Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 17, NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA

December 23, 2012San Mateo County, Santa Cruz County, California

NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA issued this flash flood warning at Dec 23, 2012, 7:04 PM PST for San Mateo County, Santa Cruz County, California. It was in force for 86 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 23, 2012, 7:04 PM PST (03:04 UTC)
Expired
Dec 23, 2012, 8:30 PM PST
In force
86 min
Issued by
NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

Counties San Mateo County, CA, Santa Cruz County, CA

The radar

The San Francisco radar (KMUX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:05 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, 3.1 hours before the alert went out and 57 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 2012-12-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 6 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Oakland, CA at 00:00Z on 2012-12-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 252 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
6 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
487 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
252 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
284 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

046 
WGUS56 KMTR 240304
FFWMTR
CAC081-087-240430-
/O.NEW.KMTR.FF.W.0017.121224T0304Z-121224T0430Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
704 PM PST SUN DEC 23 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA HAS
ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SAN MATEO COUNTY IN WESTERN CALIFORNIA...
  SANTA CRUZ COUNTY IN WESTERN CALIFORNIA...

* UNTIL 830 PM PST.

* AT 700 PM PST...PESCADERO CREEK NEAR PESCADERO IS CURRENTLY        
  REPORTING STREAM FLOW LEVELS ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. RADAR IS INDICATING
  ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IN THE AREA SO ADDITIONAL MINOR RISES ARE
  POSSIBLE. 

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE THE TOWN OF PESCADERO AS     
  WELL AS ROADS AND TRAILS IN BUTANO STATE PARK. OTHER COASTAL       
  CREEKS IN THE AREA MAY BE IN FLOOD AS WELL.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.

RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS AS WELL AS ROADWAYS...UNDERPASSES AND OTHER LOW
LYING SPOTS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER OR WATER
OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN.

IT IS IMPORTANT FOR CAMPERS AND HIKERS TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE
RELATIVE TO CREEKS...STREAMS...OR RIVERS WHICH CAN BECOME DANGEROUS
IN HEAVY RAINS. BE PARTICULARLY AWARE IN HILLY TERRAIN WHERE MANY LOW
WATER CROSSINGS CAN QUICKLY BECOME KILLERS.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. MOVE
UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS
SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

TO REPORT FLOODING...HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RELAY
YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.

LAT...LON 3737 12241 3739 12223 3716 12222 3713 12235
      3715 12237 3716 12237 3718 12240 3720 12242

$$

STRUDLEY/DYKEMA/BELL
1 follow-up statement
395 
WGUS76 KMTR 240439
FFSMTR

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
839 PM PST SUN DEC 23 2012

CAC081-087-240442-
/O.EXP.KMTR.FF.W.0017.000000T0000Z-121224T0430Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
SANTA CRUZ CA-SAN MATEO CA-
839 PM PST SUN DEC 23 2012

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR THE PESCADERO CREEK IN SAN MATEO 
COUNTY AND OTHER SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS IN SAN MATEO AND SANTA 
CRUZ COUNTIES HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

AT 830 PM PST A STREAM GAGE ON THE PESCADERO CREEK INDICATED THAT 
THE WATER LEVEL ON THE PESCADERO CREEK WAS RAPIDLY FALLING. IN 
ADDITION...RAINFALL HAD ENDED ACROSS THE AREA AND LITTLE ADDITIONAL 
RAIN IS EXPECTED ACROSS SAN MATEO AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES FOR THE 
REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. THEREFORE THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN 
ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

MINOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ACROSS SAN MATEO AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING AS RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAIN TODAY 
SLOWLY RECEDES. IN ADDITION...SHALLOW LANDSLIDES AND DEBRIS FLOWS 
MAY OCCUR IN AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER RAINFALL 
HAS ENDED.

LAT...LON 3737 12241 3739 12223 3716 12222 3713 12235
      3715 12237 3716 12237 3718 12240 3720 12242

$$

DYKEMA

The office that day

Everything else NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 23, 4:04 PM PSTAreal Flood AdvisoryMTRAlameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz3 hr
Dec 23, 4:43 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSanta Cruz2 hr
Dec 23, 5:05 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSan Mateo, Santa Cruz115 min
Dec 23, 7:01 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMTRSanta Cruz108 min
Dec 23, 7:30 PM PSTAreal Flood WarningMTRSan Mateo, Santa Clara105 min
Dec 23, 8:11 PM PSTAreal Flood AdvisoryMTRMonterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz94 min
Dec 24, 2:41 PM PSTSmall Craft AdvisoryMTR3 days

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 2012Every flash flood warning in 2012

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.