An upper trough moved through central California during the morning of May 20 which brought a period of increased winds along the Mojave Desert Slopes during the afternoon and evening. Several stations reported gusts exceeding 45 mph during the time frame.
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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 moved through central California during the morning of May 20 which brought a period of increased winds along the Mojave Desert Slopes during the afternoon and evening. Several stations reported gusts exceeding 45 mph during the time frame. The winds diminished by late evening as the trough moved to the east of the area.
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 20, 12:23 PM PST, 5 hours 17 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 123 PM PDT Mon May 20 2024 && .KEY MESSAGES... 1. Elevated winds are expected again in the Mojave Desert Slopes later today. A Wind Advisory has been issued for this area from 2 PM PDT this afternoon until 5 AM PDT tomorrow morning. 2. Temperatures will lower to near normal today then climb to around 3 to 6 degrees above normal by Wednesday followed by a cool down to slightly below normal this weekend. 3. There is a 20 percent chance for isolated thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks this afternoon and early evening. && .DISCUSSION... An upper level trough passed through central California this morning, bringing a change in the atmospheric pattern over the region in the coming days. Our CWA will be under the upstream sector of the trough, which will result in a slight cooling trend today as the flow aloft shifts towards the northwest. Afternoon highs are expected to struggle to warm past the mid 80s, however these temperatures are near normal for this time of year. The following are probabilities for select locations of the San Joaquin Valley to reach or exceed 84 degrees today. Bakersfield 56% Delano 56% Fresno 56% Hanford 56% Lemoore 56% Visalia 56% Porterville 41% Merced 36% Madera 31% Reedley 21% Upslope flow along the Sierra Nevada will bring a chance for isolated showers to the crests of the mountain range this afternoon and evening with a few stronger thunderstorms possible. The primary hazards with these storms will include dangerous cloud to ground lightning strikes, small hail, and wind gusts near 45 miles per hour. In addition to mountain showers, downslope flow on the eastern side of the Tehachapi mountains is projected to bring stronger wind gusts to the Mojave Desert Slopes this afternoon into tomorrow morning. A Wind Advisory has been issued for this area from 2 PM PDT this afternoon through 5 AM PDT tomorrow morning due to expected westerly wind 25 to 35 miles per hour with wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour. A slight warming trend will propagate over central California Tuesday and Wednesday as the center axis of the aforementioned trough progresses eastward; upper level winds over the region are expected to weaken through Wednesday as a result. The stagnant air aloft will return temperatures above their season normals. NBM ensemble guidance suggests a moderate probability (30 to 60 percent) for maximum temperatures reaching or exceeding 90 degrees in the San Joaquin Valley. Temperatures will once again cool near normal on Thursday and into the weekend as the overall atmospheric flow shifts to the west to northwest, influenced by a second upper level system progressing through the Pacific northwest. && .AVIATION... MVFR conditions possible in localized areas along the Sierra Nevada crests between 21Z and 03Z this afternoon and evening. Stronger wind gusts are expected in the Mojave Desert Slopes between 21Z this afternoon and 12Z tomorrow morning. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the Central California interior over the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... ISSUED: 05/19/2024 12:40 EXPIRES: 05/20/2024 23:59 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 until 5 AM PDT Tuesday for CAZ338. && public/aviation...SM DSS..............DAS weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Mojave Airport AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Southern California Edison station at Little Oak Canyon measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Southern California Edison station at Cache Creek measured a peak wind gust of 60 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, May 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: 1168084, 1168089, 1168090.