California, 2019

Dust Storm and High Wind in California, April 9, 2019

April 9, 2019 · NWS VEF · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system and associated cold front brought high winds to the Mojave Desert region.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 VEF wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system and associated cold front brought high winds to the Mojave Desert region.

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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 9, 8:41 AM PST, 4 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 9, 8:41 AM PST, 4 hours 1 minute before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 9, 8:07 AM PST, 4 hours 35 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high wind, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Owens Valley

When
April 9, 12:42 PM PST to 1:42 PM PST
Where
Owens Valley forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

These winds occurred 4 miles NW of Independence.

Dust Storm, Western Mojave Desert

When
April 9, 4:55 PM PST to 5:30 PM PST
Where
Western Mojave Desert forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust storm conditions reduced visibility below one quarter mile on Interstate 40 east of Newberry Springs between mile markers 28 and 29.

High Wind, Morongo Basin

When
April 9, 6:40 PM PST to 10:39 PM PST
Where
Morongo Basin forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The peak measured gust occurred 9 miles NNE of Joshua Tree.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Dust Storm
Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2019

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: 814679, 814680, 814681.