Strong Santa Ana winds occurred from late Friday evening January 21 through Saturday morning January 21. The strongest winds occurred along the I-10 to I-210 corridor to I-15 in San Bernardino County.
Every event with a place to put it; 30 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Strong Santa Ana winds occurred from late Friday evening January 21 through Saturday morning January 21. The strongest winds occurred along the I-10 to I-210 corridor to I-15 in San Bernardino County. The most widespread and heavy damage occurred in Upland.
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 Jan 20, 9:14 PM PST, 4 hours 6 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Diego CA
914 PM PST Thu Jan 20 2022
.SYNOPSIS...
Strong and significant Santa Ana winds are expected across the
area late Friday through Saturday, with winds peaking in strength
Saturday morning. Winds will relax late Saturday into Sunday. A
dry airmass will spread across southern California this weekend
and last through mid next week, with warm days and cool nights
expected.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
.EVENING UPDATE...
After a breezy day across the mountains and foothills, light
offshore flow now prevails across the region. These light north
and east winds will occur through the night for places along and
west of the mountains. Strong Santa Ana winds are still expected
as an area of low pressures dives south across the desert
southwest over the next couple of days. Winds will ramp up
starting Friday afternoon and peak in intensity Friday night into
Saturday morning. The positioning of this low pressure center is
in bit more of alignment in the latest model guidance, focusing
on the center of the low going over the Colorado River Valley
vicinity. Pressure and moisture cross sections and local WRF/HRRR
models do indicate a slight chance for some light precipitation
possible for the mountains and deserts on the backside of the low
for the weekend. We will continue with the current forecast this
evening and refine the forecast in the coming days as the event
draws closer.
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION (As of 150 PM Thursday)...
&&
A strong upper level low will reach the northern Rockies on
Friday, then drop south into southwest Arizona or southeast
California on Friday as a closed upper low. A surface high
pressure will develop over the Great Basin behind the upper low on
Friday, peaking at 1042 mb. While there has been some variability
in the position of this upper low, ensembles members have
generally been in good agreement in the last couple of days. The
strong upper level support with this system will result in strong
and significant Santa Ana winds for SoCal late Friday through
Saturday.
Northeast winds will begin to develop over the northern mountains
and Inland Empire late Friday afternoon, then spread south into
San Diego County Friday night. Winds will be strongest on the
coastal mountain slopes of the San Bernardino mountains, where
gusts in excess of 70 mph are expected. For the Inland Empire and
inland Orange County, expect widespread gusts of 40 to 60 mph. The
northern mountains, Inland Empire and inland Orange County have
all been placed under a High Wind Warning, beginning late Friday
afternoon and continuing through Saturday afternoon.
Winds don't look to be as strong in the San Diego County mountains
and valleys, though gusts to 55 mph are possible. A Wind Advisory
is in effect for those areas from late Friday night through
Saturday afternoon. Additionally, gusty winds are expected along
the Orange County coast, with gusts to 45 mph expected, so a Wind
Advisory will be in effect there as well.
Humidity values will drop into the low 20s to upper teens in the
Inland Empire and inland Orange County Saturday afternoon.
Combined with the windy conditions, there may be a few hours of
elevated to near-critical fire weather conditions Saturday
afternoon.
Winds will diminish late Saturday into Sunday as the surface high
pressure relaxes, though lighter northeast winds will continue on
Sunday, mainly through the passes and windiest canyons. The upper
level low will push inland late Sunday. For early next week, there
remains quite a bit of uncertainty in the pattern, with another
upper level low potentially developing near the West Coast or over
the Great Basin.
&&
.AVIATION...
210430Z...Mostly clear skies with unrestricted VIS through Friday
morning. SCT-BKN low clouds with bases 1000-1500 ft MSL could return
to the San Diego County coastal and valley areas Friday
afternoon but will dissipate by late afternoon/evening.
Strong and gusty northeast to east winds will develop again after
22Z in the mountains, foothills and the inland valleys. These
winds will strengthen Friday evening/night, extending to the
coastal areas of Orange and San Diego Counties by early Saturday
morning. Mdt to strong up/downdrafts and LLWS could impact KONT,
KSBD and KSNA. KCRQ and KSAN could also be impacted Friday night
early Saturday morning but chances are lower.
&&
.MARINE...
Strong and gusty northeast winds will develop Friday evening and
continue into Saturday. Strongest gusts of 25-30 knots are expected
in a wide corridor between Camp Pendleton and San Clemente Island,
which would produce hazardous boating conditions. Otherwise, no
marine weather hazards are expected through Monday.
&&
.SKYWARN...
Skywarn activation is not requested. However weather spotters are
encouraged to report significant weather conditions.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...Wind Advisory from midnight Friday night to 6 PM PST Saturday
for San Diego County Mountains-San Diego County Valleys.
High Wind Warning from 3 PM Friday to 6 PM PST Saturday for
Orange County Inland Areas-Riverside County Mountains-San
Bernardino County Mountains-San Bernardino and Riverside
County Valleys-The Inland Empire-San Gorgonio Pass Near
Banning-Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills.
Wind Advisory from 3 PM Friday to 6 PM PST Saturday for Orange
County Coastal Areas.
PZ...NONE.
&&
UPDATE/PUBLIC...APR/Connolly
AVIATION/MARINE...PGThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
20 high wind, 10 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds began at Duncan Canyon at 1:20 AM and continued through 3:30 AM. A peak wind gust of 68 mph occurred at 2:10 AM.
