Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Los Angeles, CA

December 28, 2004Los Angeles County, California

NWS Los Angeles, CA issued this tornado warning at Dec 28, 2004, 10:12 PM PST for Los Angeles County, California. It was in force for 48 min. 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 28, 2004, 10:12 PM PST (06:12 UTC)
Expired: Dec 28, 2004, 11:00 PM PST
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Los Angeles, CA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Los Angeles County, CA

The radar

The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:13 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

San Diego, CA (KNKX), launched 00:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 135 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: 31 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -47 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 678 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 89 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 208 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.

956 
WFUS56 KLOX 290612 CCA
TORLOX
CAC037-290700-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OXNARD CA
1010 PM PST TUE DEC 28 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OXNARD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CATALINA ISLAND INCLUDING THE CITY OF AVALON

* UNTIL 1100 PM PST

* AT 1004 PM PST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 9 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF AVALON...OR ABOUT 39 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HUNTINGTON
  BEACH...MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  CATALINA AIRPORT AND TWO HARBORS BY 1020 PM PST

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3324 11857 3321 11835 3369 11823 3373 11850

$$

BRUNO/ASR/RAT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 28, 4:48 PM PST	Special Marine Warning	LOX		57 min
Dec 28, 5:29 PM PST	Special Marine Warning	LOX		61 min
Dec 28, 5:40 PM PST	Special Marine Warning	LOX		65 min
Dec 28, 8:20 PM PST	Special Marine Warning	LOX		3 hr
Dec 28, 10:10 PM PST	Tornado Warning	LOX	Los Angeles	50 min
Dec 28, 10:43 PM PST	Tornado Warning	LOX	Los Angeles	47 min
Dec 28, 11:30 PM PST	Special Marine Warning	LOX		3 hr
Dec 29, 1:50 AM PST	Flash Flood Warning	LOX	Los Angeles	3 hr
Dec 29, 4:37 AM PST	Flash Flood Warning	LOX	Los Angeles	3 hr
Dec 29, 7:30 AM PST	Flash Flood Warning	LOX	Los Angeles	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in California, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

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.