Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA

January 1, 1997San Luis Obispo County, California

NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA issued this flash flood warning at Jan 1, 1997, 7:22 PM PST for San Luis Obispo County, California. It was in force for 6 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
Jan 1, 1997, 7:22 PM PST (03:22 UTC)
Expired
Jan 2, 1997, 1:30 AM PST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Area
Whole counties

County San Luis Obispo County, CA

The radar

The Vandenberg AFB radar (KVBX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:24 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Vandenberg AFB, CA (KVBG), launched 00:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 73 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, Vandenberg AFB, CA at 00:00Z on 1997-01-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 7 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Vandenberg AFB, CA at 00:00Z on 1997-01-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 295 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
7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-307 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
700 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
295 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
314 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 020325
FFWSFO
CAC079-020930-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
722 PM PST WED JAN 1 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN FRANCISCO HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  130 AM PST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
 
   ...SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
 
SATELLITE IMAGERY AND RADAR ARE INDICATING AN INTENSE BAND OF HEAVY
SHOWERS HEADING TOWARD SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY. THIS IS IN ADDITION TO
SHOWERS THAT HAVE BEEN PRODUCING ABOUT 1/2 INCH OF RAIN PER HOUR OVER
THE HIGHER TERRAIN.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT.  IT'S
IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO STREAMS...RIVERS...OR
CREEKS WHICH CAN BECOME KILLERS IN HEAVY RAINS.  CAMPERS SHOULD
AVOID CAMPING ALONG STREAMS OR CREEKS DURING THREATENING RAINS.
 
NULL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 1, 5:03 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSanta Clara117 min
Jan 1, 7:00 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSan Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz4 hr
Jan 1, 10:59 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSan Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz3 hr
Jan 2, 5:52 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSan Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz3 hr
Jan 2, 5:52 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRAlameda, Contra Costa3 hr
Jan 2, 11:45 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRAlameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz4 hr
Jan 2, 11:45 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRMonterey4 hr
Jan 2, 11:45 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRContra Costa4 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.