Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Phoenix, AZ

July 7, 2001Riverside County, California

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 7, 2001, 1:05 PM PDT for Riverside County, California. It was in force for 25 min. No storm report in the archive falls 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.

The facts

Issued
Jul 7, 2001, 1:05 PM PDT (20:05 UTC)
Expired
Jul 7, 2001, 1:30 PM PDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Riverside County, CA

The radar

The Yuma radar (KYUX), 159 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:04 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

Yuma Intl Airpor, AZ (KYUM), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 146 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, Yuma Intl Airpor, AZ at 12:00Z on 2001-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 251 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Yuma Intl Airpor, AZ at 12:00Z on 2001-07-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
251 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-190 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1872 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 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 
NZUS97 KPSR 072006
FFWPHX
CAC065-072130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
105 PM MST SAT JUL 7 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL RIVERSIDE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA

* UNTIL 230 PM PDT

* AT 100 PM PDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN OVER DESERT CENTER...OR ABOUT 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF DESERT   
  CENTER...NEARLY STATIONARY. AN OBSERVER EARLIER STATED THAT LOCAL
  ROADS WERE ALREADY IMPASSABLE DUE TO PREVIOUS RAIN...SO 
  ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TODAY WILL KEEP THESE ROADS IMPASSABLE AND
  CAUSE OTHER WASHES TO RUN. ALSO AFFECTED BY THIS FLASH FLOOD
  WARNING WILL BE STATE ROUTE 177 NORTHEAST FROM DESERT CENTER.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS...ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK
HIGHER GROUND.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
PHOENIX.

LAT...LON 3375 11549 3365 11530 3387 11510 3399 11533

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 7, 9:40 AM PDT, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 9:40 AM PDT, 3 hours 25 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-072245-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
940 AM MST SAT JUL 7 2001

.SYNOPSIS...
UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE KANSAS AND
OKLAHOMA AREA THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THIS WILL ALLOW A SOMEWHAT DRIER
AIRMASS TO INFILTRATE THE SOUTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA
ZONES THE NEXT TWO OR THREE DAYS. FURTHER EAST...SUFFICIENT MOISTURE
WILL LIKELY REMAIN FOR MAINLY MOUNTAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...
MOSTLY IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. LATER NEXT WEEK...THE
UPPER HIGH WILL BEGIN TO MIGRATE WESTWARD. THIS SHIFT WILL ALLOW
DEEPER MOISTURE TO BE BROUGHT BACK INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST.

.DISCUSSION...
AS IS ALWAYS THE CASE...MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY NOT THE GRAY AREAS
TO FORECAST TODAY...HOWEVER...LIFTING MECHANISMS ARE. 12Z KPSR AND
KYUM SOUNDINGS CONTAIN MORE THAN ENOUGH MOISTURE...WITH PWATERS OF
NEAR 1.5 INCHES. ALSO...AMS VERY UNSTABLE...ESPECIALLY ON KYUM
SOUNDING...WITH -10C H5 TEMP YIELDING A SFC BASED LI OF -6 AND CAPE
OF NEARLY 1600 J/KG. THERE WAS ALSO A 60KT 250 MB JET OVER KYUM...
DECREASING TO 25KTS AT KPSR...IMPLYING ANTICYCLONIC SHEAR...NOT
FAVORABLE FOR UPPER LEVEL FORCING. HOWEVER...AS THIS JET LIFTS
NWD...IT WILL PLACE SOME OF THE SW AZ DESERTS AND SE CA DESERTS...AT
LEAST BRIEFLY...IN A FAVORABLE RIGHT-REAR QUADRANT POSITION. SO...
THIS FACT...ALONG WITH THE SHORTWAVE EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE
FAR WRN CWFA TODAY INTO THIS EVENING...WARRANTS A CONTINUED CHANCE
OF SHOWERS/TSTMS. STEERING FLOWS WILL BE BASICALLY STRAIGHT SLY...
SO IF WE CAN GET SOME NICE STORMS TO FIRE OVER THE NRN BAJA SPINE
WE MAY SEE SOME CONVECTION APPROACH LOWER CO RIVER ZONES. WILL OPT
TO UPDATE FOR THIS POSSIBILITY...AS WELL AS ZONES 26 AND 27 THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. STEERING FLOWS WEAKER OVER CENTRAL DESERT
ZONES...SO WILL NOT HAVE ANYTHING IN 22 AND 23 FOR NOW. TOMORROW...
WE START SEEING MORE OF A CONFLUENT FLOW ALOFT AND LOSE WHAT LITTLE
DYNAMICS WE WILL HAVE TODAY. SO...WILL LEAVE CURRENT FORECASTS ALONE
FOR SUNDAY. GOES WITHOUT SAYING...MAIN THREAT WITH STORMS WITH WEAK
STEERING FLOWS WIsLL BE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.    ESTLE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 7, 10:30 AM PDT, 2 hours 35 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-080700-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
1030 AM MST SAT JUL 7 2001

...SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTH-
WEST ARIZONA AND FAR SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA THROUGH TONIGHT...

COUNTIES IN THE RISK AREA INCLUDE...
     IN ARIZONA...LAPAZ...YUMA
     IN CALIFORNIA...IMPERIAL...EASTERN RIVERSIDE

THE PRIMARY HAZARDOUS WEATHER RISKS INCLUDE: VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

ADDITIONAL THREATS INCLUDE: THUNDERSTORM-GENERATED WINDS GUSTING
     AT TIMES TO NEAR 50 MPH...VISIBILITIES UNDER 1 MILE IN HEAVY
     RAIN AND POSSIBLE BLOWING DUST.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL
I     ARIZONA COULD ALSO PRODUCE MUCH MORE LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL
     THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATER TODAY.

ESTLE

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 2001Every flash flood warning in 2001

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.