High Wind — West Side Mountains North of Highway 198, California

2024-04-13 · West Side Mountains North of Highway 198, California

Event narrative

The PG&E station at Joaquin Ridge measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.

Wider weather episode

A large upper low pressure system approached the central California coast on April 13 spreading increased clouds and precipitation into the interior of central California during the afternoon while temperatures plummeted as a cooler airmass pushed into the area. The most noticeable impact rom this system was strong wind gusts which accompanied the main cold front. Several reports of wind gusts exceeding 45 mph were reported during the early afternoon of April 13 while a few stations reported gusts above 60 mph. There were several law enforcement reports of trees downed in the San Joaquin Valley. This system also produced widespread precipitation across the area as the low moved across the area with several stations picking up between a half inch and an inch of liquid precipitation. The precipitation mainly fell as snow above 5000 feet and several higher elevation SNOTELs in the Sierra Nevada picked up an estimated 4 to 8 inches of new snowfall. The precipitation continued until the afternoon of April 14 when showers tapered off as the upper low moved to the east of the area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1162474. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.