Flood, Los Angeles County Valleys
- When
- February 12, 12:12 PM PST
- Where
- Los Angeles County Valleys forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Flooding in California, February 12, 2003
A powerful winter storm brought heavy rain to Southern California and especially Los Angeles county. Rainfall totals over coastal areas ranged from 1 to 5 inches with higher amounts in the mountains.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 happened
The episode as NWS LOX wrote it up.
A powerful winter storm brought heavy rain to Southern California and especially Los Angeles county. Rainfall totals over coastal areas ranged from 1 to 5 inches with higher amounts in the mountains. Widespread flooding was reported across Los Angeles county in such communities as Quartz Hill and Van Nuys.
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 Los Angeles, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 12, 9:00 AM PST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 12, 9:00 AM PST, 3 hours 12 minutes before
SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
900 AM PST WED FEB 12 2003
GOOD SOUTHERLY FETCH OF MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TODAY, WITH THE MAIN
FOCUS OF PRECIPITATION ON VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES. RAINFALL
TOTALS THROUGH THURSDAY ARE GOING TO BE VERY IMPRESSIVE, GENERALLY 2
TO 4 INCHES AT LOWER ELEVATIONS AND UP TO 7 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. A
LOT OF NUISANCE FLOODING OUT THERE WHICH IS TO BE EXPECTED. MAIN STEM
RIVERS WONT LIKELY BE A PROBLEM, BUT WILL HAVE TO WATCH THE BURN
AREAS AS WELL AS SMALLER CREEKS WHICH COULD START TO SPILL OVER.
LOOKS LIKE RAINFALL RATES WILL BEGIN TO LET UP TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY
MORNING, THOUGH WIDESPREAD RAIN SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE ALL DAY THURSDAY
AND PERHAPS EVEN INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. BY THAT TIME THE TROF AXIS
WILL BE TO OUR EAST AND DRIER NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PREVAIL. EXPECT DRY
CONDITIONS TO LAST THROUGH AT LEAST THE FIRST HALF OF SATURDAY. THE
12Z GFS WAS QUITE A BIT FASTER WITH THE NEXT, MUCH WEAKER SYSTEM. ITS
NOW PROJECTING A SATURDAY EVENING ARRIVAL ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST,
WITH JUST THE TAIL END BRUSHING AREAS SOUTH OF POINT CONCEPTION. BY
NOON SUNDAY THE SYSTEM IS GONE WITH DRY CONDITIONS RETURNING. FOR NOW
WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF RAIN FOR ALL AREAS FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST PART
OF SUNDAY, AND WILL INDICATE A CHANCE OF RAIN ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST
BY SAT EVENING. AFTER THAT, IT LOOKS LIKE MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
WILL BE DRY, THOUGH THE GFS DOES SHOW A VERY WEAK SYSTEM POSSIBLY
AFFECTING THE CENTRAL COAST TUESDAY. WILL LEAVE IT DRY FOR NOW. TEMPS
WILL BE NEAR SEASONAL NORMS.
LAX ++7. WOFFORD
.LOX...FLOOD WATCH/ADVISORY (SEE LAXFLSLOX).
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY (SEE LAXCWFLOX).Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 12, 6:00 AM PST, 6 hours 12 minutes before
CAZ034>041-044>047-051>054-059-087-088-130200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 600 AM PST WED FEB 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. THE HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY PRODUCE WIDESPREAD URBAN FLOODING ACROSS THE AREA. ACROSS THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL...GALE FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE DAY. * FLOOD WATCH................SEE WGUS66 KLOX - FFALOX FOR DETAILS * * GALE WARNING...............SEE FZUS56 KLOX - CWFLOX FOR DETAILS * .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. THOMPSON
Event by event
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Antelope Valley
- When
- February 12, 3:27 PM PST
- Where
- Antelope Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Flood, Antelope Valley
- When
- February 12, 10:15 PM PST
- Where
- Antelope Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Ohio, February 12, 2003
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 12 to 13, 2003
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, February 12, 2003
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 12, 2003
- Strong Wind in New Jersey, February 12, 2003
- Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, February 12, 2003
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 12 to 14, 2003
- Strong Wind in Maryland, February 12, 2003
- Winter Weather in Maine, February 12, 2003
- Strong Wind in Delaware, February 12, 2003
- High Wind in Ohio, February 12, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 12 to 13, 2003
More
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2003
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5345870, 5345871, 5345872.