Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Los Angeles, CA

December 19, 2002Santa Barbara County, California

NWS Los Angeles, CA issued this flash flood warning at Dec 19, 2002, 8:53 PM PST for Santa Barbara County, California. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 19, 2002, 8:53 PM PST (04:53 UTC)
Expired
Dec 19, 2002, 11:00 PM PST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Los Angeles, CA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Santa Barbara County, CA

The nearest sounding before it

Vandenberg AFB, CA (KVBG), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 49 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 2002-12-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Vandenberg AFB, CA at 00:00Z on 2002-12-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 484 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
759 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
77 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
484 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
765 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 
WGUS56 KLOX 200453
FFWLOX
CAC083-200700-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
855 PM PST THU DEC 19 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OXNARD HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INCLUDING THE CITY OF SANTA
  BARBARA AND ADJACENT SANTA YNEZ MOUNTAINS

* UNTIL 1100 PM PST

* AT 850 PM PST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A VERY INTENSE LINE 
  OF STORMS MOVING INTO THE SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SOUTH COAST
  AND ADJACENT SANTA YNEZ RANGE. THIS LINE OF STORMS HAD A 
  HISTORY OF PRODUCING RAINFALL RATES IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH
  PER HOUR. THIS LINE OF HEAVY STORMS ON TOP OF ALREADY SATURATED
  GROUNDS WILL LIKELY BRING SIGNIFICANT STREET FLOODING...AS WELL
  AS FLOODING OF CREEKS AND SMALL STREAMS.

* LOCATIONS LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE FLASH FLOODING INCLUDE SANTA
  BARBARA AND VICINITY...AS WELL AS THE SANTA YNEZ MOUNTAINS.

MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING 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.

THE GROUND IS VERY SATURATED...THEREFORE NOT AS MUCH RAIN IS
REQUIRED TO GENERATE FLOODING.

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

LAT...LON 3473 12028 3444 12048 3438 11947 3468 11944

$$

GOMBERG/SMALL/MCCLUNG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Los Angeles, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 19, 5:00 PM PSTSpecial Marine WarningLOX2 hr
Dec 19, 7:15 PM PSTSpecial Marine WarningLOX2 hr
Dec 19, 7:24 PM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOXSan Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara56 min
Dec 19, 11:12 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXSanta Barbara, Ventura108 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 2002Every flash flood warning in 2002

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.