Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 10, NWS Las Vegas, NV

July 14, 1990Inyo County, California

NWS Las Vegas, NV issued this flash flood warning at Jul 14, 1990, 11:50 PM PDT for Inyo County, California. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 14, 1990, 11:50 PM PDT (06:50 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 1990, 2:00 AM PDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Las Vegas, NV
Area
Whole counties

County Inyo 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

Mercury/Desert R, NV (KDRA), launched 00:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 127 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, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 00:00Z on 1990-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 20 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 00:00Z on 1990-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 5 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
20 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-368 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2607 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KLAX 150719 COR
FFWLAX
CAC027-071-150900-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES CA
1220 AM PDT SUN JUL 15 1990      ...CORRECTION...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 2 AM SUNDAY
MORNING FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN EASTERN CALIFORNIA

   ...SOUTHEASTERN INYO COUNTY
   ...EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

THE WARNING INCLUDES THE COMMUNITIES OF...
                                    .
     DEATH VALLEY
     SHOSHONE
     TECOPA
     BAKER
     KELSO
     ESSEX
     NIPTON
     IVANPAH
     GOFFS
     NEEDLES
     CADIZ
     WEST LAKE HAVASU

AND PORTIONS OF

     INTERSTATE 15
     INTERSTATE 40
     STATE HIGHWAY 95

AT 1130 PM...RADAR AND SATELLITE INDICATED A LINE OF VERY HEAVY THUNDER
STORMS EXTENDING FROM LAKE MOJAVE IN ARIZONA TO ESSEX IN CALIFORNIA.

THE STORMS ARE MOVING TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR WITH
HEAVY RAIN CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FLASH FLOODS AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS
IN EXCESS OF 55 MILES AN HOUR.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE NEAR A STREAM OR WASH
...HEAD FOR HIGHER GROUND.  AVOID AREAS BELOW CANYONS AND DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO DRIVE OVER INUNDATED ROADS.  STRONG GUSTY WINDS ARE CAPABLE
OF OVERTURNING UNSECURED MOBILE HOMES.  SEEK INSIDE SHELTER IN A SAFE
PLACE.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE ISSUED AT 1245 AM SUNDAY MORNING.

GREBE

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

Local storm report, Jul 14, 7:40 PM PDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
734 PM PDT SAT JUL 14 1990

TIME PDT     PLACE                 EVENT
725  PM      BEATTY (SPOTTER)      RAIN BEGAN AROUND 630 PM AND 1.47
                                   INCHES OF RAIN RECORDED IN 1 HOUR.
                                   RUNNING WATER ACROSS HER PROPERTY
                                   HAS STOPPED. WINDS ARE CALM.

END
HCB/0240Z

The office that day

Everything else NWS Las Vegas, NV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 14, 10:02 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningVEFInyo118 min
Jul 14, 10:02 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningVEFInyo118 min
Jul 14, 11:50 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningVEFInyo2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

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.