An upper trough moved through the area during the evening of January 3 and the morning of January 4. This system brought some light precipitation to the area, but also produced a period of strong wind gusts along the Kern County Mountains and Deserts.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
An upper trough moved through the area during the evening of January 3 and the morning of January 4. This system brought some light precipitation to the area, but also produced a period of strong wind gusts along the Kern County Mountains and Deserts. Several stations reported wind gusts exceeding 45 mph and a few low impact indicator sites measured gusts exceeding 60 mph before the winds decreased by sunrise on January 4.
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 Jan 3, 10:10 PM PST, 1 hour 22 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 1010 PM PST Fri Jan 3 2025 ...Updated Aviation Section... && .KEY MESSAGES... 1. There is a good chance for light precipitation from Fresno County north this afternoon through Saturday morning with lower chances south of Fresno County. 2. There is a 20 to 60 percent probability of dense fog along Highway 99 on the east side of the San Joaquin early Saturday morning. 3. There is a wind advisory for gusts over 45 mph for the Mojave Slopes of Kern County from 9 PM tonight through 7 AM Saturday morning. 4. Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday very gusty winds in excess of 50 mph are possible through the Sierra Nevada passes. 5. Dry conditions and seasonable temperatures will prevail from Sunday through the middle of next week. && .DISCUSSION... The upper trough that is bringing rain and snow north of Fresno County into the Sierra Nevada along with gusty winds along the Mojave Slopes of Kern County will nudge off to the east by Saturday morning. Wind advisory for the Slopes is set to expire at 7 AM that seems reasonable and might even end earlier during the overnight hours. San Joaquin Valley fog again is on the table for Saturday morning. The HREF probabilities are 20 to 60 percent. The highest probability is from Merced down to Fresno where precipitation fell. Lower probabilities exists south of the Fresno. Highway 198 from Visalia to Hanford have a 20 to 40 percent probability, however, this area is fog prone. DFA is possible depending on cloud cover overnight. It seems reasonable for a very late start to the fog keeping it from becoming dense. Ridging continues on Saturday into Sunday. Fog again is a concern mainly for the Merced/Madera regions with dense fog probabilities of 30 to 60 percent. Elsewhere general under a 20 percent probability of dense fog with a little more of the northwesterly flow aloft. Monday the ridge is tightened up and squeezed northward as a developing upper low slides south from the Columbia river basin down the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Tuesday and Wednesday the upper low strengthens over the Sierra and the ridge becomes more positive turning the flow more cross flow of the Sierra from east to west. This poses a threat of strong wind on the San Joaquin Valley side of the Sierra. The ECMWF ensembles do show a well above climatology anomaly that is worth noting on Tuesday and Wednesday. EFI/SOT does highlight the Sierra as an area of concern. There still is a good spread keeping confidence low. The NBM probabilities of greater than 40 mph wind remains fairly low with 10 to 40 percent. The EC meteograms due show the 25th/75th percentile for wind hitting the high end of 20 year normals in the Yosemite Valley. The high impact area of the National Park will have to be monitored on this event. It does have the potential of being a high impact event if all the elements align. Still the alternative scenario would have 20 mph gusts with the passage of the upper system. After today temperatures will fall back to near normal and change very little for the rest of the weekend into next week. Other than wind concerns a dry pattern sets up the region and the direction of the wind and upper level patterns fog should be fairly limited. && .AVIATION... 06z Update IFR to LIFR conditions due to vis and cigs through 18z Saturday due to Dense Fog at MCE and MER. MVFR to IFR in mist through 18z Saturday due to mist. Mountain obscuration over the Tehachapi Mountains through 18z in upsloping clouds/showers. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the Central California Interior. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... On Saturday January 4 2025, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups in Fresno and Kern Counties. Fireplace/Wood Stove Burning Status is: No Burning For All in Fresno and Kern Counties. No Burning Unless Registered in Kings, Madera, Merced, and Tulare Counties. Burning Discouraged in Kern (Greater Frazier Park Area) and Sequoia National Park and Forest. && .CERTAINTY... The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is medium. 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 9 PM this evening to 7 AM PST Saturday for CAZ338. && Operations...Proton DSS..........JPK weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Blue Max RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 78 mph.
The Jawbone Canyon RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 66 mph.
The Bear Peak RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 73 mph.
The Bird Springs Pass RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 83 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2025
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: 1222176, 1222177, 1222178, 1222179.