Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Los Angeles, CA

August 12, 1994Riverside County, California

NWS Los Angeles, CA issued this tornado warning at Aug 12, 1994, 3:10 PM PDT for Riverside County, California. It was in force for 95 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 12, 1994, 3:10 PM PDT (22:10 UTC)
Expired
Aug 12, 1994, 4:45 PM PDT
In force
95 min
Issued by
NWS Los Angeles, CA
Area
Whole counties

County Riverside County, CA

The nearest sounding before it

San Diego, CA (KNKX), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 154 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, San Diego, CA at 12:00Z on 1994-08-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 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, San Diego, CA at 12:00Z on 1994-08-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -19 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-877 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2200 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
33 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 tornado 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, Aug 12, 12:00 PM PDT, 3 hours 10 minutes before
CAZ051-052-018-132000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES CA
1200 PM PDT SAT AUG 12 1994

...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE SAN BERNARDINO
   MOUNTAINS...

AT 12 PM PDT, SULPHUR MOUNTAIN DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM
HAD DEVELOPED IN THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS, OVER BIG BEAR CITY.
SPOTTER REPORTS DURING THE LAST HALF HOUR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM WITH
HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL.

THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS, AND
WILL SPREAD INTO SOME DESERT COMMUNITIES DURING THE AFTERNOON.

PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON THESE STORMS, AS
LOCALIZED FLOODING MAY OCCUR, ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN, SMALL HAIL, AND
STONG GUSTY WINDS.

ADDITIONAL RADAR DATA SHOWED SOME SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS OVER THE WEST
SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL AREA. MOST OF THIS ACTIVITY WAS LIGHT, AND WAS
MOVING NORTHWEST TOWARDS POINT CONCEPTION.

ENTREKIN
Special weather statement, Aug 12, 12:10 PM PDT, 3 hours before
CAZ013-018-122100-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES CA
1210 PM PDT FRI AUG 12 1994

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE MOUNTAINS...

AT 1200 PM, SULPHER MOUNTAIN DOPPLER RADAR AND CONVENTIONAL RADAR
INDICATED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE ACTIVITY WAS CONCENTRATED OVER THE SAN
BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS NEAR BIG BEAR, WHERE A SPOTTER REPORTED A
THUNDERSHOWER OVER THE SUGARLOAF AREA. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE
ALSO DEVLEOPING OVER THE SAN JACINTO, AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAIN
AREAS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY IN THESE AREAS, AND WILL
SPREAD INTO SOME DESERT COMMUNITIES DURING THE AFTERNOON.  THESE STORMS
MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN, LIGHTNING, AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON THESE STORMS, AS
LOCALIZED FLOODING MAY OCCUR. IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR THESE
THUNDERSTORMS,  TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

ENTREKIN
Special weather statement, Aug 12, 12:25 PM PDT, 2 hours 45 minutes before
CAZ013-018-122100-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES CA
1210 PM PDT FRI AUG 12 1994

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE MOUNTAINS...

AT 1200 PM, SULPHER MOUNTAIN DOPPLER RADAR AND CONVENTIONAL RADAR
INDICATED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE ACTIVITY WAS CONCENTRATED OVER THE SAN
BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS NEAR BIG BEAR, WHERE A SPOTTER REPORTED A
THUNDERSHOWER OVER THE SUGARLOAF AREA. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE
ALSO DEVLEOPING OVER THE SAN JACINTO, AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAIN
AREAS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY IN THESE AREAS, AND WILL
SPREAD INTO SOME DESERT COMMUNITIES DURING THE AFTERNOON.  THESE STORMS
MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN, LIGHTNING, AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON THESE STORMS, AS
LOCALIZED FLOODING MAY OCCUR. IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR THESE
THUNDERSTORMS,  TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

ENTREKIN
Special weather statement, Aug 12, 12:40 PM PDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before
CAZ018-132030-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES CA
1240 PM PDT SAT AUG 12 1994

...THUNDERSTORM OVER BIG BEAR LAKE AREA...

AT 1230 PM PDT, SULPHUR MOUNTAIN DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS, AROUND BIG BEAR
CITY. SPOTTER REPORTS DURING THE LAST HOUR CONTINUED TO INDICATE HEAVY
RAIN AND NAVY-BEAN SIZED HAIL WITH THIS STORM.

PERSONS IN THE BIG BEAR LAKE AREA SHOULD KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON THIS
STORM, AS LOCALIZED FLOODING MAY OCCUR, ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN, SMALL
HAIL, AND STONG GUSTY WINDS.

ENTREKIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 12, 2:00 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOXRiverside90 min
Aug 12, 3:38 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOXOrange, Riverside52 min
Aug 12, 4:04 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOXLos Angeles, San Bernardino86 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in California, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes 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.