High Wind — South End San Joaquin Valley, California

2022-04-11 · South End San Joaquin Valley, California

Event narrative

The PG&E Station at Pampa Peak measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system moved east across the Pacific Northwest on April 11. This system spread precipitation southward into the area between midday on April 11 through the early morning of April 12 as a cold front dropped through the region. The system also produced very strong wind gusts across Kern County with several stations measuring gusts exceeding 60 mph with a few low impact indicator sites measuring gusts exceeding 100 mph. North of Kern County widespread gusts above 30 mph were observed, mainly during the cold frontal passage. Precipitation was most significant over the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills north of Kings Canyon with several stations measuring between a quarter and three quarters of an inch of liquid precipitation with elevations above 6000 feet picking up between 3 and 8 inches of new snowfall. Further south the precipitation was less significant with only a tenth to a quarter inch of liquid precipitation in the Sierra Nevada and rainfall in the San Joaquin Valley was minimal due to rain shadowing as areas north of Fresno generally picked up a tenth of an inch or less with little to no rainfall from Fresno southward. The precipitation moved out of the area by late morning on April 12 and winds diminished during the evening as the system moved to the east of our area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1008159. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.