High Wind — San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning, California

2023-04-03 to 2023-04-04 · San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning, California

Event narrative

High wind impacted the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning on April 3rd. Wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph were common, with localized higher gusts. The Whitewater RAWS site recorded a peak wind gust of 73 mph, while the Desert Hot Springs SoCal-Edison mesonet site recorded a gust to 66 mph.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper-level wave caused onshore winds to increase and become gusty across Southern California on April 3rd. The strongest winds were generally observed in the mountains, below mountain passes, and through wind-prone canyon locations. Some isolated instances of wind damage were also observed in coastal Southern California.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1093105. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.