On December 9th a cold front swept across Southern California, bringing rain to the area and a funnel cloud sighting. Rainfall amounts ranged from one half inch to three inches across the mountains while valley and coastal areas received between one quarter inch and one and one half inch of rainfall.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS LOX wrote it up.
On December 9th a cold front swept across Southern California, bringing rain to the area and a funnel cloud sighting. Rainfall amounts ranged from one half inch to three inches across the mountains while valley and coastal areas received between one quarter inch and one and one half inch of rainfall. During the fternoon, a funnel cloud was reported by the FAA tower at Santa Barbara Airport.
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 Dec 9, 10:35 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED AVN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 1035 AM PST SAT DEC 9 2006 .SHORT TERM (TODAY-MONDAY)...STRONG SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVING QUICKLY EASTWARD TOWARDS THE CALIFORNIA COAST THIS MORNING. LEADING FRONTAL BAND NOW APPROXIMATELY 250 MI WEST OF POINT CONCEPTION. SIMPLE EXTRAPOLATION PUTS THE LEADING BAND INTO THE CENTRAL COAST AROUND LATE AFTERNOON. LATEST MODELS BRING FRONT AND PRECIPITATION EAST INTO THE REST OF THE AREA THEREAFTER. SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GFS AND NAM-WRF WITH RESPECT TO SYSTEM SPEED. THE GFS APPEARS TO BE THE FASTER OF THE TWO MODELS...AND AT THIS TIME IS PREFERRED GIVEN CURRENT SYSTEM SPEED. HAVE MADE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FORECAST TO INCREASE WIND SPEEDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND ANTELOPE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON...AND TO ALSO BRUSH UP ON TODAYS WEATHER A BIT. GRADIENT AND MOS GUIDANCE FAVORING SOME BREEZE CONDITIONS ANTELOPE VALLEY. MOST PRECIP AT THIS TIME IS CONFINED TO POINT CONCEPTION AND NORTHWARD ALONG THE COAST. MOSTLY SHOWERY AS WELL. REST OF THE SHORT TERM FORECAST LOOKS GOOD FOR NOW...THOUGH WILL PROBABLY MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN AFTERNOON PACKAGE. SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH RATHER QUICKLY SO EXPECT A PRETTY RAPID END TO THE EVENT FROM NW-SE OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. GOOD LIFT...THOUGH NOT VERY DEEP...WITH THIS SYSTEM. GFS TIME-HEIGHT XSECTION POINT NEAR OXNARD INDICATED LIFT TO AROUND 700 MB...THEN SHARPLY TURNING TO SUBSIDENCE JUST AFTER 6Z TONIGHT. SOME INSTABILITY ALSO IN PLACE WITH GOOD LAPSE RATES UP TO AROUND MID LEVELS. PRIMARY COLD CORE STILL STAYS QUITE A BIT NORTH...BUT WILL KEEP AN EYE ON ANY LIGHTNING ACTIVITY AS SYSTEM MOVES EAST THIS AFTERNOON TOWARD COAST...AND POSSIBLY EXPAND CURRENT AREA OF THUNDER IN FORECAST. OVERALL EXPECT MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS TODAY FOR VENTURA-LA COUNTIES...WITH MAIN ACTIVITY THIS EVENING AND TRAILING OFF THROUGH THE NIGHT. HIGH SURF ADVISORY LOOKS GOOD WITH REPORTS OF GOOD SIZED SETS COMING IN. ...FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... .LONG TERM (TUESDAY-FRIDAY)...DIRTY RIDGE PATTERN SETTING UP OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC. WEAK RIDGING WILL ALLOW MOISTURE TO FLOW OVER THE RIDGE IN NORTHWEST TO NORTH FLOW. WEAK WAVES EMBEDDED IN THE FLOW PATTERN WILL ALLOW FOR MARINE INTRUSION ENHANCEMENT NORTH OF POINT CONCEPTION. DRIZZLE TO LIGHT PRECIPITATION EXPECTED ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST WITH NORTHWESTERLY EXPOSED VALLEYS SEEING SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS AS WELL. SOUTH OF POINT CONCEPTION...VERY LITTLE IF ANY PRECIPITATION CAN BE EXPECTED...IF AT ALL. MARINE LAYER COULD REMAIN NEAR THE BEACHES DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH ONSHORE EXISTS. EXTENDED FORECAST GOES CONSERVATIVE FOR NOW...WITH LITTLE CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE AND CLOUD COVERAGE. && .AVIATION...SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS LINGERED OVER