High Wind — Kern County Desert, California

2020-12-13 · Kern County Desert, California

Event narrative

The CHP station at Cache Creek measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.

Wider weather episode

A low pressure system moved through northern California during the morning of December 13 and pushed a cold front through the area between the afternoon of December 13 and the early morning of December 14. Precipitation accompanied the frontal passage with the snow level between 6000 and 6500 feet. Much of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills from Kings Canyon northward picked up between a half inch to an inch of liquid precipitation and the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada picked up between 5 and 9 inches of new snowfall. Much of the San Joaquin Valley from Fresno County northward picked up between a quarter and a half inch of rainfall while lesser amounts fell further south with most stations south of Fresno County picking up between a few hundredths and a quarter inch of liquid precipitation. Once again, the main impact from this system was post-frontal winds as several stations in the mountains and deserts of Kern County measured gusts above 45 mph during the early morning of December 14 while a few low impact indicator sites measured gusts above 60 mph. The winds diminished by late morning on December 14.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 924517. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.