Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 4, NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA

December 10, 1996Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, California

NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA issued this flash flood warning at Dec 10, 1996, 3:55 PM PST for Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, California. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 10, 1996, 3:55 PM PST (23:55 UTC)
Expired
Dec 10, 1996, 6:00 PM PST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Santa Clara County, CA, Santa Cruz County, CA

The nearest sounding before it

Lompoc (Awos), CA (KLPC), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 303 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, Lompoc (Awos), CA at 12:00Z on 1996-12-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 11 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Lompoc (Awos), CA at 12:00Z on 1996-12-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 116 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
11 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
564 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
238 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 KSFO 102357
FFWSFO
CAC085-087-110200-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
355 PM PST TUE DEC 10 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN FRANCISCO HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM PST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
 
   ...WESTERN SANTA CLARA COUNTY...SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
 
FLOODING CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM IN SANTA CRUZ AND WESTERN SANTA CLARA
COUNTIES...ESPECIALLY IN THE CORRALITOS DRAINAGE. THIS INCLUDES THE
CITIES OF FREEDOM AND WATSONVILLE. THE SAN LORENZO AND SOQUEL DRAINAGES
ARE WITHIN THEIR BANKS...BUT REMAIN HIGH. THEREFORE...THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE HAS EXTENDED THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING UNTIL
6 PM THIS EVENING.
 
DRIVING WILL CONTINUE TO BE DIFFICULT THROUGH THE EVENING RUSH HOURS
OVER THE WARNING AREA...ESPECIALLY HIGHWAY 17.  THERE HAVE BEEN
NUMEROUS REPORTS OF ROAD CLOSURES IN THE WARNING AREA THROUGHOUT THE
DAY.
 
RAINFALL TOTALS WITH THIS WEATHER SYSTEM HAVE RANGED FROM 5 TO 7 INCHES
IN THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS AND 3 TO 5 INCHES ELSEWHERE.  HEAVY SHOWERS
WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS AND AND ADDITIONAL HALF TO
ONE INCH IS POSSIBLE.
 b
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
COX/DIAZ

The office that day

Everything else NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 10, 7:34 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSanta Clara, Santa Cruz4 hr
Dec 10, 10:58 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSanta Clara, Santa Cruz3 hr
Dec 10, 1:55 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSanta Clara, Santa Cruz2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 1996Every flash flood warning in 1996

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.