Alert archive / California / Tornado Watches in 2005

Tornado Watch 30

February 22, 20054 counties in California

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 22, 2005, 11:10 AM PST for 4 counties in California. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 22, 2005, 11:10 AM PST (19:10 UTC)
Expired
Feb 22, 2005, 6:00 PM PST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Los Angeles County, CA, Orange County, CA, San Diego County, CA, Ventura County, CA

The radar

The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:11 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.

Warnings issued inside it

3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 22, 2:22 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego3 hr
Feb 22, 2:48 PM PSTTornado WarningSGXOrange, San Diego60 min
Feb 22, 5:30 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXOrange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego2 hr

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

San Diego, CA (KNKX), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 126 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, San Diego, CA at 12:00Z on 2005-02-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 299 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, San Diego, CA at 12:00Z on 2005-02-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 62 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
299 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
584 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 221910
SEL0  
SPC WW 221910
CAZ000-CWZ000-230200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 30
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1110 AM PST TUE FEB 22 2005

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1110 AM UNTIL 600
PM PST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF OXNARD
CALIFORNIA TO 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA.  FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION...AS STRONG SURFACE/UPPER LOW APPROACHES SRN CA...SHEAR
AND THERMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS EXPECTED TO BE FAVORABLE FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF MINI-SUPERCELLS THRU THE AFTERNOON. 
WATERSPOUT/TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY SUPERCELL ALONG WITH
BRIEF DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL.

BAND OF ORGANIZED CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH VORT MAX WILL MOVE
ONSHORE LATER THIS AFTERNOON MAINTAINING A SEVERE THREAT.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 350.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 19030.


...HALES

343,1174 323,1160 323,1180 343,1194

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 21, 9:29 PM PSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLos Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Ventura61 min
Feb 22, 10:12 AM PSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLos Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Ventura2 hr
Feb 22, 10:55 AM PSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCRiverside2 hr
Feb 22, 1:20 PM PSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLos Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Ventura115 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in California, 2005Every tornado watch in 2005

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.