Dust Storm — Se Kern Cty Desert, California

2007-10-16 to 2007-10-17 · Se Kern Cty Desert, California

Wider weather episode

The third weather system of the month of October brought only light precipitation to the region on the 16th-17th, but also brought strong wind gusts to the Kern County mountains and deserts, where gusts as high as 67 mph were recorded.

Winds gusting to around 60 mph in the Mojave area on October 16 reduced visibility to near zero, with numerous accidents reported. Peak wind at the Mojave Air/Space Port was 50 knots (58 mph) at 1847Z (1147 AM PDT) and 2046Z (1346 PM PDT). The fatal accidents occurred at 1845Z (1145 AM PDT); both involved vehicles colliding with big rigs. One accident occurred when the driver of a van reportedly made a 'U-turn' in low visibility and collided with a big rig; one passenger in the van was killed. Portions of Highway 58 near Mojave were closed for about a day due to the blowing dust and sand. The two deaths that occurred during the dust storm near Mojave were indirect fatalities related to the high winds that occurred.

Also due to the high winds in the Mojave area, the roof was blown off a Public Utility District facility's two large water storage tanks.

Fatalities related to the dust storm on October 16, 2007, were the first dust storm related fatalities in the state of California since 1993, according to official Storm Data records.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 64432. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.