A shortwave trough passing over the Pacific Northwest caused west winds to increase and become gusty over the Riverside County Mountains and the San Gorgonio Pass on April 19th.
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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 SGX wrote it up.
A shortwave trough passing over the Pacific Northwest caused west winds to increase and become gusty over the Riverside County Mountains and the San Gorgonio Pass on April 19th.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 18, 8:10 PM PST, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Diego CA
910 PM PDT Mon Apr 18 2022
.SYNOPSIS...
A springtime weather pattern this week will bring gusty winds, a
deepening marine layer, and cooling through Friday. It will also
steer a storm system across the State late Thursday through Friday
with a chance for showers. Dry and warmer weather returns for the
weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
Satellite imagery this evening showed mostly high clouds streaming
over southern portions of the State, but there were also some
indications of low cloud development near the San Diego County Coast
by 8 PM PDT. The sfc pressure gradients across SoCal were moderately
onshore. West wind gusts were strongest in the wind-prone desert and
mountain areas at 30-40 MPH. The 00Z Miramar sounding had a weak
inversion near 1000 Ft MSL with a deep dry layer up to about 15K FT.
Low cloud development tonight will likely be hindered by the high
clouds and limited marine layer depth. The high clouds will likely
be with us through Tue morning, but could thin during the afternoon.
It will be cooler, and windier too with Wind Advisories in effect.
The cool weather will persist through Friday. No zone forecast
updates are planned.
From previous discussion...
A zonal 500 mb synoptic flow pattern over the West through Wednesday
will transition to a high amplitude pattern Thursday and Friday as a
strong trough deepens over the eastern Pacific and moves inland
across California.
Temperatures this week will trend lower as the onshore flow
increases and the marine layer deepens. By Wednesday night the
marine layer will be around 4,000 feet, perhaps deep enough for
areas of drizzle or light rain Thursday morning. The low clouds will
reach the eastern valleys and mountain foothills.
The mountains and deserts will be breezy/windy all this week with
high clouds at times. The first burst of strong winds arrives
Tuesday afternoon and continues through Tuesday night with a weak
shortwave. A Wind Advisory was issued for the mountains and deserts,
strongest in the mountain passes including the San Gorgonio Pass and
the I-8 pass in the San Diego County mountains. Strong onshore
pressure gradients support winds of 20-30 mph with gusts of 40-60
mph.
A deep, cold trough will move across SoCal Thursday night and Friday
bringing more strong winds along with a chance of showers. Nearly
all of the 50 ECMWF ensemble members predict measurable precipiation
of 0.05"-0.50" over the coastal, valley and mountain areas through
Friday evening. As for the 50 GEFS members, they show much lower
rain amounts, ranging from 0.01-0.10". This is due to more northerly
and inside track of the trough of the GFS compared to the more
westerly and southerly track of the EC.
The trough axis passes to the east Friday night followed by dry,
warmer weather and lighter winds Saturday and Sunday. Highs Sunday
will be in the 70s in the coastal zones, the 80s in the valleys, the
60s in the mountains, near 80 in the high deserts, and in the 90s in
the lower deserts.
&&
.AVIATION...
190410Z...Coasts/Valleys...SCT-BKN high clouds AOA 15000 ft MSL
through tonight and Tuesday. Low confidence remains in low cloud
development after 08Z impacting coastal TAF sites. If cigs develop,
coverage will be patchy along the coast with bases 500-1000 ft MSL
through 17Z Tuesday. In areas of low clouds, vis will be reduced to
2-4 SM near higher coastal terrain. Any clouds that form will
scatter out by 16Z.
Mountains/Deserts...SCT-BKN high clouds above 15000 feet MSL through
tonight and Tuesday. West winds will remain gusty through tonight
into Tuesday, where mountain desert slopes into the deserts will see
surface gusts 25-40 knots. MOD up/downdrafts can be expected in lee
of mountains, including KPSP.
&&
.MARINE...
Northwest winds gusting to 20-25 kt are expected each afternoon and
evening in the outer coastal waters through Friday. Prolonged strong
winds or hazardous conditions are not expected through at least the
middle of the week.
&&
.SKYWARN...
Skywarn activation will not be needed through Wednesday.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...Wind Advisory from noon Tuesday to 3 AM PDT Wednesday for
Coachella Valley-Riverside County Mountains-San Diego
County Deserts-San Diego County Mountains-San Gorgonio Pass
Near Banning.
Wind Advisory from 9 AM Tuesday to midnight PDT Tuesday night
for Apple and Lucerne Valleys-San Bernardino County
Mountains.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...10/Moede
AVIATION/MARINE...APRThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High west winds impacted the Riverside County Mountains on April 19th. Wind gusts of 45-55 mph were common, along with localized higher gusts. The Toro Peak HPWREN site recorded a peak wind gust of 73 mph.
High west winds impacted the San Gorgonio Pass on April 19th. Wind gusts of 45-55 mph were common, along with localized higher gusts. The Whitewater RAWS site recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2022
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: 1019557, 1019558.