High Wind — Kern County Desert, California

2020-12-12 · Kern County Desert, California

Event narrative

The Tehachapi Mountains Pescado Creek Station measured a peak wind gust of 70 mph.

Wider weather episode

A low pressure system pushed into the Pacific Northwest during the evening of December 11 then tracked southeast through the Great Basin during the morning of December 12. A band of precipitation pushed through the area between the late evening of December 11 and the morning of December 12. Several stations in the Central Sierra and adjacent foothills picked up between 0.50 and 0.80 inches of liquid precipitation with 6 to 9 inches of new snowfall above 7500 feet. Further south in the Sierra Nevada, most of the north Kings area picked up between a quarter to half an inch of liquid precipitation while most of higher elevation stations in Tulare County picked up between a tenth of an inch and a quarter inch of liquid precipitation. Most of the San Joaquin Valley from Fresno County northward picked up between a quarter and a half inch of rainfall while a tenth to a quarter inch of rainfall fell south of Fresno County. The main impact from this system; however, was that it produced a period of strong wind gusts across the mountains and deserts of Kern County during the morning of December 12. Several stations in the Kern County Mountains and Deserts measured gusts exceeding 60 mph with a few low impact indicator sites measuring gusts above 70 mph.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 924355. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.