1 rip current, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 20, 8:45 AM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
845 AM PST TUE FEB 20 2001
...SYNOPSIS...
BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WILL PROVIDE FAIR
WEATHER TO SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA. A SERIES OF COLD FRONT WILL
AFFECT THE AREA BEGINNING LATE THURSDAY AND CONTINUING INTO THE
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
...DISCUSSION...
BASED ON COAST AND VALLEY RAINFALL TOTALS...LOOKS LIKE 010-0.40
INCHES OF RAIN FROM YESTERDAY AFTERNOON/LAST NIGHTS SLOW MOVING
FRONT. AM DISCOUNTING THE REMOTE SENSOR RAINFALL REPORTS AT HIGHER
ELEVATIONS AS THEY APPEAR TO BE CONTAMINATED FROM SNOWMELT.
SATURATED GROUND AND CLEARING OVERNIGHT ALLOWED DENSE FOG TO DEVELOP
WEST OF MOUNTAINS. RECENT TREND IN CEILINGS/VISIBILITIES FROM METARS
LOOKS LIKE CLEARING BY 17Z OKAY. WILL ISSUE AN UPDATE AROUND THAT
TIME TO REMOVE MENTION OF MORNING SHOWERS.
THE 20/00Z MRF MODEL AND THE 20/12Z 60 HR ETA SPEEDED UP THE
ARRIVAL/EXIT OF THE NEXT COLD FRONT...NOW INDICATING THE TROUGH
MOVING ACROSS THURSDAY WITH A RIDGE BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE 20/12Z
72 HOUR AVN MODEL STILL HOLDS TO THE EARLIER TIMING OF TROUGH
PASSAGE LATE FRIDAY. THE MRF AND THE ECMWF ARE IN IN PHASE ON
SATURDAYS RIDGE BUT OUT OF PHASE BY SUNDAY. FOR THE AFTERNOON
PACKAGE...MAY HAVE TO GO BACK TO A BROAD BRUSH FORECAST FOR DAYS 3
THROUGH 7.
SAN 000
.SAN...HEAVY SURF ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SEE LAXMWSSAN.
BALFOURThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Waves reaching 15 feet generated strong rip currents. Seven surfers, divers, and swimmers had to be rescued by lifeguards. Heavy surf continued into the following day, but no other rescues were reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2001
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5229868.