Waterspout in California, January 12, 2001

Name: Waterspout in California, January 12, 2001
Start: 2001-01-12T13:12
End: 2001-01-12T13:12
Location: California

January 12, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 waterspout, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

What forecasters said that day

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 Jan 12, 9:30 AM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 12, 9:30 AM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 12, 8:00 AM PST, 5 hours 12 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 12, 9:30 AM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 12, 1:05 PM PST, 7 minutes before

CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-122200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
105 PM PST FRI JAN 12 2001

...SUMMARY OF ALL NON-ROUTINE PRODUCTS ISSUED FOR ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...SOUTHWEST SAN BERNARDINO...AND WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTIES...

ORANGE COUNTY

    MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT FOR HEAVY SURF ADVISORY FOR ALL
    BEACHES AND FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH POSSIBLE WATERSPOUTS THROUGH
    THE DAY.

    COASTAL FLOOD WARNING UNTIL 200 PM.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

    SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 5000 FEET
    UNTIL 230 PM.

    MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT FOR HEAVY SURF ADVISORY FOR ALL BEACHES
    AND FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH POSSIBLE WATERSPOUTS THROUGH THE DAY.

    COASTAL FLOOD WARNING UNTIL 200 PM.

SOUTHWEST SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

    SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 5000 FEET
    UNTIL 230 PM.

WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY

    SNOW ADVISORY eFOR THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 5000 FEET
    UNTIL 230 PM.

PLEASE REFER TO THE SPECIFIC NON-ROUTINE STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS
ON THIS STORM.

MAXWELL

The radar

The San Diego radar (KNKX), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, San Diego

When: January 12, 1:12 PM PST
Where: San Diego County, 12 mi W of Mission Beach
Reported by: AIRPLANE PILOT
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Waterspout: A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in California, January 2001

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5229067.