Flash Flood, San Diego
- When
- September 5, 1:30 PM PST to 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- San Diego County, 3 mi E of Palomar Mtn
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in California, September 5, 2003
Flooding was observed between Palomar Mountains and Warner Springs.
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
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 happened
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
Flooding was observed between Palomar Mountains and Warner Springs.
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 Sep 5, 1:30 PM PST, 0 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 5, 1:30 PM PST, 0 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA 230 PM PDT FRI SEP 5 2003 .SYNOPSIS...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS UNTIL 700 PM TODAY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL END TONIGHT AND THERE WILL BE FEWER SATURDAY. UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE MOVING PAST TO THE NORTH WILL BRING A DEEPER MARINE LAYER AND COOLING EARLY NEXT WEEK. IT WILL BE WARMER AGAIN TOWARD THE SECOND HALF OF NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OFF THE COAST. .DISCUSSION...A WARM MORNING AS PRESSURE GRADIENTS WENT OFFSHORE LAST NIGHT AND NO MARINE PRESENCE WAS FELT TODAY. SO MOST AREAS ARE HOTTER THAN YESTERDAY. A VERY MOIST NKX SOUNDING FROM 12Z THIS MORNING...AND TSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ALREADY...ALTHOUGH RUNNING A LITTLE LATER THAN YESTERDAY. MOSTLY FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ARE COVERING THE TSTORM PROBLEMS TODAY...BUT A FEW STORMS COULD GET SEVERE. THE MOISTURE BECOMES MORE SHALLOW SAT AND SO FEWER TSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. SUN IS THE FAIR TRANSITION DAY BEFORE AN UPPER TROUGH DROPS INTO THE WEST COAST THAT NIGHT. THIS WILL BRING BACK THE MARINE AIR IN A HURRY. MON AND TUE WILL BE COOL DAYS...AND LOW CLOUDS MAY STRUGGLE TO CLEAR MON IN SOME AREAS NEAR THE COAST. THE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE ROCKIES AND THE UPPER RIDGE REBUILDS SLOWLY FROM THE PACIFIC. THIS WILL BRING A WARMING TREND AND LESS EXTENSIVE COASTAL CLOUDS. THE FLOW ALOFT REMAINS DRY...SO NO CONVECTION AND TSTORMS EXPECTED. SAN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 PM...SEE LAXFFASGX.
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 5, 5:30 AM PST, 8 hours before
CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-061300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 630 AM PDT FRI SEP 5 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS AND THE DESERTS FROM NOON UNTIL 700 PM TODAY. REFER TO LAXFFASGX WGUS66 KSGX FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS SATURDAY AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY AND TONIGHT.
The radar
The San Diego radar (KNKX), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:32 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire in California, September 5 to 10, 2003
- Wildfire in California, September 5 to 30, 2003
- Flash Flooding in Texas, September 5, 2003
- Flash Flooding in Florida, September 5, 2003
- Flash Flood in California, September 5, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Florida, September 5, 2003
- Tornadoes in Colorado, September 5, 2003
- Flood in Virginia, September 5 to 6, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Arizona, September 5, 2003
- Flash Flood in Oregon, September 5, 2003
- Tornado in Florida, September 5, 2003
- Waterspout in Hawaiian Waters, September 5, 2003
More
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, September 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: 5337880.