A strong onshore pressure gradient developed during the afternoon of August 2 and produced strong wind gusts in the Kern County Deserts as well as in the Tehachapi area with several stations reporting gusts exceeding 50 mph from the evening of August 2 until the early morning hours of August 3 when pressure gradients relaxed.
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.
The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.
A strong onshore pressure gradient developed during the afternoon of August 2 and produced strong wind gusts in the Kern County Deserts as well as in the Tehachapi area with several stations reporting gusts exceeding 50 mph from the evening of August 2 until the early morning hours of August 3 when pressure gradients relaxed.
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 Aug 2, 2:24 PM PST, 6 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 324 PM PDT Sun Aug 2 2020 ...UPDATED AIR QUALITY SECTION... .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will slowly weaken tonight and Monday before a trough of low pressure moves into the region. Much cooler weather will be the rule this week with below seasonal normal temperatures. && .DISCUSSION... Skies are a bit hazier then normal over the San Joaquin Valley as smoke from the Pond Fire over in San Luis Obispo overspread the area last night. Over the region skies remain typically clear for early August as very dry air remains in place and is well noted on water vapor imagery. The main weather story for the upcoming few days will be a robust cooling trend and some increase in wind through the passes. Forecast models bring the incoming Pacific Northwest system across Oregon and Washington tonight and Monday while the trailing frontal system weakens over Northern California. The main effect will be an increase in onshore pressure gradients with the typical marine intrusion through the passes and windier conditions in these areas. The forecast area will see some minor cooling on Monday and even more on Tuesday as a secondary low pressure system moves into Northern California. Heights lower even more on Wednesday and Thursday to around 5820 meters at the 500 millibar pressure level and this will allow for highs to reach values as much as 10 degrees below normal. By Friday and over next weekend weak low pressure is progged to remain off the NorCal coast however heights begin to build as the airmass modifies. This will allow for a warming trend to begin. No hint in the forecast models of any change in the synoptic pattern that would bring the onset of the monsoon in the next 10 days or so. && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will prevail at MCE, MER, FAT, VIS, and BFL through at least then next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... On Monday August 3 2020... Unhealthy for sensitive groups in Sequoia National Park and Forest. 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 high. Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information an/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 3 AM PDT Monday for CAZ196-198-199. && public...Dudley aviation....Dudley weather.gov/hanford
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Southern California Edison Station in Little Oak Canyon measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Mojave AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2020
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: 898744, 898741.