Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 33, NWS San Diego, CA

December 6, 1997Orange County, California

NWS San Diego, CA issued this flash flood warning at Dec 6, 1997, 9:00 AM PST for Orange County, California. It was in force for 3 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 6, 1997, 9:00 AM PST (17:00 UTC)
Expired
Dec 6, 1997, 12:00 PM PST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS San Diego, CA
Area
Whole counties

County Orange County, CA

The radar

The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 20 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:02 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

San Diego, CA (KNKX), launched 12:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 111 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 1997-12-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 6 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 1997-12-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 236 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
6 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1175 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
236 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
323 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 KSAN 061659
FFWSAN
CAC059-062000-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
900 AM PST SAT DEC 6 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL NOON PST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA
 
   ...ORANGE COUNTY
 
THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR ALL OF ORANGE COUNTY HAS BEEN EXTENDED
UNTIL NOON TODAY. AT 9AM...RAIN AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED
OVER ORANGE COUNTY WITH THE HEAVIEST RAIN IN THE IRVINE AREA. MORE
HEAVY RAIN WAS OFFSHORE AND MOVING TOWARDS ORANGE COUNTY...ESPECIALLY
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PARTS. RAINFALL TOTALS SINCE MIDNIGHT NOW EXCEED
FIVE INCHES NEAR LAGUNA BEACH AND COSTA MESA...AND HEAVY RAIN
CONTINUES IN THOSE AREAS.
 
THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION OF MAJOR PROPORTION...AND
NUMEROUS RESCUES ARE OCCURRING IN ORANGE COUNTY. SEVERE PROPERTY
DAMAGE IS OCCURRING ALSO. TRAVEL SHOULD BE AVOIDED IN THIS AREA IF
AT ALL POSSIBLE.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
MAXWELL

The office that day

Everything else NWS San Diego, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 6, 3:51 AM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGXOrange69 min
Dec 6, 4:28 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange2 hr
Dec 6, 6:31 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange59 min
Dec 6, 7:30 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange90 min
Dec 6, 9:05 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXRiverside3 hr
Dec 6, 9:05 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXSan Bernardino3 hr
Dec 6, 9:45 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange, Riverside60 min
Dec 6, 9:45 AM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGXOrange, Riverside60 min
Dec 6, 11:59 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange61 min
Dec 6, 1:11 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange, Riverside, San Diego2 hr
Dec 6, 1:11 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXSan Bernardino2 hr
Dec 6, 3:00 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange, San Bernardino5 hr
Dec 6, 3:00 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXRiverside, San Diego5 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.