Alert archive / California / Mesoscale Discussions in 2010

Mesoscale Discussion 1921

October 3, 20108 counties in California

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Oct 3, 2010, 11:45 PM PDT for 8 counties in California. It was in force for 90 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 3, 2010, 11:45 PM PDT (06:45 UTC)
Expired
Oct 4, 2010, 1:15 AM PDT
In force
90 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Fresno County, CA, Kern County, CA, Kings County, CA, Madera County, CA, Mariposa County, CA, Merced County, CA, Stanislaus County, CA, Tulare County, CA

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:46 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

Oakland, CA (KOAK), launched 00:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 252 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, Oakland, CA at 00:00Z on 2010-10-04Temperature 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°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Oakland, CA at 00:00Z on 2010-10-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 94 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
761 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
94 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
120 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.

253 
ACUS11 KWNS 040646
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 040645
CAZ000-040815-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1921
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0145 AM CDT MON OCT 04 2010

AREAS AFFECTED...SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY

VALID 040645Z - 040815Z

ISOLATED STRONG TSTMS THROUGH TONIGHT/EARLY MONDAY WILL POSE A
THREAT FOR HAIL.  MOST OF THE HAIL SHOULD REMAIN SUB-SEVERE...
THOUGH COOLING MIDLEVEL TEMPERATURES AND SUSTAINED UPDRAFTS MAY
SUPPORT A FEW HAIL EVENTS LOCALLY EXCEEDING 1 INCH.  A SEVERE
WEATHER WATCH IS NOT WARRANTED AT THIS TIME...DUE TO THE OVERALL
LIMITED THREAT FOR LARGER HAIL.

LATE EVENING REGIONAL RADAR IMAGERY SHOWED TSTMS DEVELOPING FROM THE
NRN SIERRA SSWWD TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY...WITH THIS ACTIVITY
LOCATED ALONG A FRONT WHICH SHOULD MOVE SEWD OVERNIGHT AS A LONGWAVE
TROUGH DIGS SWD ALONG AND INTO THE W COAST.  DEEP LAYER ASCENT AHEAD
OF THIS TROUGH ACROSS CA...ATTENDANT TO UPPER LEVEL DIFFLUENT FLOW
ATOP STRENGTHENING SWLY LOW-MIDLEVEL WINDS WILL SUPPORT ADDITIONAL
SHOWERS/TSTMS THROUGH 12Z.  AN INFLUX OF MOISTURE INTO SRN CA PER
00Z SOUNDINGS IS MAINTAINING PW VALUES AOA 1 INCH.  DESPITE THIS
MOISTURE AND COOLING MIDLEVEL TEMPERATURES WITH APPROACHING PACIFIC
TROUGH...TIME OF DAY IS LIMITING THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRONGER
INSTABILITY.  NONETHELESS...MARGINAL INSTABILITY /MUCAPE AROUND 500
J PER KG/ AND STEEPENING MIDLEVEL LAPSE RATES SHOULD SUPPORT A FEW
MARGINAL TO LOCALLY SEVERE HAIL EVENTS OVER THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
VICINITY WHERE LOW-MID LEVEL MOISTURE IS GREATER.

..PETERS.. 10/04/2010

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...HNX...STO...

LAT...LON   38292026 37111899 36241838 35211850 35091908 35661992
            36572065 37582111 38292026

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 4, 10:52 AM PDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSan Bernardino113 min
Oct 4, 12:01 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCSan Bernardino7 hr
Oct 4, 2:34 PM PDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCImperial, Riverside116 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in California, 2010Every mesoscale discussion in 2010

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.