High Wind — Mountains of San Benito County and Interior Monterey County Including Pinnacles National Monument, California

2013-04-08 · Mountains of San Benito County and Interior Monterey County Including Pinnacles National Monument, California

Event narrative

The Santa Rita RAWS in San Benito County measured a peak wind gust of 60 MPH.

Wider weather episode

Strong and gusty northwest winds impacted much of the Bay Area resulting in downed trees, downed power lines, rough seas and even broken windows. A weak cold front moved through the Bay Area during the overnight hours of April 8th. As the cold front exited quickly to the south and east of the Bay Area high pressure began to build over the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. As a result, the northerly pressure gradient increased rapidly during the early morning hours of April 8th.

The rather strong northerly pressure gradient helped to produce widespread wind gusts in excess of 35 mph with a few locations over 60 mph. Numerous reports of downed trees and power lines were received as a result of the strong winds. The strong winds also impacted KSFO airport and a Airport Weather Warning (AWW) was issued for gusts up to 40 kts. The last major wind event to impact the Bay Area was January 4th, 2008 where 100 mph gusts were reported.

Over the coastal waters the strong winds helped to produce hazardous conditions with steep wind waves and confused seas. Gale Warnings were in effect for much of the coastal waters including San Francisco Bay. Buoy observations indicated many locations were near storm force conditions with several gusts up to 47 kts. Buoy 26, east of the Farallon Islands, reported one hour of storm force conditions with a gust up to 49 kts. The strong winds and fresh swell also resulted in combined seas up to 20 feet, as noted by the Half Moon Bay Buoy (Buoy 12).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 446940. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.