OF 9-12 FEET
AT 9-11 SECONDS FROM 290 DEGREES WILL MOVE INTO THE COASTAL WATERS.
THIS WILL COMBINE WITH STRONGER NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTING 25-30 KT AS
A SECOND TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE REGION. THE STRONG
WINDS AND NORTHWEST SWELL WILL CREATE COMBINED SEAS OF 9 TO 12 FEET,
RESULTING IN CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS TO SMALL CRAFT. A SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.
&&
.BEACHES...
100 PM...A NW SWELL OF 10-13 FT AT ABOUT 9 SECONDS WILL MOVE INTO
THE SOUTHERN CA BIGHT MON AND TUE. THIS SWELL COULD RESULT IN
ELEVATED SURF OF AROUND 6 FT WITH HIGHER SETS ON EXPOSED WEST-FACING
BEACHES...ALONG WITH STRONG RIP CURRENTS.
A LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL FROM 290 DEGREES WILL RESULT IN
ELEVATED SURF OF 3 TO 6 FEET WITH HIGHER SETS POSSIBLE. STRONG RIP
CURRENTS TUESDAY.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...WIND ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM PDT SATURDAY FOR
APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS-COACHELLA VALLEY-RIVERSIDE COUNTY
MOUNTAINS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY
DESERTS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN GORGONIO PASS NEAR
BANNING.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM PDT TUESDAY FOR COASTAL WATERS
FROM SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER AND OUT TO 30 NM-
WATERS FROM SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER EXTENDING
30 TO 60 NM OUT INCLUDING SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND.
&&
PUBLIC...JJT
AVIATION/MARINE/BEACHES...TSThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Emergency Manager for the City of Indio reported strong winds at the Coachella Music Festival. The winds displaced numerous tents, causing damage to parked cars.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2016
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: 628990.