High Wind — Imperial County Except the Lower Colorado River Valley, California

2013-04-08 · Imperial County Except the Lower Colorado River Valley, California

Event narrative

On April 8th, strong, westerly gradient winds developed during the morning hours across Imperial county. The winds were associated with a powerful Pacific low pressure system moving into the desert southwest. By early afternoon, peak wind gusts in excess of 50 mph were seen and at 127 pm, the ASOS automatic weather station at Imperial recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph. The strong winds led to the issuance of a High Wind Warning at 137 pm for Imperial County, and the warning lasted until 8 pm.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level Pacific low pressure system brought strong, gusty and damaging winds to portions of southeast California on April 8th, especially the lower deserts of Imperial county. Gusty southwest to west winds developed during the morning hours, and continued into the early evening, prompting issuance of numerous products, including Wind Advisories, Blowing Dust Advisories, and High Wind Warnings. Peak gusts in excess of 60 mph were seen at times, strong enough to damage area trees and weaker structures such as sheds. The strong gradient winds were not associated with thunderstorms.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 438618. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.