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

2025-02-04 · West Side Mountains North of Highway 198, California

Event narrative

The Alcalde RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.

Wider weather episode

Following the departure of the system which brought generally light precipitation from Fresno County northward on February 1, unseasonably warm temperatures prevailed across the area on February 2 with record highs being approached at several locations. A strong system moved into northern California during the morning of February 3 which slowly pushed southward into central California on February 4 and brought precipitation to the area between the afternoon of February 4 and the morning of February 5. Precipitation totals were less than anticipated although much of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills north of Kings Canyon picked up 1 to 2 inches of liquid precipitation with a half inch to 1.25 inches from Kings Canyon southward. Most of the San Joaquin Valley picked up between a tenth and three tenths of an inch of rain. The Tehachapi Mountains generally had a tenth of an inch of rain or less while the Kern County Deserts remained dry, but had a period of strong wind gusts during the afternoon and evening of February 4 with several stations reporting gusts exceeding 45 mph. A few stations had gusts exceeding 60 mph ahead of the arrival of the precipitation.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1226073. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.