Strong Wind — Northern San Joaquin Valley, California

2013-10-27 to 2013-10-28 · Northern San Joaquin Valley, California

Event narrative

Onshore winds increased in the afternoon Oct. 27th ahead of the strong trough. Winds in Tracy measured 44mph, Stockton measured 44mph, and Campo Seco measured 49mph. Blowing dust greatly restricted visibility and brought traffic to a slow crawl on highly traveled roads (I-5 and I-580) in the late afternoon and evening hours. The California Highway Patrol reported that six big rigs on I-580 were knocked over between 6pm PDT Sunday to 5am PDT Monday. Two drivers suffered minor to moderate injuries.

Wider weather episode

Ahead of a low pressure system, strong onshore winds caused for travel disruption for Northern California. The system then dropped over a foot of snow for the Sierra at higher elevations as it passed through the region.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 480568. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.