Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS Las Vegas, NV

September 30, 2004Inyo County, California

NWS Las Vegas, NV issued this flash flood warning at Sep 30, 2004, 7:47 AM PDT for Inyo County, California. It was in force for 28 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
Sep 30, 2004, 7:47 AM PDT (14:47 UTC)
Expired
Sep 30, 2004, 8:15 AM PDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Las Vegas, NV
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Inyo 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

Mercury/Desert R, NV (KDRA), launched 12:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 114 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, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 12:00Z on 2004-09-30Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 12:00Z on 2004-09-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 63 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2502 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
63 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
159 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 KVEF 301456
FFWVEF
CAC027-301515-
/T.NEW.KVEF.FF.W.0016.040930T1447Z-040930T1515Z/
/0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TEST...FLASH FLOOD WARNING...TEST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
747 AM PDT THU SEP 30 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAS VEGAS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL INYO COUNTY IN EASTERN CALIFORNIA

* UNTIL 815 AM PDT

* AT 737 AM PDT...THIS IS ONLY A TEST.

* THIS IS ONLY A TEST....

THIS IS ONLY A TEST.

LAT...LON 3633 11737 3623 11685 3663 11728 3651 11736

$$

BAILEY

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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 30, 3:10 AM PDT, 4 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 30, 3:10 AM PDT, 4 hours 37 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
310 AM PDT THU SEP 30 2004

.SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN OVER THE REGION WILL
MOVE EAST THROUGH UTAH TODAY. ANOTHER WEAKER LOW WILL DROP TO OFF
THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST THIS AFTERNOON...THEN GET PUSHED
WESTWARD OVER THE PACIFIC AS A WEAK RIDGE BUILDS IN FROM ARIZONA.
LINGERING MOISTURE WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS...MAINLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF CENTRAL
NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN A FEW DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK BEFORE RISING TO NEAR NORMAL FOR
THE WEEKEND.
&&

.SHORT TERM...UPPER LOW CENTER HAS MOVED INTO SOUTHWEST UTAH THIS
MORNING PER WATER VAPOR IMAGERY. STILL QUITE A BIT OF CLOUD COVER
LINGERING OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA ASSOCIATED WITH
MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THE BACKSIDE OF THE SYSTEM. MODELS ALL
AGREE WITH MID LEVEL MOISTURE HANGING AROUND THIS AFTERNOON...BUT
DISAGREE ON STABILITY. WILL LEAN MORE TOWARDS THE ETA SINCE THE GFS
HAS REALLY UNDERDONE THE INSTABILITY THE PAST FEW AFTERNOONS. CAN
SEE THE NEXT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE DROPPING DOWN THE CALIFORNIA
COAST THIS MORNING ON SATELLITE. MODELS HAVE INITIALIZED THIS
FEATURE WELL...BUT THERE IS SOME DISAGREEMENT WITH HOW THEY HANDLE
IT THROUGH SATURDAY. GFS AND LATEST UKMET STRETCH THE SYSTEM OUT AS
IT MOVES INTO SOUTHERN CA TO DEVELOP A MORE ELONGATED TROUGH BY
FRIDAY AFTERNOON...KEEPING A SHORTWAVE TROUGH UNDERNEATH THE RIDGE
BUILDING INTO THE PACNW ON SATURDAY...THEN BUILDING A SHORTWAVE
RIDGE OVER US ON SUNDAY. ETA/EURO/CANADIAN CONTINUE THE PREVIOUS
TRACK OF TAKING ENERGY OFFSHORE AND CLOSING IT OFF...ALLOWING
SHORTWAVE RIDGE TO BUILD OVER FORECAST AREA SATURDAY. EITHER
WAY...ALL MODELS DISAGREE WITH EACH OTHER ON MOISTURE PLACEMENT BOTH
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AFTERNOONS. NOT SURE RIGHT NOW WHICH MODEL TO
BELIEVE...BUT SINCE THERE WILL BE NOTHING TO SCOUR OUT CURRENT
MOISTURE...WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE MENTION OF TSTORMS OVER CENTRAL
NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA. EXPECT THESE WILL MAINLY FORM OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN FRIDAY UNLESS WE FIND SOMETHING TO PROVIDE BETTER LIFT.
&&

.LONG TERM...MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
UPPER RIDGE DEVELOPS OVER THE AREA BY SUNDAY WITH DRY AND WARM
CONDITIONS EXPECTED. TROUGH MOVES ACROSS CA AND INTO NV MONDAY
BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE
NORTHERN ZONES AND DOWN INTO NORTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY. ALTHOUGH THE
GFS DOES NOT DEVELOP ANY MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION IT DOES INDICATE A
FAIR AMOUNT OF MID LEVEL MOISTURE AND SOME INSTABILITY AND LIFT OVER
THESE AREAS. AS THE TROUGH SLIDES EAST TOWARD THE ROCKIES TUESDAY
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE DRY. THERE IS SOME LINGERING MOISTURE
INDICATED OVER LINCOLN AND NORTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY SO WILL KEEP A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THERE. ANOTHER RIDGE IS
EXPECTED OVER THE AREA WEDNESDAY FOR ANOTHER DRY AND WARM DRY OVER
THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA.
&&

.AVIATION...TAF ADEQUATELY COVERS ALL SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EXPECTED
AT KLAS.
&&

.VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.NV...NONE.
.AZ...NONE.
.CA...NONE.
&&

DAVIS/HARRISON

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 2004Every flash flood warning 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.