Alert archive / Nevada / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Reno, NV

July 13, 20024 counties in Nevada; Alpine County, Mono County, California

NWS Reno, NV issued this flash flood warning at Jul 13, 2002, 3:28 PM PDT for 4 counties in Nevada; Alpine County, Mono 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: Jul 13, 2002, 3:28 PM PDT (22:28 UTC)
Expired: Jul 13, 2002, 5:30 PM PDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Reno, NV
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Alpine County, CA, Mono County, CA, Douglas County, NV, Lyon County, NV, Storey County, NV, Washoe County, NV

The radar

The Reno radar (KRGX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:28 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Reno, NV (KREV), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 140 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 2722 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 70 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 
WGUS55 KREV 132228
FFWREV
CAC003-051-NVC005-019-029-031-510-140030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
322 PM PDT SAT JUL 13 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN ALPINE COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA...
  NORTHWESTERN MONO COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
  IN WESTERN NEVADA...
  SOUTHEASTERN CARSON CITY... 
  EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY...
  WESTERN LYON COUNTY...
  STOREY COUNTY...
  SOUTHEASTERN WASHOE COUNTY

* UNTIL 530 PM PDT

* AT 318 PM PDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SCATTERERD 
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY EXTENDING FROM NORTHERN MONO 
COUNTY NEAR MONO LAKE. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

ANOTHER AREA OF STRONG STORMS WAS LOCATED FROM INTERSTATE 80 EAST OF 
RENO TO THE PYRAMID LAKE AREA.  STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO PASS OVER 
THESE AREAS PRODUCING LOCAL FLOODING THROUGH 530 PM.

REPORTS OF OVER A HALF AN INCH AN HOUR HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM THE 
DAYTON AREA. AREAS THAT HAVE RECEIVED HEAVY RAINFALL THIS AFTERNOON 
INCLUDE AREAS EAST OF CARSON CITY...NEAR SILVER CITY... IN THE 
VIRGINIA RANGE...EAST OF PATRICK ALONG INTERSTATE 80...AND IN THE 
PAH PAH RANGE SOUTHWEST OF NIXON.
 
EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF CREEKS 
AND STREAMS...ROADS AND ROADSIDE CULVERTS. THE HEAVY RAINS COULD ALSO
TRIGGER ROCK AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE 
ROADWAY. 

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. 

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

LAT...LON 3821 11960 3808 11943 3857 11922 4001 11926
          4004 11962 3856 11970

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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 13, 2:45 PM PDT, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 13, 2:45 PM PDT, 43 minutes before

WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
245 PM PDT SAT JUL 13 2002

HIGH PRES MOVING OFF TO THE EAST THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE WESTERN
EDGE OF CONVECTION ON THE EAST SLOPES OF THE SIERRA MAINLY SOUTH OF
LAKE TAHOE.  THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS.
NEW MODELS THIS MORNING HAVE NOW BEEN CONSISTENT WITH THE LAST FEW
RUNS IN BRING PACIFIC TROF ALONG THE WEST COAST BY TUES.  THIS
SHOULD PUSH MOST OF THE TSTM ACTIVITY EAST OUT OF THE CWA.
CONVECTION OVER SUN AND MON SHOULD BE LESS OVR WESTERN NEVADA.  WILL
DRY THE AREA OUT BY TUES.

IN THE EXTENDED...WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...HIGH PRES HAS SHIFTED
EAST OF GREAT BASIN AS BROAD UPPER LEVEL TROF MOVES ONSHORE FOR WED.
ALTHO AVN HINTS AT INCREASED MOISTURE WITH THIS FEATURE APPROACHING
FAR NW NV...WILL NOT INTRODUCE POPS THERE ATTM. MDT SW FLOW IN
ADVANCE OF TROF OFF CA COAST WILL KEEP DRIER AIR ACRS NRN SIERRA AND
WESTERN GRT BASIN WED ALG WITH COOLER TEMPS. AVN INDICATES SPLIT
FLOW FOR THUR WITH WEAK TROF ACROS AREA AND STRONGER SW FLOW BOTH TO
OUR NORTH AND SOUTH. WITH LITTLE CHANCE FOR MSTR TO RECOVER WILL
KEEP THUR DRY AS WELL.  FOR FRI AND SAT WILL RETAIN CURRENT MENTION
OF SLIGHT CHANCE THUNDERSTORMS ALL ZONES EXCEPT CHANCE FAR SOUTH AS
TROF MOVES INLAND ACROSS CA AND WRN GRT BASIN. WEAK FLOW ALOFT AND
AND DVLPG S-SE FLOW AT MID/UPR LEVELS WILL ALLOW MSTR TO BEGIN TO
RECOVER SOMEWHAT. MRF DEVELOPS CUTOFF UPR LOW SRN CA COAST FOR
WEEKEND WHICH WOULD FAVOR CHC PCPN ACROSS AREA AS WELL ESPECIALLY
SOUTH. LATEST DISCUSSIONS FROM TSPC AND LASTEST AVN INDICATE THAT TS
CHRISTINA MAY DRIFT W-NW AND NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN WESTERLIES SO
REMNANTS MAY NOT BE A FACTOR FOR END OF WEEK. TEMPS WILL RETURN TO
NEAR NORMAL FOR END OF WEEK AND THROUGH WEEKEND.

.REV...NONE.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 13, 1:54 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Lyon, Storey, Washoe	51 min
Jul 13, 3:03 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Washoe	27 min
Jul 13, 4:06 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Douglas	39 min
Jul 13, 4:37 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Pershing, Washoe	38 min
Jul 13, 4:45 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Douglas, Washoe	45 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Nevada, 2002 Flash Flood Warnings in California, 2002 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.