Strong northwest flow in between a departing winter storm and an incoming ridge mixed down to the surface along the Mojave Desert Slopes during the evening of March 25 and the early morning of March 26. Several stations reported wind gusts in excess of 45 mph during this period with a few stations picking up gusts exceeding 55 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Strong northwest flow in between a departing winter storm and an incoming ridge mixed down to the surface along the Mojave Desert Slopes during the evening of March 25 and the early morning of March 26. Several stations reported wind gusts in excess of 45 mph during this period with a few stations picking up gusts exceeding 55 mph.
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 25, 1:44 PM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 244 PM PDT Mon Mar 25 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... 1. Strong west winds 30 to 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 miles per hour are expected this afternoon into Tuesday morning in the Mojave Slopes. A Wind Advisory has been issued for this area. 2. A warming trend will set up through midweek. Afternoon temperatures have a 60 to 90 percent chance to exceed 70 degrees Wednesday. 3. Another system arrives later this week, bringing rainfall to the San Joaquin Valley along with rain and snowfall to the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills. && .DISCUSSION... The low pressure system which brought rain and mountain snow to Central California over the weekend continues to move off to the east and we are in a northwesterly flow ahead of a Northeast Pacific high pressure ridge. Residual lower level moisture and some mid and high clouds spilling over the ridge are producing a mix of clouds and sun across our area. With this residual moisture in place, blended model guidance shows as much as 15 to 30 percent probabilities for some light showers over portions of the Sierra Nevada north of Kern County today. High temperatures under the influence of the low pressure trough yesterday were around 10 degrees below normal, but will trend upward today, topping out just a few degrees below normal for late March. The winds in this pattern will create some gusty conditions in the Mojave Desert Slope area, with 60 to 75 percent probabilities for wind gusts of at least 41 knots this evening and overnight tonight. A Wind Advisory remains in effect here through 6 AM Tuesday morning. Model ensemble solutions show the Northeast Pacific ridge amplifying and pushing inland during the next couple of days, ahead of another developing low pressure system. This will bring us dry and warming conditions, and by Wednesday afternoon, high temperatures will reach around 1-4 degrees above normal. Probabilities are around 60 to 80 percent that high temperatures will be 70 degrees or higher in the San Joaquin Valley on Wednesday. As the low pressure system nears the Pacific Northwest coast later Wednesday, a leading frontal band of precipitation will approach central california and push through the region overnight and into Thursday. This initial shot of precip will be generally light to moderate and mainly focused on the Yosemite area where probabilities for 4 or more inches of snowfall are around 60 to 90 percent. By Friday, as the low pressure system lumbers southward off the California coast, more significant precipitation will begin to impact our area, with additional rain and mountain snow on tap through the weekend. By the time the heaviest precipitation begins to wind down early Sunday, there is around 60 to 70 percent probabilities for at least 18 inches of snow over the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. During this period, much of the San Joaquin Valley will see at least 25-50 percent probabilities for 1/2 inch of rain or more, with higher amounts in the surrounding terrain. The upper low will begin to move ashore to our south by Sunday, keeping unsettled conditions over us for the first part of next week. && .AVIATION... Mountain obscuring MVFR or lower conditions expected in the Sierra Nevada through 12Z Tuesday and lingering in the Kern County mountains through 18Z Tuesday. Otherwise VFR conditions will prevail across Central California for 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... Wind Advisory from 3 PM this afternoon to 6 AM PDT Tuesday for CAZ338. && public/aviation...JEB 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 Jawbone Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 65 mph.
The Southern California Edison station at Cottonwood Creek measured a peak wind gust of 63 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, March 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: 1160839, 1160838.