High Wind in California, December 5 to 6, 2019

Name: High Wind in California, December 5 to 6, 2019
Start: 2019-12-05T23:10
End: 2019-12-06T10:13
Location: California

December 5 to 6, 2019 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Warm air advection ahead of an incoming storm system off the California coast produced strong downslope winds off of the Tehachapi Mountains during the evening of December 5 through the morning of December 6. Several locations measured brief gusts gusts above 40 mph while two ridge tops measured gusts above 60 mph.

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.

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 5, 4:15 PM PST, 6 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 4:15 PM PST, 6 hours 55 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion...Updated
National Weather Service Hanford CA
415 PM PST Thu Dec 5 2019

Updated Air Quality Issues section

.SYNOPSIS...
A ridge of high pressure will warm and dry conditions
through Friday. Fog will threaten the valley overnight.
Afterward, another weather system will affect the district over
the weekend. Winter weather will return as rain and snow will
once again blanket the Central California Interior for much of
the weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Fog plagued parts of the San Joaquin Valley this morning.
Otherwise mostly sunny with some lower clouds on the west side of
the valley and lots of thin high clouds crossing central CA from
an upstream system. Temperatures warmed above forecast highs due
to a ridge aloft and southerly downslope flow off the transverse
mountains. A tough fog forecast tonight due to increasing high
clouds and a pick up in south wind ahead of the approaching
trough. Think there may be a mix of fog and low ceilings after
midnight and quick clearing by mid morning with increased mixing
from a pick in south wind. Warm air advection ahead of system
along with downslope flow off the Diablo and Tehachapi mountains
should result in another day of mild temperatures. Winds could be
gusty Friday afternoon and evening ahead of the approaching storm
especially in the central valley and west side.

Models prog the system tapping into a plume of tropical moisture
off Baja as it approaches California. Precipitation may start
Friday evening towards Yosemite spreading southward across our
area through the weekend. The higher precipitation amounts are
expected towards the north sectors in Merced and Yosemite area
decreasing towards Kern County. Snowfall amounts may range from 2
feet towards Tuolumne decreasing to 1 ft towards Sequoai Park.
Near 3 feet of snowfall may be possible in the higher elevations
of the sierra especially north of the Kings River. This system
will be colder with snow accumulations down to 6kft.

An East Pacific Ridge of high pressure will build inland over
much of the west coast for early next week, bringing warm and dry
conditions across our area but potentially producing more episodes
of San Joaquin Valley Tule fog.

&&

.AVIATION...
MVFR conditions with local IFR visibility in parts of the San
Joaquin Valley due to patchy fog 10z-17z Friday. Otherwise VFR
conditions  elsewhere in 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.html for additional information
and/or to provide feedback.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Winter Storm Warning from 10 PM Friday to 7 PM PST Sunday for
CAZ192>194.

&&

public...MV
aviation....MV

weather.gov/hanford

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Tehachapi Area

When: December 5, 11:10 PM PST
Where: Tehachapi Area forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Utility Company

The PG&E station at Pampa Peak measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.

High Wind, Fort Tejon

When: December 6, 10:13 AM PST
Where: Fort Tejon forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS

The Grapevine Peak RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 63 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

Every storm in California in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 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: 859070, 859071.