Alert archive / California / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 23, NWS Reno, NV

August 3, 2000Douglas County, Nevada; Alpine County, El Dorado County, California

NWS Reno, NV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 3, 2000, 2:56 PM PDT for Douglas County, Nevada; Alpine County, El Dorado County, California. It was in force for 34 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 3, 2000, 2:56 PM PDT (21:56 UTC)
Expired: Aug 3, 2000, 3:30 PM PDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Reno, NV
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Alpine County, CA, El Dorado County, CA, Douglas County, NV

The radar

The Reno radar (KRGX), 106 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:57 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 3, 3:35 PM PDT	Hail 0.75	Meyers, CA	Public reported 3/4 inch hail and 1/2 inch rain in 1/2 hour in Meyers, California.

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Reno, NV (KREV), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 172 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 64 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -237 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2445 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 7 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 
WUUS55 KREV 032158
SVRRNO
CAC003-017-NVC005-032230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
256 PM PDT THU AUG 3 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RENO HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL ALPINE COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
  NORTHEASTERN EL DORADO COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...HEAVENLY VALLEY...MEYERS...SOUTH LAKE
  TAHOE
  EXTREME NORTHWESTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY IN WESTERN NEVADA

* UNTIL 330 PM PDT

* AT 252 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER MEYERS...MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  OVER SOUTH LAKE TAHOE AT 305 PM PDT

IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER
AWAY FROM CREEK BEDS AND OTHER FLOOD-PRONE AREAS. REMEMBER...A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

HAIL UP TO 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND VERY HEAVY RAIN HAS BEEN REPORTED
WITH THIS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR
IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN RENO.

LAT...LON 3878 12011 3876 11989 3901 11991 3903 11992
          3904 12007 38N92 12009

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 3, 2:35 PM PDT, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 2:35 PM PDT, 21 minutes before

NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN NEVADA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
235 PM PDT THU AUG 3 2000

WEAK PERTURBATIONS MOVING NORTHWARD AROUND RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO
PRODUCE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. A TROUGH
APPROACHING THE PACIFIC COAST WILL CAUSE A TIGHTENING SOUTHWEST
GRADIENT WHICH WILL BRING IN DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIRMASS FOR FRIDAY
INTO SATURDAY OVER THE FORECAST AREA. 12Z AVN SHOWS A WEAK SHORTWAVE
MOVING THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST FLOW INTO NRN CA BY SATURDAY AFTN. SO WL
KEEP SLIGHT CHC MENTION ACRS XTRME NRN PTN OF FORECAST AREA FOR
SATURDAY. DO EXPECT SLIGHT COOLING TO ACCOMPANY THE WEAK SHORTWAVE.
SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE THE DRY CONDITIONS THROUGH MONDAY. BY
TUESDAY...MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS INTO SRN AND ERN PTNS OF
FORECAST AREA WITH TEMPS INCREASING BACK TO ABOVE NORMAL READINGS.
ADAMS

.REV...EASTERN CALIFORNIA...NONE.
       WESTERN NEVADA...SEVERE TSTM WATCH FOR PERSHING COUNTY
                        NVZ004 TIL 6PM.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Reno, NV issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 3, 2:02 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Douglas	28 min
Aug 3, 3:30 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Douglas	45 min
Aug 3, 3:30 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Washoe	45 min
Aug 3, 3:55 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Churchill, Pershing, Washoe	65 min
Aug 3, 3:55 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Lyon	65 min
Aug 3, 4:38 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Douglas	37 min
Aug 3, 2:33 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	El Dorado	27 min
Aug 3, 3:50 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Mono	40 min
Aug 3, 3:55 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Lassen, Sierra	65 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in California, 2000 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nevada, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.