Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Hanford, CA

August 1, 2003Kern County, California

NWS Hanford, CA issued this flash flood warning at Aug 1, 2003, 5:40 PM PDT for Kern County, California. It was in force for 3 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: Aug 1, 2003, 5:40 PM PDT (00:40 UTC)
Expired: Aug 1, 2003, 9:00 PM PDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Hanford, CA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Kern County, CA

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

Vandenberg AFB, CA (KVBG), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 185 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: 1346 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 48 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 KHNX 020044
FFWHNX
CAC029-020400-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
540 PM PDT FRI AUG 1 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD CA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL KERN COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

* UNTIL 900 PM PDT

* AT 540 PM PDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY 
  HEAVY RAIN IN THE VICINITY OF TEHACHAPI. RAIN WAS ASSOCIATED WITH
  AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT HAS SHOWN LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE PAST
  ONE TO TWO HOURS. SPOTTER REPORTS...COMBINED WITH DOPPLER RADAR AND 
  AUTOMATED PRECIPITATION GAGES...INDICATE RAINFALL RATES OF AN INCH
  PER HOUR ARE OCCURRING IN THE CALIENTE CREEK WATERSHED.
 

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. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

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
HANFORD CA.

LAT...LON 3514 11873 3503 11851 3526 11829 3537 11849

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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 1, 1:55 PM PDT, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 1:55 PM PDT, 3 hours 45 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
155 PM PDT FRI AUG 1 2003

MAIN FORECAST CONCERN CONTINUES TO BE THE THUNDERSTORMS AND THE
POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS
EVENING. A LARGE CLOUD MASS COVERS MUCH THE EASTERN CA DESERTS AND
THE SIERRA NEVADA THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEGUN
DEVELOPING ALONG THE WESTERN EDGE IN THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE VERY
MOIST AIR AND THE LESS MOIST AIR FROM KERN COUNTY SOUTHWARD. WITH
PRECIPITAL WATER VALUES AROUND 1.2 INCHES AND RATHER LIGHT STEERING
WINDS WILL CONTINUE WITH FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS AND DESERT. HOWEVER...WITH THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...WILL EXTEND WATCH UNTIL 9 PM.

UPPER LOW OFF THE SRN CA COAST EXPECTED TO MOVE SLOWLY NORTHWARD
SATURDAY...WHILE UPPER HIGH OVER UT AND NM SHIFTS FARTHER EAST. THE
CORRESPONDING UPPER LEVEL FLOW SHIFTS TO MORE OF A SOUTH DIRECTION
SATURDAY. BUT WITH THE UPPER LOW BRINGING A VORTMAX OVER CENTRAL
CA...AND PLENTY OF MOISTURE REMAINING...CONVECTION MAY NOT BE
LIMITED TO THE SIERRA NEVADA. HAVE ADDED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS TO THE
VALLEY AND FOOTHILL ZONES FOR SATURDAY AND HAVE INCREASED THE POPS
IN THE MOUNTAIN ZONES SLIGHTLY. THE FLOW ALOFT FINALLY BECOMES
SOUTHWESTERLY SUNDAY AS AN UPPER TROUGH IN THE PACIFIC MOVES
NORTHEAST AND SETS ITSELF UP ALONG THE PACNW COAST. THIS WILL SHUT
OFF THE CONVECTIVE THREAT FOR ALL BUT THE SIERRA CREST SUNDAY.

IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD...TUE THRU FRI...LONG RANGE MODELS IN VERY
GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE 4 TO 6 DAY PERIOD WITH LONG WAVE TROUGH
POSITIONED OFF THE WEST COAST AND UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CENTERED ALONG
THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. IMPRESSIVE ONSHORE GRADIENTS DURING MIDWEEK
WOULD CONTINUE TO BRING REINFORCING MARINE PUSHES INTO THE SJ VLY IN
ADDITION TO SYNOPTIC COOLING OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. IN
ADDITION...WESTERLY WINDS MAY BE LOCALLY GUSTY THRU AND BELOW THE
MOUNTAIN PASSES OF KERN COUNTY DURING MIDWEEK AS WELL AS THE WEST
SIDE OF THE SJ VLY. TEMPS LIKELY TO AVERAGE A FEW DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL IN MOST AREAS. THE LATEST RUN OF THE GFS FORECASTS 850 MB
TEMPS TO COOL INTO THE MIDDLE TEENS (CELSIUS) OVER THE NORTHWEST
PORTION OF THE CWA BY TUE AFTN AND WED AFTN. SUPPLEMENTED WITH A
BRISK ONSHORE FLOW...MAX TEMPS COULD CONCEIVABLY BE ONLY 78 OR 79
DEGREES ON DAYS 3 AND 4 IN WESTERN MERCED CO. EVEN IN THE KERN CO
DESERT...TEMPS MAY PEAK JUST UNDER 90 DEGREES IN PLACES LIKE MOJAVE
BY WED. A WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN THURSDAY AND CONTINUE FRIDAY AS
UPPER LEVEL HIGH BUILDS WESTWARD TOWARD CA. BY FRI PM...THE GFS
WARMS 850 MB TEMPS INTO THE LOWER TO MID 20S (CELSIUS) ACROSS
INTERIOR CENTRAL CA...THUS NUDGING TEMPS TO NORMAL OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE
NORMAL BY THE CLOSE OF THE WORK WEEK. THE GFS GIVES NO INDICATION
THAT THE MONSOON WILL RETURN TO CENTRAL CA BY DAY 7...SO WILL KEEP
THE FORECAST DRY THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD.

.HNX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THIS EVENING FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS (ZONES 95, 98-99).

BEAN/DURFEE

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 1, 4:30 PM PDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before

CAZ089>099-021230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
430 PM PDT FRI AUG 1 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE
STORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL LEADING TO POSSIBLE FLASH
FLOODING. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED THROUGH 900 PM. REFER
TO FFAHNX /WGUS66 KHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

THERE IS ALSO A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR. ANY THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN BRIEF
HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

JEB

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 1, 5:03 PM PDT, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
0503 PM PDT FRI AUG 01 2003

TIME(PDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0409 PM    LAKE ISABELLA             CA   FLOOD
08/01/03   KERN                           1.24 RAIN IN 2 HOURS GAVE
                                          STREET FLOODING

GUDGEL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 2, 4:17 PM PDT	Flash Flood Warning	HNX	Fresno, Tulare	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 2003 Every flash flood warning in 2003

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.