Thunderstorm Wind — San Diego, California

2016-01-31 · near Pacific Beach, San Diego, California

Event narrative

A pine tree 8 ft in diameter succumbed to strong winds, falling on 4 cars and killing a 48 year old woman who was driving down Ingraham Street. An additional tree fell during the cleanup operations, injuring 2 reporters.

Wider weather episode

A strong trough moved inland along the California Coast on the 31st. The trough was accompanied by a surface low that rapidly deepened in the Southern California Bight and an exceptionally strong Pacific Cold Front. A broken line of thunderstorms formed along the leading edge of the front, and combined with post frontal winds to produce extensive wind damage over the coast and valleys. The County of San Diego received over 500 calls for downed trees. While the wind were the main player with this system, significant precipitation was observed. A remnant atmospheric river produced efficient orographic effects, resulting in 2.5 to 4.5 inches of rain along the west and south-facing slopes. Snow levels fell as low as 4000 ft, with moderate accumulations above 6000 ft.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.7918, -117.2384)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 615345. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.