California City wind: the forecast and the windy season

01When is it windiest in California City?

Spring into early summer is the windy season. At the Mojave airport, about ten miles west-southwest of town, the average wind in May between 2016 and 2025 was 15.6 mph, and 82% of May days saw a gust of 30 mph or more. In April, 45% of days gusted to 40 mph or more.¹ Autumn is the calm counterweight: in October only 35% of days reached a 30 mph gust.¹

California City sits between the two nearest airport stations, and they differ. Mojave, nearer the Tehachapi Pass, is windier than Edwards Air Force Base, about sixteen miles south-southeast, in every month of the year.¹ Use Mojave as the rough and Edwards as the gentle end of what the town is likely to feel.

The Western Regional Climate Center’s long-published averages for Edwards tell the same story from an earlier decade: the calmest months average about 8 mph and May and June about 13.7 to 13.8 mph, with a year-round average of 10.8 mph.²

Winter is calmer on average but not gentle: at Mojave, 8% of January days still gusted to 50 mph or more, four times July’s 2%.¹

02Why is it so windy here?

The U.S. Geological Survey’s account of the region’s wind is short: most of its wind turbines are grouped around the Tehachapi Pass, west of Mojave, where air flowing in from the Pacific Ocean funnels through the Tehachapi Mountains. In the part of the pass its Landsat images cover there were 3,250 turbines as of May 2023, rated at 2,905 megawatts.⁴ The Mojave airport, nearer the pass, is windier than Edwards Air Force Base in every month of the year.¹

03Which way does the wind blow?

Almost always from the west. The Western Regional Climate Center puts the prevailing wind at Edwards as southwest in every month except November, when it is west.³ The strong winds at Mojave, those of 20 mph or more, come most often from the west, and from the northwest from June to August.¹ In practice that means dust from any open ground to the west of you, and a crosswind on any road that runs north–south.

04Wind Advisory or High Wind Warning: what do the alerts mean?

The National Weather Service office in Hanford issues the alerts for California City⁵, and each office can set its own criteria.⁶ The national typical values:

• Wind Advisory: sustained winds of 30 to 39 mph for an hour or longer.⁶ The NWS’s advice is to secure objects outdoors and take care if driving.⁷
• High Wind Warning: sustained winds of 40 mph or more for an hour or longer, or gusts of 58 mph or more for any length of time.⁶ The advice is to seek shelter, and on the road to keep both hands on the wheel and slow down.⁷
• High Wind Watch: conditions are favourable for winds that meet the warning criteria in the next 12 to 48 hours.⁶ Secure loose things and adjust plans so as not to be caught outside.⁷

Any of these makes this guide’s riding and camping rating at least marginal, and a warning makes it poor; the weekend outlook explains the rest of the ratings.

05What do wind speeds feel like on the ground?

The Beaufort scale, drawn up in 1805, is still the most useful plain-language guide to what a wind speed feels like.⁸ Note where dust starts: at a moderate breeze, well below anything the forecast will call windy.

Riding

Dust is the first cost of wind on a bike or in a side-by-side, and it arrives early. The National Weather Service’s blowing-dust advisories and warnings usually require winds of 25 mph or more.⁶ This guide rates riding as marginal from 20 mph sustained or 30 mph gusts, and poor from 30 mph sustained or 45 mph gusts; the ratings on the forecast page explain why. A tall trailer or toy hauler on Highway 14 feels every gust, so read the wind alerts before towing.

Camping

Wind that is tolerable at midday often keeps going after dark, which is why this site’s camping rating counts the night after the day. Pitch with the narrow end of the tent into the west, use every guy line, and put the vehicle on the windward side. On a day with a Wind Advisory the NWS’s own advice is that objects outdoors should be secured, which includes the awning.⁷

Flying

California City Municipal Airport has a single runway, 06/24,⁹ which lines up broadly with the prevailing west and southwest winds.³ This page is not an aviation source, and the NWS lists no reporting station at the airport¹⁰; pilots should use the Mojave and Edwards reports and a proper briefing from the Aviation Weather Center.¹¹

06Blowing dust: when does visibility drop?

The NWS has two kinds of dust alert. For widespread blowing dust it issues a Blowing Dust Advisory when visibility falls to a mile or less, and a Blowing Dust Warning at a quarter of a mile or less; for short, sudden dust storms, usually off thunderstorm outflow, it issues Dust Advisories and Dust Storm Warnings on the same visibility thresholds.⁶

The NWS’s own public explainer describes the Dust Storm Warning differently, as half a mile of visibility or less with winds of 30 mph or more.⁷ The directive is the formal specification, so this page follows it, but either way the point is the same: when a dust alert is out, visibility on open ground can fall to a quarter of a mile or less.

07How to read the wind forecast above

The wind forecast at the top of this page comes from the National Weather Service forecast grid for California City and is read fresh on every visit.¹² It shows the strongest sustained wind and the highest gust forecast in each half-day. The NWS gives sustained wind and gusts separately; on a forecast of “15 mph, gusts to 30”, the gusts are what you will notice.