High Wind, W Central S.J. Valley
- When
- December 16, 9:19 AM PST
- Where
- W Central S.J. Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
The APRS station 2ENE Gustine reported a maximum wind gust of 59 mph.
High Wind in California, December 16, 2017
An upper trough that had very little moisture with it dropped southeast out of the Gulf of Alaska and pushed into northern California on December 15. This system pushed through central California on the morning of December 16 pushing a cold front through the region.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
An upper trough that had very little moisture with it dropped southeast out of the Gulf of Alaska and pushed into northern California on December 15. This system pushed through central California on the morning of December 16 pushing a cold front through the region. Strong post-frontal winds developed in the San Joaquin Valley behind the front by late morning and continued well into the afternoon hours before the winds diminished by evening. Several stations in the San Joaquin Valley measured peak wind gusts between 35 mph and 55 mph.
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 Dec 16, 4:59 AM PST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 4:59 AM PST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA 459 AM PST Sat Dec 16 2017 .SYNOPSIS...A dry cold front moving through the region will bring cooler and blustery weather today, then temperatures will trend back up to several degrees above normal through the first part of next week. Another cold front will push through by midweek, bringing seasonably cool conditions and a few possible showers over the mountains. Otherwise, dry weather will prevail through the end of next week. && .DISCUSSION... A cold frontal system pushing into central California is bringing mainly some mid and high clouds, with a little virga but no precip, though we could see a few light showers/flurries over the high Sierra through this morning. This system will bring mainly increased winds today and this is beginning to be seen north of Fresno County, as winds in the Merced area have picked up to around 10-15 mph from the northwest. Increasing north-northwesterly winds will spread southward across the district with the passing front. Gusts around 35 mph are likely through Merced County and along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, into western Kern County through this evening. A wind advisory is in effect in these areas from 7am to 7pm today. Though there is insufficient moisture to squeeze out precipitation with the passing trough, it will bring improved humidity recoveries in the mountains by later this evening, however high pressure building over the Great Basin region supported by a strong upper level jet on the backside of the trough will bring increased easterly winds across the Sierra. Elevated fire danger will continue in this pattern into this evening and the red flag warning for the mountains continues through 7 pm this evening. The gusty winds in this pattern can also push down into the upper foothill areas through tonight, mainly north of Tulare County, bringing an increased risk of toppling trees in areas of heavy tree mortality. Model solutions are similar through the middle of next week, as high pressure is progged to build behind this passing system and ahead of the next approaching trough. Seasonably cool conditions will return through the weekend behind this front, then trending back upward to around 5-10 degrees above climo early next week under building high pressure. By Wednesday, the next frontal system is progged to move into our area, Models begin to diverge with the timing and strength of this system, but generally agree that it will bring cooler air than the current front. Highs should trend back to around climo for the latter part of the week, and some guidance suggests lows could be significantly colder, with a hard freeze possible in the San Joaquin Valley early Thursday morning and again Friday morning. Further model runs will improve confidence in the possibility of these freezing temperatures. The system should also have more moisture and provide at least slight chances for mountain showers Wednesday, but otherwise a dry forecast prevails through the end of the week. && .AVIATION... Widespread MVFR visibility in haze and mist will persist in the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada Foothills through 18Z Saturday. Surface winds gusting to 30 knots along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley with possibly reduced visibility in blowing dust between 15Z Saturday and 03Z Sunday. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail over the Central CA Interior during the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... On Saturday December 16 2017... Fireplace/Wood Stove Burning Status is: No Burning Unless Registered in Kern... Kings and Tulare Counties. Further information is available at Valleyair.org && .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... Red Flag Warning until 7 PM PST this evening CAZ295>297. Wind Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 7 PM PST this evening CAZ089>091. && public...JEB avn/fw...Molina synopsis...JEB weather.gov/hanford
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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, December 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: 724651.