High Wind, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- February 12, 2:10 AM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
The Bear Peak RAWS on an exposed ridge top reported a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
Tornado and High Wind in California, February 12, 2018
High pressure brought a prolonged period of unseasonably warm temperatures to begin February as temperatures were 10 degrees or more above seasonal normals across much of the are for the first 10 days of the month. A low pressure system dropping into the Great Basin on the 10th brought a period of increased winds to the Kern County Mountains and Deserts during the late morning and early…
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
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 HNX wrote it up.
High pressure brought a prolonged period of unseasonably warm temperatures to begin February as temperatures were 10 degrees or more above seasonal normals across much of the are for the first 10 days of the month. A low pressure system dropping into the Great Basin on the 10th brought a period of increased winds to the Kern County Mountains and Deserts during the late morning and early afternoon as strong mid level winds mixed down to the surface where there were numerous reports of gusts between 45 and 50 mph. Another trough pushed through the Great Basin on the evening of the 11th through the morning of the 12th which pushed a cold front through Central California and brought another period of increased winds to the area and there were several reports of wind gusts between 50 and 55 mp in the Kern County Mountains and Deserts. this system also brought some light precipitation to the area with amounts generally less than a tenth of an inch of liquid precipitation in post-frontal showers on the 12th. A weak tornado briefly touched down in rural farmland near Sanger during the late morning of the 12th.
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 Feb 11, 2:07 PM PST, 12 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 2:07 PM PST, 12 hours 3 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA 207 PM PST Sun Feb 11 2018 .SYNOPSIS... An area of low pressure will move south into Central California tonight and Monday. With moisture lacking, the low pressure system will bring the threat of light precipitation over the Sierra and Kern County Mountains with very little if any rain in the San Joaquin Valley. && .DISCUSSION... A low pressure system near the Oregon/California border this afternoon will continue to drop south. The cold front associated with this system will drop to near the Merced and Yosemite area late this afternoon then continue to move south through the CWA this evening and out of our area by about midnight. Models continue to be in good agreement in keeping the area of low pressure over central California on Monday, then drifting it westward to a position near Point Conception by late Tuesday afternoon before moving it east across southern California on Wednesday. This system is does not have a lot of moisture with it and the trajectory favors precipitation over the mountains, but not the San Joaquin Valley. Some light precipitation is expected to move into the Sierra near Yosemite this evening as the front moves through, then spread as far south as about Kings Canyon overnight. This same area is favored for a chance of rain and snow showers again on Monday. Snow levels are expected to lower to 3500 to 4000 feet tonight in the Sierra and remain near that level much of Monday, however, precipitation amounts will be light, generally one-tenth of an inch or less most places in the Sierra. The San Joaquin Valley will see clouds, but generally only a sprinkle or very light shower with no measurable rain expected. The precipitation chances will spread into the Kern County Mountains by Monday afternoon. Snow levels will lower to 3500 to 4000 feet early Tuesday morning, so cannot rule out a dusting of snow over the Grapevine and Tehachapi Pass depending on how much shower activity occurs. As of now, taking a wait and see position on any headlines for potential low elevation snow due to the high uncertainty of precipitation distribution. The chance of precipitation decreases by Tuesday evening as the low moves toward the coast. The trajectory of the low as it moves east on Wednesday will determine if there will be any shower activity in the Kern County Mountains. At this time have left in a slight chance of showers in that are due to the uncertainty. As this first low pressure system exits the area, another impulse drops south east of the Sierra on Thursday. Models have not been in good agreement on the placement of this feature, but most indicate it will stay far enough east to keep any precipitation out of the Sierra. A northwesterly flow with dry weather and gradually warming temperatures will remain over the region Friday through next weekend as the upper ridge remains over the eastern Pacific. && .AVIATION... Mountain obscurations due to snow showers possible over the Sierra Nevada after 03Z Monday, mainly north of Kings Canyon NP. Gusty onshore winds to 35 kts 03z-15z Monday through and below mountain passes of the Kern county mountains and desert. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail elsewhere in the central CA interior during the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... On Sunday February 11 2018... Fireplace/Wood Stove Burning Status is: No Burning Unless Registered in Fresno... 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... NONE. && public...Bean avn/fw...MV synopsis...Bean weather.gov/hanford
The radar
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:30 UTC.
Event by event
1 high wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Fresno
- When
- February 12, 11:30 AM PST to 11:32 AM PST
- Where
- Fresno County, 3.37 mi N of Parlier to 3.23 mi W of Reedley Airport
- Rating
- EF0
- Path length
- 0.3 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Reported by
- Broadcast Media
- Coordinates
- 36.669, -119.513
A tornado briefly touched down in rural farmland between Riverbend Ave. and Goodfellow Ave. southeast of Sanger and was captured on video and relayed to the NWS by a media source.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, February 12, 2018
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 12 to 13, 2018
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 12 to 14, 2018
- Extreme Cold in Montana, February 12, 2018
- Winter Weather in Wyoming, February 12, 2018
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 12 to 13, 2018
- Extreme Cold in Montana, February 12 to 13, 2018
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 12 to 13, 2018
- Frost and Freeze in Oregon, February 12 to 13, 2018
- Dense Fog in Colorado, February 12 to 13, 2018
More
Every storm in California in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 2018Warnings in California, February 2018
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: 730963, 731511.