High Wind — S Sierra Mtns, California

2018-12-28 · S Sierra Mtns, California

Event narrative

The Mount Tom RAWS reported a peak wind gust of 67 mph.

Wider weather episode

A dry shortwave dropped southward just to the east of the Sierra crest as an upper trough deepened over the Desert Southwest during the morning of December 28. Meanwhile, an upper ridge pushed inland into northern California setting up a period of strong offshore Mono type winds along the crest of the Southern Sierra Nevada. This resulted in a closure of the China Peak ski resort as winds gusted around 55 mph at the top of the lifts. Meanwhile the center of the San Joaquin Valley was sheltered form the winds and clear skies overnight some locally dense fog formed and impacted traffic along State Route 99.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 791023. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.