High Wind, Lake Isabella
- When
- June 6, 11:18 AM PST
- Where
- Lake Isabella forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
The Squirrel Valley Lynch Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
High Wind in California, June 6, 2020
The upper trough which pushed into California on June 5 brought brought much cooler temperatures to the area on June 5 along with isolated showers and thunderstorms over the Kern County Mountains and Deserts and the south end of the San Joaquin Valley during the afternoon and early evening hours. Rainfall amounts were generally a few hundredths of an inch over the south end of the San Joaquin…
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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.
The upper trough which pushed into California on June 5 brought brought much cooler temperatures to the area on June 5 along with isolated showers and thunderstorms over the Kern County Mountains and Deserts and the south end of the San Joaquin Valley during the afternoon and early evening hours. Rainfall amounts were generally a few hundredths of an inch over the south end of the San Joaquin Valley while a few locations in the Kern County Mountains and Deserts picked up as much as a quarter of an inch of rainfall. The cooling trend continued across the area on June 6 and 7 as temperatures lowered to below seasonal averages. This system also produced a period of strong wind gusts across the Kern County Deserts and in the Tehachapi and Lake Isabella areas. Several stations in these areas measured winds gusts between 45 mph and 55 mph during the afternoon and evening of June 6 while some low impact indicator sites measured gusts exceeding 60 mph. The winds diminshed on June 7 as the trough moved to the east of the area.
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 6, 3:12 AM PST, 8 hours 6 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 3:12 AM PST, 8 hours 6 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 412 AM PDT Sat Jun 6 2020 .SYNOPSIS... a few showers possible this morning across the Tehachapi Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Cool and breezy to windy weekend is expected this weekend. Warming temperatures and dry conditions for much of next week. Gusty winds developing each afternoon/evening in the wind-prone regions of the forecast area through Sunday. && .DISCUSSION... Satellite images show the trough responsible for the convective storms yesterday has moved east of the Colorado River. Lots of low clouds has developed along the Tehachapi mountains and Sierra foothills due an upslope NW flow behind the trough. Strong onshore gradients near 10 mb already resulting in gusty winds below the mountains passes of the Kern County Mountains. Some mid level moisture moving across central CA ahead of an upper level disturbance. Higher resolution models indicate some light rain possible over the sierra this morning. Think convective storms potential this afternoon is low since satellite derived precipitable water estimates is low to near normal. A short wave moves across N Cal this afternoon turning winds breezy to windy across the San Joaquin Valley late this afternoon and evening. Additional short wave energy will deepen a trough across CA tonight and Sunday. This will maintain the cool and windy conditions across the central CA interior through the weekend. Flow turns offshore Monday as the upper trough moves east of the sierra while an Epac ridge starts build inland. This will usher in a drier and warming trend during early next week. The ridge will dominate the weather through mid week bringing above normal temperatures Wednesday through Thursday. Medium range models prog for a trough setting up along the west coast bringing cooler onshore flow for next weekend. && .AVIATION... Mountain obscurations along the sierra foothills and Tehachapi mountains until 20Z Saturday. Wind gusts 35+ knots below the mountain passes of the Kern county mountains and desert. Otherwise, VFR conditions can be expected throughout the central California 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.html for additional information an/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT Sunday for CAZ196-198-199. && public...MV aviation....Andersen weather.gov/hanford
Event by event
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Indian Wells Valley
- When
- June 6, 3:26 PM PST
- Where
- Indian Wells Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
The Indian Wells Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
High Wind, Kern County Desert
- When
- June 6, 3:33 PM PST
- Where
- Kern County Desert forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Jawbone Station measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
High Wind, Tehachapi Area
- When
- June 6, 6:14 PM PST
- Where
- Tehachapi Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
The Jawbone Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
High Wind, Tehachapi Area
- When
- June 6, 9:27 PM PST
- Where
- Tehachapi Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 79 kt (91 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
The Bird Springs Pass RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 91 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
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, June 6, 2020
- Strong Wind in Colorado, June 6, 2020
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Colorado, June 6, 2020
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, June 6, 2020
- Debris Flows and Hail in Colorado, June 6, 2020
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, June 6, 2020
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New Hampshire, June 6, 2020
- Hail in Nebraska, June 6, 2020
- Damaging Winds in Idaho, June 6, 2020
- Flood and Hail in Massachusetts, June 6, 2020
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Wyoming, June 6, 2020
- Tornadoes and Flooding in Florida, June 6, 2020
More
Every storm in California in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 2020
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: 885157, 885154, 885155, 885152, 885151.