Large swells capsized two outrigger canoes near the mouth of Mission Bay. Several small boats in the bay also drug anchor and were grounded.
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The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
Large swells capsized two outrigger canoes near the mouth of Mission Bay. Several small boats in the bay also drug anchor and were grounded.
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 Apr 17, 8:20 AM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO 920 AM PDT SAT APR 17 2004 .SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL BRING COOL...WINDY WEATHER TO THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON ALONG WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. THE WINDS WILL DECREASE OVERNIGHT AS THE TROUGH MOVES EAST. SUNDAY WILL BE DRY AND A LITTLE WARMER UNDER WEAK HIGH PRESSURE. EARLY NEXT WEEK AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BRING OCCASIONAL HIGH CLOUDS...THEN WARMER FOR THE END OF THE WEEK WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE WEST COAST. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. UPDATED THE FORECAST TO TWEAK UP THE POPS FOR THE AREA FROM THE MOUNTAINS WEST TO THE COAST FOR TODAY. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS GOOD ENHANCEMENT OCCURRING ON THE FRONT OVER THE COASTAL WATERS AT THIS TIME AS THE VORT CENTER MOVES EAST OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. THE VORT CENTER IS SHOWING SOME INDICATIONS OF LIFT OUT TO THE NORTHEAST. TIMING OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE DURING THE LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS TODAY ABOUT THE TIME OF THE PEAK HEATING SHOULD BE FAVORABLE FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ESPECIALLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS BUT AREAS WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS CAN NOT BE RULED OUT. COLD UNSTABLE AIR MASS FOLLOWING THE FRONT WILL KEEP SOME SHOWERS OVER THE AREA INTO EARLY EVENING BUT SHOULD END ABOUT SUNSET. TIME HEIGHT CROSS SECTIONS OFF THE MESO ETA SUGGEST SUBSIDENCE WILL BE KICKING IN BEHIND THE TROUGH WHICH SHOULD ALSO HELP BRING SHOWERS TO AN END RAPIDLY THIS EVENING. MESO ETA ALSO SUGGEST THE SUBSIDENCE SHOULD SQUASH DOWN THE MARINE LAYER BY 18Z SUNDAY. MODELS INDICATE THE NEXT SHORTWAVE THAT BRUSHES BY ON MONDAY WILL BE QUITE WEAK WITH LITTLE OR NO IMPACT ON SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ALTHOUGH WOULD EXPECT A DEEPER MARINE LAYER AND COASTAL EDDY AND COULD BE SOME WIND FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. ONCE THIS SHORTWAVE MOVES BY MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...RIDGING BEGINS OVER THE COAST WHICH DOMINATES THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. NO FURTHER UPDATES ARE PLANNED AT THIS TIME. && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && HORTON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 600 AM PST SAT APR 17 2004 CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-182300- ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS- SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE- SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS- SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- APPLE AND YUCCA VALLEYS- COACHELLA VALLEY- SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS- 600 AM PST SAT APR 17 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL BRING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL FALL TO 5000 FEET IN THE SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...AND 5500 FEET IN THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS. RAINFALL TOTALS WILL BE GENERALLY LESS THAN ONE HALF INCH. NO WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS EXPECTED...BUT THERE COULD BE LOCALIZED FLOODING OR MUD/DEBRIS FLOWS IN THE BURN AREAS OF SAN DIEGO AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES IN BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS. STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED WITH THE SYSTEM THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. MOEDE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2004
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: 5393506.