High Wind — Se Kern Cty Desert, California

2018-11-23 · Se Kern Cty Desert, California

Event narrative

Cache Creek reported a peak wind gust of 61 mph.

Wider weather episode

The storm that brought a soaking rain to much of the area and the first significant snowfall of the season to the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra Nevada was followed by a second storm which reached central California on November 23 and brought widespread rainfall to the area which continued through the early morning of November 24. Although this storm did not produce as much precipitation as the previous system, it still produced another half inch to locally two inches of additional rainfall to the Southern Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills, and up to foot of new snow fell above 8000 feet. Much of the San Joaquin Valley was rain shadowed, but several stations measures between one and two tenths of an inch of additional rainfall. Meanwhile, strong winds impacted the Kern County Mountains from the afternoon of November 23 through the early morning of November 24. Several stations reported wind gusts exceeding 40 mph while a few low impact indicator sites measured gusts around 60 mph. By the afternoon of November 24, decreased winds and drying took place across the area as the storm moved to the east of the area with high pressure building in behind it.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 786891. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.