Name: High Wind in California, March 29, 2021
Start: 2021-03-29T16:27
End: 2021-03-29T16:27
Location: California

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 dropped southward through the Great Basin on March 29 pushing a dry cold front through central California during the afternoon and evening hours. This produced a period of gusty winds across the Kern County Deserts as well as in the Tehachapi and Lake Isabella areas. Several stations briefly measured gusts exceeding 45 mph. The winds diminished by late evening as the low moved well 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 Mar 29, 2:05 PM PST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 2:05 PM PST, 2 hours 22 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED
National Weather Service Hanford CA
305 PM PDT Mon Mar 29 2021

.SYNOPSIS...
High temperatures throughout Central California Monday and Tuesday
will be above normal for this time of year. Near record warmth is
possible in portions of the San Joaquin Valley Wednesday through
Friday. A downward temperature trend is expected next weekend. Dry
weather will persist through at least Saturday.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Water vapor satellite shows a trough with an associated dry front
pushing from north to south across CA today. The front exiting
the Kern County area this afternoon. Marine clouds along the
central coast have cleared out due with stronger winds behind the
system and a weaker ridge off the east Pacific. Lots of blowing
dust can be seen east of the sierra towards the Nevada border on
visible satellite. Little threat of precipitation with system but
will provide a period of gusty winds through this evening below
the mountain passes of Kern county desert. A Wind Advisory
continues in affect for this area until midnight tonight. The
strongest winds are likely around the Mojave Pass where westerly
wind gusts could reach 55 mph. Another affect of the trough will
be cooler temperatures for a couple days as it digs down towards
the Four Corners region on Tuesday. But despite the cooler air
mass, temperatures are still forecast to be around 5 to 8 degrees
above climatological normals for Monday and Tuesday. Surface high
pressure strengthens over the Great Basin turning the wind flow
to offshore Tuesday and Wednesday. This will bring drier
conditions especially towards Kern county and Sequoia area.

Models in fair agreement indicating a rex block pattern over east
pacific will slowly shift east towards California during mid
week. By Wednesday, the ridge of the rex block builds over the
west coast and remains in control through the end of the week.
This will bring another rise in temperatures to the central
California interior, with near record warmth expected across the
central and southern San Joaquin Valley. High temperatures are
forecast to be in the mid 80s on Wednesday. A little further
warming will put much of the valley into the upper 80s on Thursday
and Friday, around 15 degrees above normal. Near record high
temperature are forecasted for Thursday and Friday.

By Saturday, the high pressure ridge gives way and shifts east as
an upper trough drops down off the west coast. However
uncertainty is high this far out, but the general idea is for
cooling over the weekend. High temperatures are expected to lower
into the 70s and lower near seasonal next Monday. There is some
potential for precipitation by Sunday, but forecast confidence is
low at the moment.

&&

.AVIATION...
Gusty winds below the Kern county mountains and passes until 06z
Tuesday. Otherwise VFR conditions will prevail across Central
California through at least the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
None.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is high.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is low.

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 midnight PDT tonight for CAZ195>199.

&&

public...MV
aviation....BS

weather.gov/hanford

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Tehachapi Area

When: March 29, 4:27 PM PST
Where: Tehachapi Area forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS

The Bird Springs Pass RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 68 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

More

Every storm in California in 2021 Every state in 2021 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 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: 940619.