High Wind, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- June 17, 2:14 PM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
The Jawbone Canyon RAWS reported a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
High Wind in California, June 17, 2018
An upper level low pressure system moved into Northern California on June 16. This resulted in increased onshore flow over Central California and a noticeable cooling trend across the area between the 15th (when temperatures were above normal) and the 17th (when temperatures were several degrees below normal for mid June).
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.
An upper level low pressure system moved into Northern California on June 16. This resulted in increased onshore flow over Central California and a noticeable cooling trend across the area between the 15th (when temperatures were above normal) and the 17th (when temperatures were several degrees below normal for mid June). A strong inland push of marine cooled air resulted in breezy conditions over the west side of the San Joaquin Valley on the afternoon of June 16 where several locations had gusts exceeding 35 mph. Increased pressure gradients produced gusty winds over the Kern County Mountains and Deserts from the afternoon of June 17 through the morning of June 18. Several stations reported gusts exceeding 45 mph while a few locations had peak gusts near 60 mph.The winds diminished by the afternoon of the 18th as the upper low lifted northeast into the Northern Rockies.
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 Jun 17, 1:48 PM PST, 26 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 1:48 PM PST, 26 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA 248 PM PDT Sun Jun 17 2018 .SYNOPSIS...Dry weather and a major day to day warming trend will occur throughout the central California interior through midweek. A return of triple digit heat is likely by Wednesday in the San Joaquin Valley, lower foothills and the Kern County desert. Once here, hot weather will persist through at least next weekend. && .DISCUSSION...It's not often that you can talk about "June Gloom" in the San Joaquin Valley and adjacent foothills, but today started out that way throughout much of this region. As of this writing, clouds are still blanketing the west slopes of the Sierra and the east side of the San Joaquin Valley from Fresno county southward. Otherwise, this afternoon is remarkably cooler than 24 hours ago with temperatures trending ten to as much as 25 degrees lower than yesterday afternoon. We can thank a storm system that is currently centered over northwestern Nevada for the cool change in the weather today. This system produced a robust onshore flow across the CWA this weekend and brought a deep intrusion of marine air into the lower elevations last night, and, yes, brought coastal weather typical of June well inland. A brisk northwesterly flow aloft associated with the storm system over Nevada is supporting gusty winds through and below the mountain passes this afternoon and is also helping to bank clouds up along the western slopes of the Sierra where they will most likely linger into Monday morning. Winds will gradually abate through and below the mountain passes tonight as the onshore flow weakens. A major warm up will get underway Monday and continue through the middle of the week as a strong upper level ridge of high pressure builds into California. The closed low over Nevada will be kicked up into Idaho by this high pressure ridge Monday afternoon. However, a lingering Northwesterly flow aloft over central California could still support gusty breezes through the mountain passes. Winds in these areas will not be as strong Monday as they've been this weekend. Otherwise, temperatures will make a big jump Monday afternoon and warm by as much as 15 degrees over today. Our warming trend will continue earnestly Tuesday and Wednesday. High temperatures will bounce back to normal Tuesday, with continued rises Wednesday and Thursday. Widespread triple digit heat will return to the San Joaquin Valley, lower foothills and the Kern County desert by Thursday with repeat occurrences in the 5 to 7 day period. Once hot weather returns to the central California interior, it will likely persist for many days and could very easily become our longest stretch of triple digit heat so far this year. How appropriate is that? After all, Summer officially begins Thursday. (3:07 am PDT) So enjoy our current spell of unseasonably cool weather. In a few short days, many central Californians will be wishing it was still here. && .AVIATION... MVFR conditions due to ceilings and mountain obscurations expected through 03Z Monday, over the Tehachapi Mountains, as well as the southern Sierra Nevada and foothills. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the Central CA interior during the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... None. && .CERTAINTY... The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is medium. The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is high. 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 9 PM PDT this evening CAZ095-098-099. && public...Durfee avn/fw...BSO synopsis...Durfee weather.gov/hanford
Event by event
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Indian Wells Vly
- When
- June 17, 6:26 PM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Vly forecast zone
- Measured
- 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
The Indian Wells Canyon RAWS reported a peak wind gust of 61 mph.
High Wind, Se Kern Cty Desert
- When
- June 17, 9:37 PM PST
- Where
- Se Kern Cty Desert forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Cache Creek reported a peak wind gust of 62 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
- High Surf in Florida, June 17, 2018
- Rip Current in Florida, June 17, 2018
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, June 17, 2018
- Damaging Winds in Minnesota, June 17, 2018
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, June 17, 2018
- Damaging Wind and Strong Wind in Louisiana, June 17 to 19, 2018
- Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 17, 2018
- Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 17, 2018
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, June 17 to 23, 2018
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in West Virginia, June 17, 2018
- Tornado and Hail in Colorado, June 17, 2018
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 17, 2018
More
Every storm in California in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 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: 751999, 751998, 751997.