Strong winds Lemoore and Valley Thursday, trees down, but back to normal Friday

Friday, March 31, 2017 - 9:04am By Ed Martin, Editor

Strong winds on Thursday in Lemoore knocked down this tree on Fox Street near the local Kmart causing traffic to slow down.

High winds, including local gusts recorded at 41 miles an hour, hit Lemoore and the central San Joaquin Valley Thursday. Fortunately for Lemoore, the winds knocked down a few trees and broke branches, but no injuries or power outages were reported.

This oak tree, north of the railroad tracks near downtown Lemoore, lost a branch thanks to strong Thursday winds.

“We had multiple trees go down (yesterday),” said Lemoore Public Works Director Nathan Olson.

A large tree, on the north side of the railroad tracks running near downtown Lemoore, suffered the loss of a large branch, and a tree fell in the Save Mart parking lot. Another tree blocked half a lane of traffic on Fox Street near Kmart.

Other areas of the valley weren’t as fortunate. High winds not only knocked down trees in Fresno and Visalia, but also Pacific Gas and Electric had nearly 6,000 customers without power due to the high winds. Residents in Visalia also experienced a power outage in the late afternoon.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District released a health advisory, warning that fine particles of dust carried by the high winds could easily get into the lungs. The air district recommended that persons, susceptible to asthma and other lung ailments, remain indoors.

The high winds continued late into the night and finally died down early Friday morning. Friday was expected to return to normal with sunny skies and temperatures that may reach to 70 degrees.