Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Watches in 2013

Flash Flood Watch 5, NWS Reno, NV

August 21, 20136 counties in Nevada; 8 counties in California

NWS Reno, NV issued this flash flood watch at Aug 21, 2013, 2:28 AM PDT for 6 counties in Nevada; 8 counties in California. It took effect at Aug 21, 2013, 2:00 PM PDT. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 21, 2013, 2:28 AM PDT (09:28 UTC)
In effect from
Aug 21, 2013, 2:00 PM PDT
Expired
Aug 21, 2013, 6:22 PM PDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Reno, NV
Flood severity
None

Counties Alpine County, CA, El Dorado County, CA, Lassen County, CA, Modoc County, CA, Nevada County, CA, Placer County, CA, Plumas County, CA, Sierra County, CA, Churchill County, NV, Douglas County, NV, Lyon County, NV, Pershing County, NV, Storey County, NV, Washoe County, NV

The radar

The Reno radar (KRGX), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:32 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

Reno, NV (KREV), launched 00:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 150 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, Reno, NV at 00:00Z on 2013-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 204 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, Reno, NV at 00:00Z on 2013-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
204 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3144 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood watch went out at Aug 20, 10:34 PM PDT, 3 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 10:34 PM PDT, 3 hours 54 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 20, 2:55 PM PDT, 11 hours 33 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
255 PM PDT TUE AUG 20 2013

CAZ070>073-NVZ001>005-211300-
SURPRISE VALLEY CALIFORNIA-LASSEN-EASTERN PLUMAS-
EASTERN SIERRA COUNTIES-GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA-MONO-
MINERAL AND SOUTHERN LYON COUNTIES-GREATER RENO-CARSON CITY-
MINDEN AREA-WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE INCLUDING PYRAMID LAKE-
NORTHERN WASHOE COUNTY-
255 PM PDT TUE AUG 20 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EASTERN SIERRA...
NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN NEVADA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS IN THE SIERRA...
WESTERN NEVADA...AND NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA. STRONGER STORMS MAY
PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. A FEW
STORMS MAY LAST INTO THE LATE EVENING ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHERN
SIERRA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON WEDNESDAY. ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND
SIGNIFICANT INSTABILITY WILL INCREASE THE CHANCES FOR SEVERE
STORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND FLASH FLOODING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.

REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER ARE ALSO WELCOME BY POSTING TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO FACEBOOK PAGE...OR ON TWITTER
USING...AT NWSRENO.

FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://FORECAST.WEATHER.GOV/HAZARDS/REV  (ALL LOWER CASE)

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 20, 9:36 PM PDT, 4 hours 52 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 20, 10:12 PM PDT, 4 hours 16 minutes before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Reno, NV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 5:03 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREV27 min
Aug 20, 5:29 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVStorey46 min
Aug 20, 5:39 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVStorey36 min
Aug 20, 6:07 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVStorey38 min
Aug 20, 6:23 PM PDTAreal Flood AdvisoryREVLyon, Storey112 min
Aug 20, 6:34 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREV56 min
Aug 20, 6:51 PM PDTAreal Flood AdvisoryREVStorey, Washoe114 min
Aug 20, 7:28 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningREVStorey, Washoe3 hr
Aug 20, 7:50 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVPershing55 min
Aug 20, 8:26 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVPershing64 min
Aug 20, 9:36 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVChurchill, Pershing54 min
Aug 21, 12:25 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREV65 min
Aug 21, 1:13 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREV32 min
Aug 21, 1:37 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningREVMineral38 min
Aug 21, 2:46 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningREVMineral44 min
Aug 21, 4:04 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVWashoe56 min
Aug 21, 12:45 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVSierra30 min
Aug 21, 1:16 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningREVPlumas44 min
Aug 21, 1:55 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningREVAlpine, El Dorado35 min
Aug 21, 2:14 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVPlumas61 min
Aug 21, 2:26 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVPlumas34 min
Aug 21, 2:34 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVPlumas41 min
Aug 21, 3:29 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementREVMono31 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in California, 2013Flash Flood Watches in Nevada, 2013Every flash flood watch in 2013

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.