Heavy Rain in California, August 13, 2004

Name: Heavy Rain in California, August 13, 2004
Start: 2004-08-13T17:25
End: 2004-08-13T17:55
Location: California

August 13, 2004 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

71 inches in 30 minutes from a heavy thunderstorm. There were no reports of flooding.

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 happened

The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.

The Phelan Landfill ALERT gage recorded 0.71 inches in 30 minutes from a heavy thunderstorm. There were no reports of flooding.

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 Aug 13, 1:00 PM PST, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 1:00 PM PST, 4 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO
200 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

.SYNOPSIS...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
WILL BE LESS WIDESPREAD OVER THE WEEKEND AS THE MONSOON FLOW
DECREASES. A WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL BRING SLIGHT COOLING AND A
DEEPER MARINE LAYER EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES.

SEVERAL CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES DEVELOPED TODAY IN A VERY MOIST
ATMOPSHERE. AT 18Z THE PW AT NKX WAS 1.74 INCHES. OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES
TRIGGERED CONVECTION OVER THE INLAND EMPIRE THIS MORNING...AND OVER
THE SAN DIEGO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY MTNS THIS AFTERNOON. LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE SUFFICIENT FOR AFTERNOON HEATING TO KEEP STORMS GOING INTO
EARLY EVENING OVER THE MTNS AND DESERTS WITH FLASH FLOODING FROM
VERY HEAVY RAIN. THE POTENTIAL ALSO EXISTS FOR OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES
FROM THE STORMS OVER SAN DIEGO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES TO PRODUCE
ISOLATED STORMS IN THE INLAND VALLEYS.

STAGNANT UPPER FLOW TONIGHT BEGINS TO TRANSITION TO A DRIER SW FLOW
OVER THE WEEKEND...BUT IT WILL BE A SLOW PROCESS. ENOUGH RESIDUAL
MOISTURE WILL LINGER INTO SATURDAY FOR CONTINUED CHANCES OF
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MTNS AND DESERTS...THEN DRIER SW FLOW LOOKS
LIKE IT WILL PUSH MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EAST SUNDAY
ALTHOUGH ENOUGH MOISTURE WILL BE AROUND FOR MOUNTAIN CUMULUS TO FORM
IN THE AFTERNOON.

.LONG RANGE...MODELS STILL IN SOME DISAGREEMENT BEYOND MONDAY...BUT
ARE TRENDING TOWARD A WEAK RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE WEST FOR WARMER
WEATHER THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK FOR A POSSIBLE RETURN OF MONSOON
SOUTHEAST FLOW.

.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH...SEE FFASGX.

&&

MAXWELL/MOEDE

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 13, 3:00 PM PST, 2 hours 25 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
400 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

CAZ042-043-048-050-057-141300-
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-
SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS-
400 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ORANGE COUNTY...THE SAN DIEGO
COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...THE INLAND EMPIRE...AND THE SANTA ANA
MOUNTAINS.

.DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

CAZ056-061-141300-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
COACHELLA VALLEY-
400 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND THE COACHELLA VALLEY.

.DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO AND THREE... SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AFTERNOON..AND
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEADLY LIGHTNING AND WILL HAVE BRIEF HEAVY
RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL. HEAVY RAIN COULD CAUSE FLOODING
AND MUD SLIDES...ESPECIALLY IN THE RECENTLY BURNED AREAS.

.DAYS FOUR THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

CAZ055-058-060-062-141300-
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
APPLE AND YUCCA VALLEYS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-
400 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR
THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS OF EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 800 PM.

MOISTURE IN SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CAUSE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS INTO THIS EVENING.

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEADLY LIGHTNING AND WILL HAVE BRIEF HEAVY
RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL. HEAVY RAIN COULD CAUSE
FLOODING AND MUD SLIDES...ESPECIALLY IN THE RECENTLY BURNED AREAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

MOIST UNSTABLE AIR WILL CONTINUE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
AFTERNOON.

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEADLY LIGHTNING AND MAY HAVE BRIEF HEAVY
RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL. LOCAL HEAVY RAIN COULD CAUSE
FLOODING AND MUD SLIDES...ESPECIALLY IN THE RECENTLY BURNED AREAS.

DRIER SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL DEVELOP EARLY NEXT WEEK.

MAXWELL/JAD

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 13, 1:34 PM PST, 3 hours 51 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
234 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0900 AM     FLASH FLOOD      7 E JULIAN              33.07N 116.47W
08/13/2004                   SAN DIEGO          CA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            REPORTED BY CHP...HEAVY RAINS FROM HIGHWAY S2 TO 78. MUD
            ON HIGHWAY 78 WITH STANDING WATER ON ROAD.

&&

PURPURA

Local storm report, Aug 13, 1:36 PM PST, 3 hours 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT ...CORRECTED EVENT TIME...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
236 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0219 PM     FLASH FLOOD      7 E JULIAN              33.07N 116.47W
08/13/2004                   SAN DIEGO          CA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            REPORTED BY CHP...HEAVY RAINS FROM HIGHWAY S2 TO 78. MUD
            ON HIGHWAY 78 WITH STANDING WATER ON ROAD.

&&

PURPURA

Local storm report, Aug 13, 3:09 PM PST, 2 hours 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
409 PM PDT FRI AUG 13 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0311 AM     FLASH FLOOD      15 NE JULIAN            33.23N 116.40W
08/13/2004                   SAN DIEGO          CA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            CHP REPORTS ROCKS AND WATER ALL OVER LANES ON HIGHWAY 78
            AT JEO YAQUI PASS

&&

PURPURA

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, San Bernardino

When: August 13, 5:25 PM PST to 5:55 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino County, 3 mi NW of Phelan
Measured: 71
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in California, August 2004

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: 5418551.