California, 2017

High Wind in California, April 27, 2017

April 27, 2017 · NWS HNX · 3 events in 1 county or zone

Another period of gusty northerly winds occurred over Central California on the afternoon and evening of the 27th as a shortwave trough pushed dropped through the Pacific Northwest and into the Great Basin. Some strong gusts were observed for the second consecutive day in wind prone areas of the Kern County Mountains, and widespread gusts between 35 and 40 mph were observed in the San Joaquin…

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 HNX wrote it up.

Another period of gusty northerly winds occurred over Central California on the afternoon and evening of the 27th as a shortwave trough pushed dropped through the Pacific Northwest and into the Great Basin. Some strong gusts were observed for the second consecutive day in wind prone areas of the Kern County Mountains, and widespread gusts between 35 and 40 mph were observed in the San Joaquin Valley.

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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 27, 1:10 PM PST, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 27, 1:10 PM PST, 3 hours 4 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA
210 PM PDT Thu Apr 27 2017

.SYNOPSIS...Breezy conditions will continue across the region
through Friday. Lighter winds, warming temperatures and dry
weather will then prevail this weekend into early next week as
high pressure strengthens over the region.

&&

.DISCUSSION...Cool and dry northwest flow prevailing over our
area at this time as central CA remains situated in between an
upper ridge centered near 135W and a broad upper trough over the
central CONUS. Shortwave energy pushing into the PAC NW and
dropping into the Great Basin is continuing to bring increased
northwest winds along with increased cloud cover to our area with
some upslope persisting over the south end of the San Joaquin
Valley and the foothills and valley facing slopes of the mountains
in in Tulare and Kern Counties. Wind gusts at some locations in
the Kern County Mountains and Deserts are expected to exceed 45
mph this afternoon and this evening before decreasing overnight so
a Wind Advisory continues for these areas through 500 am Friday.

Meanwhile, drier air pushing into our area will allow for the
upslope low clouds to slowly erode this evening and skies will be
mainly clear across our area on Friday as the offshore ridge
becomes more amplified and pushes the stream of shortwave impulses
further northward. Breezy conditions will still prevail across
portions of our area on Friday as surface p-grads remain fairly
strong, most noticeably in the San Joaquin Valley; but are
expected to remain below advisory levels. Temperatures will remain
on the cool side for late April.

The 18Z WRF is indicating the ridge will slowly shift east over
the weekend which will bring rises in heights and thicknesses
along with relaxing p-grads. Temperatures will rise to near
seasonal normals by Saturday and to above normal by Sunday as a
result. Winds will diminish on Satruday and remain fairly light
for the remainder of the weekend.

The medium range models are in fairly good agreement in building
the upper ridge inland across the western CONUS Monday through
Thursday which will provide for a period of dry conditions and
above normal temperatures across our area.

&&

.AVIATION...Local MVFR and isolated mountain obscuring IFR in low
clouds in the Southern Sierra Nevada until 06Z Friday and in the
Kern County Mountains until 18Z Friday. Otherwise, VFR conditions
will prevail across the central CA interior along with gusty to
breezy northerly winds during the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...None.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is high.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is medium.

Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit
www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.php for additional information
an/or to provide feedback.

&&

.HNX Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
Wind Advisory until 5 AM PDT Friday CAZ095-098-099.

&&

public...DS
avn/fw...Andersen
synopsis...DS

weather.gov/hanford

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When
April 27, 4:14 PM PST
Where
Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured
62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS

The Jawbone Canyon RAWS reported a peak wind gust of 71 mph.

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When
April 27, 5:27 PM PST
Where
Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured
70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS

The Bird Springs Pass RAWS reported a peak wind gust of 80 mph.

High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns

When
April 27, 5:39 PM PST
Where
Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

The Mesonet Station 13 ENE of Lebec on the South Slope of the Tehachapi Mountains reported a peak wind gust of 58 mph.

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

More

Every storm in California in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2017

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: 693051, 693052, 693053.