Storm Watch: Solano wind gusts hit near-hurricane speed
Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning’s wind storm brought some of the worst and most-damaging conditions experienced in Solano County in recent memory, with some wind speeds reaching near-hurricane levels in rural parts of the region.
In Denverton, the National Weather Service said a gust of 65 miles per hour was recorded on Tuesday around 11 p.m., just 10 miles per hour below what would be the minimal sustained wind speed for a Category 1 hurricane. Denverton is an unincorporated area located about 10 miles east of Fairfield.
Vacaville recorded the worst gust of the storm for an incorporated city, according to measurements from the weather agency, with observed wind between 45 and 55 miles per hour.
The following are 24-hour wind gust measurements recorded by the National Weather Service starting Tuesday at 7 a.m.:
Denverton: 65 MPH (Tuesday, 11 p.m.)
Vacaville, Nut Tree Airport: 58 MPH (Wednesday, 12:53 a.m.)
Vacaville, Cherry Glen Road: 51 MPH (Wednesday, 1:10 a.m.)
Elmira: 47 MPH (Wednesday, 1:58 a.m.)
Rio Vista: 46 MPH (Tuesday, 10:00 p.m.)
Vacaville, Blue Ridge Road: 44 MPH (Wednesday, 1:10 a.m.)
Vacaville, Pleasants Valley Road: 43 MPH (Wednesday, 1:10 a.m.)
Vacaville, Quinn Road: 42 MPH (Tuesday, 10:10 p.m.)
Dixon: 41 MPH (Wednesday, 2:00 a.m.)
Rio Vista Bridge: 41 MPH (Wednesday, midnight)
Fairfield, Clay Bank Road: 41 MPH (Wednesday, 1:40 a.m.)
Benicia, Dillon Point: 39 MPH (Wednesday, 12:04 a.m.)
Solano County had some of the highest wind gusts observed during the winter storm, with similar breezes being recorded in nearby Yolo County, according to National Weather Service data reviewed by Solano NewsNet early Thursday morning. But they paled in comparison to wind speeds recorded at Alpine Meadows in Placer County, where forecasters observed gust of a 125 miles per hour at the peak of the storm.
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