A strong upper trough moved southward through the Great Basin between the afternoon of May 19 and the morning of May 20. This resulted in increased onshore pressure gradients which produced strong winds over the mountains and deserts of Kern County.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 HNX wrote it up.
A strong upper trough moved southward through the Great Basin between the afternoon of May 19 and the morning of May 20. This resulted in increased onshore pressure gradients which produced strong winds over the mountains and deserts of Kern County. Several stations in these areas measured gusts exceeding 45 mph and a few low impact indicator sites reported gusts exceeding 60 mph. The winds diminished during the afternoon and evening of May 20 as gradients relaxed.
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 May 19, 12:51 PM PST, 2 hours 49 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 151 PM PDT Thu May 19 2022 .SYNOPSIS... Above normal afternoon highs continue today before significant cooling to near normal tomorrow. A sharp uptick in winds will occur this afternoon, especially in the wind-prone regions of Kern County. High temperatures will slowly rebound this weekend into early next week, highs 12-15 degrees above normal by next Wednesday. Dry weather is expected to persist for at least the next 7 days. && .DISCUSSION... High pressure aloft remains in control today with just some thin cirrus clouds noted on satellite imagery. Abundant sunshine will allow temperatures to warm up to similar values from yesterday. Highs across the San Joaquin Valley are expected to be mainly in the mid 90s today, which is around 10 to 12 degrees above average for this time of the year. Winds are on the increase today as an upper trough moves over the Pacific Northwest causing the onshore pressure gradient to ramp up. The SFO-LAS pressure gradient has risen to 12 mb and will continue to climb through this afternoon. Strong wind gusts will develop over the south end of the Sierra and across the mountains and desert in eastern Kern County, where a Wind Advisory is in effect from 2 PM this afternoon until 5 AM Friday morning. The strongest gusts are expected from late this afternoon into the evening when gusts may approach 60 mph around Mojave and the Indian Wells Valley. Breezy conditions will occur across the San Joaquin Valley with gusts of 20 to 30 mph at times through Friday morning. The upper trough will dig down over the Great Basin tonight and usher in a cooler air mass across central California. Temperatures on Friday will be around 10 to 15 degrees cooler with highs in the lower to mid 80s across the SJ Valley; near to slightly below normal. The upper trough remains over the West this weekend with heights gradually rising as east Pacific ridging nudges towards the coast. A modest warming trend is forecast this weekend with highs around 3 to 7 degrees above normal by Sunday. Temperatures continue to trend higher next week with ensembles bringing the ridge axis along the coast on Tuesday and inland over California on Wednesday. Highs are forecast to be in the upper 90s across the SJV on Tuesday then nudge up on Wednesday to 12 to 15 degrees above normal with highs around 100 degrees. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions will prevail across the central CA interior 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 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... Wind Advisory from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT Friday for CAZ331>334-337>339. && Public/Aviation/Fire Weather...DCH PIO/DSS........................BSO weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Mojave Airport AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Bear Peak RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The Inyokern Airport AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Bird Springs Pass RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 86 mph.
The Southern California Edison Station on Grapevine Canyon Road measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The Laural Mountain RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Indian Wells Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 70 mph.
The Cache Creek CHP station measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The Jawbone Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 66 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, May 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: 1015250, 1015253, 1015254, 1015255, 1015257, 1015256, 1015258, 1015259, 1015260.