California, 2021

High Wind in California, February 13, 2021

February 13, 2021 · NWS HNX · 13 events in 4 counties and zones

A low pressure system that was situated off the Pacific Northwest coast on February 11 dropped southward into central California during the evening into the early morning of February 12 spreading widespread precipitation across the area. Much of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills picked up between half an inch and an inch of liquid precipitation with several stations at elevations above…

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$200,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
13

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.

A low pressure system that was situated off the Pacific Northwest coast on February 11 dropped southward into central California during the evening into the early morning of February 12 spreading widespread precipitation across the area. Much of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills picked up between half an inch and an inch of liquid precipitation with several stations at elevations above 7000 feet picking up between 5 and 10 inches of new snow. Rainfall amounts were lower in the San Joaquin Valley where most stations picked up a quarter of an inch or less of rain. A second system which was moisture deficient followed on February 13 and produced strong wind gusts across the Lake Isabella and Tehachapi areas as well as across the Kern County Deserts where several stations measured gusts exceeding 45 mph with some stations in the deserts briefly measuring gusts above 60 mph. A few low impact indicator sites had gusts above 70 mph. The winds caused at least three accidents involving tractor trailers in the Mojave area during the afternoon and evening of February 13. The winds finally decreased on February 14 as the upper trough that was associated with these two systems moved to the east of our 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 Feb 13, 3:50 AM PST, 8 hours 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 13, 3:50 AM PST, 8 hours 36 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hanford CA
350 AM PST Sat Feb 13 2021

.SYNOPSIS..A weather system will move into the district today,
bringing strong, gusty winds to the wind prone areas of Kern
County, with light precipitation expected over the foothills and
Sierra Nevada. By early next week, another system may bring light
mountain snow before ridging settles in late next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A lower cloud deck along the foothills never clear with a
continued upslope flow. Satellite images show lots of high clouds
moving into the central valley as a trough and associated front
push into north CA. Weather radar indicated precipitation
is mainly scattered light showers along the front. Models have
been relatively low with precipitation amounts with this system.
Progs take the system more of an inland trajectory moving onshore
through Oregon and along and east of the Sierra Nevada. Several
inches of snow will be possible in the Sierra Nevada through this
evening and around one inch over the higher elevations of
Tehachapis.

The more significant impact with this system will be a high
wind potential for the Tehachapi mountains and Mojave Desert from
late this morning through the early evening. A couple additional
disturbances will follow increasing gradients across central CA
this afternoon. Models show very strong NW winds aloft aligning
perpendicular to the Tehachapi mountains. This a favorable
trajectory for the stronger winds to mix down to the surface.
A High Wind Warning has been posted for the the Kern County
mountains and desert area until early tonight. The strong flow
will bring lots of cloud cover over the Tehachapis due flow
upsloping over the north facing slopes. Higher resolution models
show light precipitation starting late this afternoon and lasting
into Sunday morning. But snow level remains above pass level
until later tonight.

Dry and cooler conditions are to be expected on Sunday under
cool, northwesterly flow aloft. A couple of upper impulses will
move through the northwesterly flow on Monday and Tuesday, which
may trigger another round of wind through Kern County, with light
precipitation over the Sierra Nevada. The rest of next week looks
to calm down weather-wise as high pressure in the Eastern Pacific
builds. Model guidance indicates a warming trend is possible next
week to accompany the high pressure pattern.

&&

.AVIATION...
Areas of mountain obscuration in the Sierra through 06z. Wind
gusts to 35 knots over the Tehachapi mountains and Mojave Desert
until 09z. Mountain obscuration over the Tehachapi range through
12z Sunday. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the San
Joaquin Valley.

&&

.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 medium.

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...
High Wind Warning from 9 AM this morning to 1 AM PST Sunday for
CAZ195>199.

Wind Advisory until 9 AM PST this morning for CAZ195>199.

&&

public...MV
aviation....Molina

weather.gov/hanford

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 13, 10:02 AM PST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1002 AM PST SAT FEB 13 2021

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0950 AM     HEAVY SNOW       7 NE HUNTINGTON LAKE    37.31N 119.16W
02/13/2021  E2.0 INCH        FRESNO             CA   PUBLIC

            REPORT IS FROM CHINA PEAK SKI RESORT. GUSTY
            WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW AS WELL.

&&

KD

Event by event

13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Indian Wells Valley

When
February 13, 12:26 PM PST
Where
Indian Wells Valley forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS

The Indian Wells Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.

High Wind, Lake Isabella

When
February 13, 1:10 PM PST
Where
Lake Isabella forecast zone
Measured
70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS

The Bear Peak RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 81 mph.

High Wind, Tehachapi Area

When
February 13, 1:27 PM PST
Where
Tehachapi Area forecast zone
Measured
70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS

The Bird Springs Pass RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 80 mph.

High Wind, Kern County Desert

When
February 13, 1:58 PM PST
Where
Kern County Desert forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
ASOS

The Edwards AFB ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 61 mph.

High Wind, Kern County Desert

When
February 13, 2:20 PM PST
Where
Kern County Desert forecast zone
Measured
62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by
AWOS

The Mojave Airport AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 71 mph.

High Wind, Kern County Desert

When
February 13, 3:03 PM PST
Where
Kern County Desert forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement

California Highway Patrol reported an overturned trailer due to high winds at the intersection of SR 14 and SR 58 near Mojave.

High Wind, Tehachapi Area

When
February 13, 3:14 PM PST
Where
Tehachapi Area forecast zone
Measured
62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS

The Jawbone Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 71 mph.

High Wind, Kern County Desert

When
February 13, 3:26 PM PST
Where
Kern County Desert forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement

California Highway Patrol reported an overturned big rig truck at the intersection of SR 14 and Silver Queen Rd. near Mojave.

High Wind, Indian Wells Valley

When
February 13, 4:26 PM PST
Where
Indian Wells Valley forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS

The Laural Mountain RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.

High Wind, Tehachapi Area

When
February 13, 4:27 PM PST
Where
Tehachapi Area forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Deaths
0 direct, 1 indirect
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
Other Federal Agency

The FAA reported a small plane crashed near Tehachapi at 1627 PST. At the time wind shear was being reported over the Tehachapi Mountains and gusts above 60 mph were being reported at several locations near near Tehachapi. The pilot (and only occupant of the plane) sustained fatal injuries as a result of the crash.

High Wind, Kern County Desert

When
February 13, 6:10 PM PST
Where
Kern County Desert forecast zone
Measured
59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Utility Company

The Southern California Edison station 20W Rosamond measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph.

High Wind, Kern County Desert

When
February 13, 8:05 PM PST
Where
Kern County Desert forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement

California Highway Patrol reported an overturned semi-trailer at the intersection of SR 14 and the north Y in Mojave.

High Wind, Kern County Desert

When
February 13, 11:00 PM PST
Where
Kern County Desert forecast zone
Measured
54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Utility Company

The Southern California Edison station at Little Oak Canyon measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
High Wind, Tehachapi Area2021-02-13MaleOtherIndirect

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

More

Every storm in California in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2021

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: 933084, 933075, 933072, 933078, 933076, 933087, 933073, 933090, 933085, 935844, 933081, 933093, 933083.