High Wind — Central Sierra, California

2021-01-19 · Central Sierra, California

Event narrative

The Pacific Gas and Electric station at Morissey Road Tower measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph.

Wider weather episode

An upper low pressure center developed off the southern California coast on January 18. During the evening, a secondary low center dropped southwest through Nevada which interacted with the low off the coast and produced a strong northeast flow over the Sierra Nevada resulting in destructive northeast winds over the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills between the late evening of January 18 and the early afternoon of January 19 where several stations measured wind gusts exceeding 60 mph for an 8 to 12 hour period. The strong winds toppled several trees and power poles resulting a several structures being damaged and extended power outages over the Sierra foothills. Over 30 miles of power lines had tobe replaced in Mariposa County alone as a result of the wind damage. The damage casued by the winds also resutled in disaster declarations in Mariposa and Madera Counties. Fifteen giant sequoia trees which were all at least 1000 years old were toppled by the strong winds. In addition, strong east winds developed over the Tehachapi Mountains between the late morning until late evening. Several stations measured gusts exceeding 55 mph. The winds also funneled into the the San Joaquin Valley producing gusts exceeding 50 mph in the Bakersfield area and along the West Side Hills. Several other stations in the San Joaquin Valley measured gusts exceeding 35 mph. The winds diminished by the morning of January 20 as the low dropped further south off the Baja coast.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 929324. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.