An upper trough slowly moved eastward across California on August 24 and brought gusty winds to portions of the Sierra Nevada and Kern County Desert areas. Several stations recorded gusts exceeding 45 mph during the afternoon and evening and August 24 with a few low impact indicator sites measuring gusts exceeding 55 mph.
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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 HNX wrote it up.
An upper trough slowly moved eastward across California on August 24 and brought gusty winds to portions of the Sierra Nevada and Kern County Desert areas. Several stations recorded gusts exceeding 45 mph during the afternoon and evening and August 24 with a few low impact indicator sites measuring gusts exceeding 55 mph. This system also brought cooler than normal temperatures to the area for a few days as well as some light precipitation. The trough moved east of the area during the morning of August 25 and winds decreased as the trough moved out.
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 Aug 24, 12:45 PM PST, 6 hours 25 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 145 PM PDT Sat Aug 24 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... 1. Temperatures around 10-15 degrees below average this weekend. 2. There is a 50-60 percent probability of a dusting of snow around Tioga Pass today. 3. The risk of grass fires continues with breezy afternoon winds. The risk is highest in eastern Kern County due to elevated winds and relative humidity around 15 percent. 4. Temperatures are expected to quickly rebound to near normal Monday. There is a 40-60 percent probability of afternoon highs in the San Joaquin Valley returning to over 100 degrees beginning Tuesday. && .DISCUSSION... Trough of low pressure moved through the region overnight with associated cold front now moving into the desert Southwest. Precipitation has remained on the lighter-side with a good dusting of snow over the higher terrain of the Sierra Nevada. Upper-air and mountain surface observations show the freezing level at around 8500-9000 feet where web-cams show the accumulation. Doppler radar is showing mostly light precipitation (0.01 to 0.10 of an inch) across the district with heavier amounts closer to Interstate-80. While winds early in the day have been light, breezy to locally windy conditions will develop later today as the upper low moves closer to the region. At this point, the main disturbance will move over Nevada overnight before lifting into the Inter-mountain region on Sunday. The lingering effects of the cool-moist air will continue on Sunday before warm and dry return early in the work week. High-Res short-ranged ensemble precipitation and wind analysis has a good handle on the current situation. First, both precipitation type and amounts are hitting their observed values as radar now shows a decreasing trend going into the late afternoon hours. At the same time, Probability of Exceedance (PoE) of reaching 95 degrees across the San Joaquin Valley is also Zero percent. With the cool air-mass over the region, ensemble PoE of reaching 95 degrees may not occur until Monday. Yet, the probability of receiving measurable precipitation drops to around 20-30 percent tonight and then down to near zero on Sunday (as the upper low moves northeast). Ensemble surface wind analysis continues to show an increase in speeds across the district starting later this afternoon. Current ensemble mean wind gust values for the San Joaquin Valley will range between 15 to 20 mph. For the Eastern Slopes of the Kern County Mountains, PoE of gusts reaching 35 mph range from 20 to 40 percent. Therefore, while winds will become breezy to locally windy, will expect winds below advisory criteria. Longer-range ensemble analysis has the region returning to warm and dry conditions. PoE of reaching 100 degrees climbs to 70 and 90 percent by Wednesday. Yet, the earliest onset of possibly reaching 100 degrees in Tuesday and PoE sits at around 30 to 50 percent. Therefore, will expect the usual warm posts to reach 100 degrees on Tuesday followed by widespread triple digits on Wednesday. With ensemble upper-air analysis showing the ridge building back over the West Coast as triple digits return, the southeasterly wind flow also returns and with it Monsoon moisture. While the probability of receiving measurable precipitation is less then 15 percent of Thursday, that values rises to 20 percent by Friday. Ensemble show similar values on next Saturday which could indicate possible mountain showers and thunderstorms returning to the Sierra Nevada. && .AVIATION... Areas of MVFR and local IFR visibilities in clouds and light precipitation -- as well as around wildfires. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the central CA interior over 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 and/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && Operations.....Molina Support/IDSS...AS weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Beak Creek RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Indian Wells Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2024
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: 1196164, 1196163.