High Wind — Lake Isabella, California

2020-12-17 · Lake Isabella, California

Event narrative

The Bear Peak RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low pressure system moved eastward across northern California on December 17 which pushed a cold front through central California during the morning and early afternoon hours. This front provided for a brief period of light precipitation across much of the area. Yosemite Park was hit the hardest once again with several stations in the park measuring between half and inch and an inch of liquid precipitation. The precipitation fell as snow above 6000 feet and several high elevation stations picked up between 5 and 9 inches of new snowfall. Further south, much of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills measured between a quarter inch to a half inch of liquid precipitation while the San Joaquin Valley measured between a tenth of an inch and a quarter inch of rainfall near Merced and Madera while the remainder of the valley and the mountains and deserts of Kern County received between trace amounts and a tenth of an inch of rainfall. Just as with the previous two systems, the main impact from this system was a period of increased winds across the mountains and deserts of Kern County. Several stations measured gusts between 40 and 50 mph during the early afternoon hours while a few low impact indicator sites measured gusts exceeding 60 mph. The winds diminished in the evening as the system moved further away for the area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 924732. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.