Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 1994

Flash Flood Warning 4, NWS Los Angeles, CA

March 24, 1994Los Angeles County, Orange County, California

NWS Los Angeles, CA issued this flash flood warning at Mar 24, 1994, 8:55 PM PST for Los Angeles County, Orange County, California. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 24, 1994, 8:55 PM PST (04:55 UTC)
Expired: Mar 25, 1994, 12:00 AM PST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Los Angeles, CA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Los Angeles County, CA, Orange County, CA

The nearest sounding before it

Edwards AFB, CA (KEDW), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 109 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1901 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 75 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 250456
FFWLAX
CAC037-059-250800-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES CA
855 PM PST THU MAR 24 1994

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE LAGUNA BURN AREA OF 
ORANGE COUNTY UNTIL MIDNIGHT...

AT 845 PM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER 
THE MIDDLE OF ORANGE COUNTY, MOVING EASTWARD ABOUT 25 MPH.  OUR DOPPLER 
RADAR ALSO INDICATED ABOUT A HALF INCH OF RAIN HAS FALLEN, AND PROBABLY 
ANOTHER HALF INCH WILL FALL.  TOTAT RAINFALLS OF AN INCH WILL CAUSE 
PROBLEMS IN THE BURN AREAS.

LAGUNA BEACH STORM CENTER REPORTED HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING WAS ALREADY 
CAUSING PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY ACROSS LAGUNA CANYON ROAD.  THEY REPORTED 
THAT 55 HUNDRETHS OF AN INCH HAS FALLEN AND IT WAS STILL RAINING HARD.

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OFFICIALS AND EVACUATE IF 
REQUESTED TO DO SO.  PERSONS LIVING IN OR BELOW THE WARNING AREA SHOULD 
BE PREPARED TO MOVE IMMEDIATELY...WITHOUT WAITING FOR INSTRUCTIONS...IF 
HEAVY FLOWS OF WATER...OR DEBRIS ARE OBSERVED IN THEIR AREA.

SIMPSON

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, Mar 24, 5:28 PM PST, 3 hours 27 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES, CA
528 PM PST THU MAR 24 1994

THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS RECEIVED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CAN.

VENTURA COUNTY

VENTURA          16-1630L  HAIL (UNKNOWN SIZE) OBSERVED BY VENTURA COUNTY
HAIL                       DMV, REPORTED BY VENTURA COUNTY HAM RADIO

OXNARD SHORES (5SE VTU) 1652L  BB SIZE HAIL
HAIL

LEIVERS

Local storm report, Mar 24, 7:22 PM PST, 1 hour 33 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES, CA
724 PM PST THU MAR 24 1994

THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS RECEIVED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA.  (ALL TIMES PST)

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

SANTA BARBARA  1513   52KT WINDS MEASURED AT SBA
THUNDERSTORM WINDS

SANTA BARBARA HARBOR(10E SBA) 1530  FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED BY SANTA BARBARA
FUNNEL CLOUD                         HARBORMASTER

SANTA BARBARA  1540  TORNADO REPORTED BY SANTA BARBARA FIRE DEPARTMENT
TORNADO               TOOK OUTBUILDING AWAY (PRELIM. - F0)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

MALIBU(18 NW LAX)  1730  WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED MUD/ROCK FLOWS IN
MUDSLIDES                 LAS VIRGINES CANYON. L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF
                          REPORTED MUDSLIDES IN MALIBU CANYON 3/4
                          MI. N. OF P.C.H.  ANOTHER WEATHER SPOTTER
                          REPORTED MUDFLOWS IN THE BIG ROCK AREA OF
           "               MALIBU, WITH MUD ACROSS P.C.H.  KNBC-TV IN
                          LOS ANGELES REPORTED P.C.H. CLOSED IN
                          MALIBU DUE TO MUDSLIDES. (MUDFLOWS CONT.
                          AT 1930)

LEIVERS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 24, 4:32 PM PST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LOX	Ventura	58 min
Mar 24, 5:57 PM PST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LOX	Los Angeles	48 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 1994 Every flash flood warning in 1994

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.