High winds began at Toro Peak around 5 PM on January 21 and continued through 8 PM on January 22. Sustained winds of 79 mph and a peak gust of 83 mph were reported at 2:53 AM.
High winds began at Keen Ridge around 8 PM on January 21 and continued through 10:50 AM on January 22. A peak wind gust of 76 mph occurred at 7:30 AM.
High winds began at Upper Bell at 9:26 and continued through around midnight. A peak wind gust of 64 mph occurred at 11:36 PM.
High winds began at Shandin Hills around 9:50 PM on January 21 and continued through 11:50 AM on January 22. A peak wind gust of 74 mph occurred at 1:40 AM.
High winds began at the Fremont Canyon RAWS between 10 PM and 11 PM on January 21 and continued through 2 PM on January 22. Several hours of wind gusts over 80 mph occurred during the morning, with a peak wind gust of 89 mph at 8:51 AM.
High winds began at Upland around 10 PM on January 21 and continued through 4 AM. Sustained winds of 46 mph and a peak wind gust of 70 mph occurred at 1:40 AM. Widespread damage was reported around Upland. Damage reports include:
- 1100 North Campus Ave: a home was destroyed by a large tree that fell between 9:15 PM - 9:30 PM. No injuries reported.
- Multiple large trees down, blocking roads and crushing the trailer of a big rig. The top of a palm tree was snapped off.
- Tree down on vehicle near Euclid and 11th street.
- Pair of large pine trees uprooted and fell on driveway crushing a vehicle at Euclid and G Street. Damage to a brick wall and sideway was also reported.
- Four vehicles were crushed by a tree that fell on Stoneridge Apartments. No injuries reported.
- A semi trailer was cut by a large tree at Foothill and Grove Ave; a trailer just behind the cab was crushed. No injuries reported.
Department of Highways reported power lines and a tree downed on Mountain Avenue. A driver hit the downed tree.
High winds at Cloudland Cutoff began around midnight and continued through 2 PM on January 22. Sustained winds as high as 50 mph were reported and a peak wind gust of 81 mph occurred at 8 AM.
A peak wind gust of 64 mph was reported at Chino Airport at 7:53 AM. Blowing dust reduced visibility for several hours, as low as 1.75 mile around 2 AM. A tree was blown down onto a vehicle and west bound lanes of E Grand Avenue were blocked.
Department of Highways reported a downed tree completely blocking the eastbound I-10 offramp to Mountain View Avenue in Loma Linda. SCE Pepsico site reported wind gusts og 35 to 40 mph at the time.
Department of Highways reported a downed 3-foot diameter tree blocking all lanes of Highway 74 near Pine Meadow. Nearby Kenworthy RAWS reported wind gusts of 45 to 50 mph at the time.
High winds occurred in Yucaipa with a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 12:50 AM. A trained spotter reported large tree branches blown around and large objects thrown down the street.
Department of Highways reported multiple large tree branches blocking Avendale Blvd in Ladera Ranch. Nearby mesonet sites reported wind gusts around 30 mph at the time.
High winds began in Running Springs around 1:50 AM and continued through 10 AM. A peak wind gust of 71 mph occurred at 3:50 AM.
Law enforcement reported a small tree and wire down. A container was down on its side and landed on flood basin.
Public report of a semi blown over on I-15 South of Sierra Ave in Fontana. Multiple SCE sites nearby reported wind gusts of 45-55 mph at the time.
High winds began around 2 AM at Deer Canyon and continued through 8 AM. A peak wind gust of 78 mph was observed at 4:10 AM.
High winds began at Rancho Cucamonga around 2 AM and continued through 10:20 AM. Winds peaked at 6:20 AM with sustained winds of 53 mph and a peak wind gust of 73 mph.
Department of Highways reported multiple power lines down in the road in northeastern San Bernardino. Nearby SCE sites reported wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph at the time.
High winds occurred at Wildwood Park (SE594) with a peak wind gust of 65 mph at 2:20 am.
High winds occurred at Lytle Creek Wash between 2:40 AM and 5 AM. A peak wind gust occurred at 3 AM.
A peak wind gust of 63 mph was reported at 2:50 AM at Muscoy.
High winds occurred at San Antonio Heights between 3 AM and 5 AM. A peak wind gust of 70 mph was reported at 4:40 AM.
A peak wind gust of 63 mph occurred at Ontario International Airport at 3:28 AM.
Law enforcement reported a 120 foot pine tree down 5 NNE Anza blocking the roadwar.
Law enforcement reported a tree down blocking half of the street at the intersection of C street and 5th street.
High winds occurred at Baker Canyon with a peak wind gust of 62 mph at 10:30 AM.
High winds occurred at Apple Canyon with a peak wind gust of 64 mph at 11:40 PM.
Law enforcement reported a powerline down in the roadway. Winds gusted to 40 to 50 mph in the vicinity earlier in the morning.
MPing report of 1 inch tree limbs broken and shingles blown off.
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, January 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: 1002641, 1002632, 1002635, 1002647, 1002636, 1002631, 1002640, 1002656, 1002633, 1002645, 1002658, 1002659, 1002648, 1002661, 1002638, 1002657, 1002634, 1002637, 1002663, 1002643, 1002642, 1002650, 1002639, 1002649, 1002665, 1002666, 1002651, 1002646, 1002667, 1002668.