Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 1986

Flash Flood Warning 13, NWS Sacramento, CA

February 17, 1986Colusa County, Yolo County, California

NWS Sacramento, CA issued this flash flood warning at Feb 17, 1986, 1:30 PM PST for Colusa County, Yolo County, California. It was in force for 11 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 17, 1986, 1:30 PM PST (21:30 UTC)
Expired
Feb 18, 1986, 12:00 AM PST
In force
11 hr
Issued by
NWS Sacramento, CA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Colusa County, CA, Yolo County, CA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Oakland, CA (KOAK), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 134 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Oakland, CA at 12:00Z on 1986-02-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 70 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Oakland, CA at 12:00Z on 1986-02-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
70 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
505 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
197 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 17, 10:00 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
10 AM PST MON FEB 17 1986

A BROAD BAND OF RAIN EXTENDS FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SOUTHWESTWARD
INTO THE SUBTROPICS. THIS BAND OF RAIN WILL MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHEAST
OVER THE DISTRICT OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS. SURGES OF HEAVY RAIN
WILL RIPPLE RAPIDLY NORTHEASTWARD ALONG THIS BAND CAUSING RAPID
FLUCTUATIONS IN RAIN INTENSITY.

THE HEAVIEST RAIN TODAY WILL BE NORTH OF SAN FRANCISCO TO SACRAMENTO
LINE. THE BELT OF HEAVIEST RAIN IS FORECAST TO MOVE SOUTHWARD
THROUGH THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AND INTO THE SANTA CRUZ
MOUNTAINS TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING.

A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO FLOOD AND SLIDE PROBLEMS WILL BE THE
DURATION OF THE RAIN. THIS SYSTEM IS MOVING SLOWLY AND TOTAL
ACCULULATIONS WILL BE HEAVY. TOTAL ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OVER
THE NEXT 48 HOURS COULD TOTAL 3 TO 6 INCHES AT MANY LOWER ELEVATION
LOCATIONS AND AS MUCH AS 15 INCHES IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS WHERE RAINFALL
BECOMES ENHANCED BY TERRAIN. BLUE CANYON NEAR THE 5000 FOOT LEVEL
ALONG I-80 HAS ALREADY ACCUMULATED NEARLY 13 INCHES OVER THE PAST
TWO AND A HALF DAYS.

THE PUBLIC IS URGED TO MONITOR WEATHER REPORTS AND FORECAST..
ESPECIALLY THOSE LIVING IN OR TRAVELING THROUGH AREAS NORMALLY
PRONE TO FLOODING OR ROCK OR MUD SLIDES. PERSONS TRAVELING THROUGH
THE MOUNTAINS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR DIFFICULT DRIVING AND
HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. CHECK WITH CALTRANS FOR LATEST ROAD
CONDITIONS.

DETAILSO ON FLASH FLOODING WILL BE IN THE LATEST FLASH FLOOD
WATCH BULLETINS AND STATEMENTS.

DETAILS ON RIVER FLOODING WILL BE IN THE LATEST FLOOD WARNING
BULLETINS AND STATEMENTS.

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED.

EWING
Special weather statement, Feb 17, 12:19 PM PST, 1 hour 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MENLO PARK CA
1215 PM PST MON FEB 17 1986

...MUDSLIDES AND EARTH MOVEMENT A STRONG POSSIBILITY THROUGHOUT THE
        SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...

THE HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS HAS COMPLETELY SATURATED
HILLSIDES THROUGHOUT THE BAY REGION AND HAS ALREADY BEEN RESPONSIBLE
FOR EARTH MOVEMENT..MUDSLIDES AND MUDFLOW IN MUCH OF THE BAY AREA.

WITH MORE HEAVY RAINFALL IN THE FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS..ANYONE
LIVING NEAR HILLSIDES..SLOPING LAND OR CREEKSIDES IN THE BAY REGION
SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE STRONG POSSIBILITY OF EARTH MOVEMENT AND SLIDES
DURING AND AFTER A HEAVY R	AIN.  BE READY FOR QUICK ACTION IF EARTH
MOVEMENT IS OBSERVED IF A HILLSIDE IS NOTICEABLE WEAKENING OR IF A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS ISSUED.

..BARBATO/NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
..WEICZOREK/US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sacramento, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 17, 4:00 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOTehama8 hr
Feb 17, 10:00 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOTehama14 hr
Feb 17, 11:00 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOShasta13 hr
Feb 17, 11:15 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOTrinity13 hr
Feb 17, 12:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTONevada, Placer, Sierra, Yuba12 hr
Feb 17, 12:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOAlpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado12 hr
Feb 17, 12:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOTuolumne12 hr
Feb 17, 1:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTONevada, Placer, Sierra, Yuba11 hr
Feb 17, 1:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOAlpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Sacramento, San Joaquin11 hr
Feb 17, 1:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOStanislaus, Tuolumne11 hr
Feb 17, 1:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSTOSolano11 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 1986Every flash flood warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.