High Wind — Tulare Cty Mtns, California

2018-04-16 · Tulare Cty Mtns, California

Event narrative

The Bear Peak RAWS reported a peak wind gust of 66 mph.

Wider weather episode

A cold upper level trough moved through California on April 16 bringing light precipitation to Central California by early morning. A cold and very unstable airmass pushed into the area by the early afternoon hours. As a result, showers and thunderstorms developed over the San Joaquin Valley and Southern Sierra Foothills. Due to the showery nature of the precipitation, rainfall amounts varied; but generally ranged from a tenth of an inch to half an inch of rain in these areas. There were several reports of small hail and brief heavy rainfall. Higher elevations in the Southern Sierra Nevada picked up between 4 and 8 inches of new snowfall although portions of Yosemite National Park did pick up a bit more with Tuolumne Meadows measuring 14 inches of snow snowfall. Up to an inch of snow fell over the Kern County Mountains above 5000 feet while a few indicator sites measured brief wind gusts above 60 mph. The trough moved east of the area by the morning of April 17 with drier air building in behind it.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 740941. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.