Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS San Diego, CA

Issued

Dec 6, 1997, 11:59 AM PST (19:59 UTC)

Expired

Dec 6, 1997, 1:00 PM PST

In force

61 min

Issued by

NWS San Diego, CA

Area

Whole counties

County Orange County, CA

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

000 
TTAA00 KSAN 061959
FFWSAN
CAC059-062100-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
1159 AM PST SAT DEC 6 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 PM PST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA
 
   ...ORANGE COUNTY
 
ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS MOVING
THROUGH ORANGE COUNTY SHORTLY BEFORE NOON. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS
OCCURRING FROM EL TORO SOUTH TO SAN CLEMENTE. MOVEMENT WAS
NORTH-NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. RAINFALL OF 0.31 INCHES WAS REPORTED IN 15
MINUTES NEAR EL TORO.
 
THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING AND VERY SIGNIFICANT...EVEN HISTORICAL EVENT.
RESCUES AND EVACUATIONS ARE CONTINUING TO OCCUR...AND MANY ROADS ARE
CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER AND MUDSLIDES. MANY HOMES AND BUSINESSES ARE
FLOODED.
 
PRECIPITATION WAS DECREASING OVER THE IMMEDIATE COAST AND COASTAL
WATERS...SO THE HEAVIEST RAIN WILL END BETWEEN NOON AND 1230PM.
HOWEVER...FLASH FLOODING WILL CONTINUE DUE TO MAJOR RUNOFF.
MORE RAIN IS EXPECTED LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
 
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

NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Dec 6, 9:37 AM PST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.

SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
940 AM PST SAT DEC 6 1997

                          ...SYNOPSIS...
A STRONG PACIFIC STORM WILL CONTINUE TO BRING RAIN TODAY AND TONIGHT
WITH SOME SHOWERS CONTINUING SUNDAY. A MAJOR FLOODING EVENT IS
OCCURRING OVER ORANGE COUNTY WITH OTHER FLOODING OCCURRING OVER
WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. A HEAVY
SURF ADVISORY FOR ALL COASTAL AREAS IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY
MORNING.

                         ...DISCUSSION...
RAINFALL TOTALS OF OVER 5 INCHES HAVE OCCURRED OVER ORANGE
COUNTY...WITH TOTALS OF MOSTLY 1-2 INCHES IN THE INLAND EMPIRE. FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE FLOODING...CHECK LAXFFSSAN AND LAXFLSSAN
PRODUCTS.

IN THE SHORT-TERM...MORE SHOWERS AND TSTORMS ARE MOVING TOWARDS THE
COASTS OF SAN DIEGO AND ORANGE COUNTIES WITH A SMALL GAP WEST OF
THAT. MORE SHOWERS AND TSTORMS ARE ABOUT 60 MILES OFFSHORE...SO THE
BREAKS IN THE PRECIP SHOULD BE RATHER BRIEF IN MOST AREAS. THE SWODY1
PRODUCT PUTS US IN A SLIGHT RISK CATEGORY FOR SEVERE TSTORMS...THE
MAIN THREAT SHOULD BE SEVERE HAIL AND POSSIBILITY OF BRIEF
TORNADOES...THOUGH NEITHER HAVE BEEN REPORTED SO FAR. THIS WILL BE
WATCHED CLOSELY...OF COURSE.

AT MID-MORNING...THE STORM SYSTEM WAS LOCATED ABOUT 200 MILES SW OF
POINT CONCEPTION. MOVEMENT WAS DUE EAST...AND THIS SHOULD BRING THE
SYSTEM INTO SAN DIEGO SHORTLY AFTER 06Z TONIGHT. MOST LIKELY...SAN
DIEGO COUNTY WILL PARTICIPATE IN MORE OF THE HEAVY RAIN LATER TODAY.
ONCE THIS MOVES THROUGH...THE PRECIP SHOULD DECREASE TO SCATTERED
SHOWERS. 500MB TEMPS HAVE MOSTLY BOTTOMED OUT...AND THE MODELS ARE
INDICATED THAT 500MB TEMPS RAPIDLY REBOUND TO AROUND -15C OR EVEN
WARMER SUNDAY. THUS...SUNDAY SHOULD NOT SEE TOO MUCH TSTORM ACTIVITY.

THE FORECAST WAS UPDATED AT 840AM...AND FURTHER UPDATES MAY BE NEEDED
LATER THIS MORNING.

SAN RE 065/056 064/054 065 07984

MAXWELL

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

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.