THE AREA AND WERE REMNANTS OF THE WEAK BOUNDARY THAT MOVED OVER THE AREA LAST NIGHT EARLY THIS MORNING. A STRONGER BOUNDARY WILL ACCELERATE OVER THE AREA TONIGHT. THE BOUNDARY WAS CENTERED AND LOCATED 260 NM WEST OF POINT CONCEPTION AND MOVING EAST AT 39KT...PRESENT MOVEMENT THE BOUNDARY WILL MOVE OVER KLAX AT AROUND 04Z. EXPECT THE SYSTEM WILL DECELERATE AS IT APPROACHES THE COAST AND HAVE RAIN BEGINNING OVER KLAX AT 05Z. && .MARINE...A LARGE WEST TO NORTHWEST SWELL GENERATED BY A SERIES OF PACIFIC STORMS HAS MOVED INTO THE COASTAL WATERS. HIGH SURF 11 TO 14 FEET OCCASIONALLY TO 17 FT WILL PERSIST THROUGH SUNDAY. SURF WILL BE LARGEST ON EXPOSED WEST AND NORTHWEST FACING BEACHES AND NORTH OF POINT CONCEPTION. SURF GENERATED BY AN ACTIVE AND PERSISTENT STORM TRACK OVER THE CENTRAL PACIFIC MAY PERSIST THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY MAY BE EXTENDED THROUGH TUESDAY. && .LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY (SEE LAXCWFLOX). HIGH SURF ADVISORY (SEE LAXCFWLOX). HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK (SEE LAXSRFLOX). MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT (SEE LAXMWSLOX). && PUBLIC...JACKSON AVIATION...FORWOOD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 600 AM PST SAT DEC 9 2006 CAZ034>041-044>047-051>054-059-087-088-101400- SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY CENTRAL COAST- SANTA BARBARA COUNTY CENTRAL COAST-SANTA YNEZ VALLEY- SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY INTERIOR VALLEYS-CUYAMA VALLEY- SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SOUTH COAST-VENTURA COUNTY COAST- LOS ANGELES COUNTY COAST INCLUDING DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- VENTURA COUNTY INTERIOR VALLEYS-VENTURA COUNTY COASTAL VALLEYS- SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS RECREATIONAL AREA- LOS ANGELES COUNTY VALLEYS-SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SANTA BARBARA COUNTY MOUNTAINS-VENTURA COUNTY MOUNTAINS- LOS ANGELES COUNTY MOUNTAINS EXCLUDING THE SANTA MONICA RANGE- ANTELOPE VALLEY-CATALINA ISLAND-SANTA CLARITA VALLEY- 600 AM PST SAT DEC 9 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE AREA AGAIN LATE THIS MORNING AND MOVE OVER THE AREA THROUGH SUNDAY. PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST LATE THIS MORNING AND WILL SPREAD SOUTH THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DRIVING MAY BE DIFFICULT AT TIMES DUE TO HEAVY RAINFALL AND PONDING ON THE ROADWAYS. A VERY LARGE WEST TO NORTHWEST SWELL GENERATED BY THE PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM MOVING OVER THE AREA WILL CONTINUE TO OCCUR. SWELLS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE COASTAL WATERS WITH LARGE SWELLS ARRIVING AT THE BEACHES AS HIGH SURF. A HIGH RIP CURRENT POTENTIAL EXISTS AT THE BEACHES TODAY WITH LOCALIZED COASTAL FLOODING POSSIBLE. * HIGH SURF ADVISORY.........SEE WHUS46 KLOX - CFWLOX FOR DETAILS * * HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK......SEE FZUS56 KLOX - SRFLOX FOR DETAILS * * MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT...SEE FZUS76 KLOX - MWSLOX FOR DETAILS * .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY PRECIPITATION WILL TAPER OFF SUNDAY MORNING. WET ROADS AND PONDING ON ROADWAYS DUE TO SHOWERS MAY STILL MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT. IN ADDITION...LARGE SWELLS AND HIGH SURF WILL CONTINUE OVER THE MARINE SECTIONS OF THE AREA INTO SUNDAY EVENING. A HIGH RIP CURRENT POTENTIAL WILL EXIST AT THE BEACHES THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING WITH LOCALIZED COASTAL FLOODING POSSIBLE. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED BEYOND SUNDAY NIGHT. * HIGH SURF ADVISORY.........SEE WHUS46 KLOX - CFWLOX FOR DETAILS * * MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT...SEE FZUS76 KLOX - MWSLOX FOR DETAILS * .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. HALL
The Los Angeles radar (KVTX), 45 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:07 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
The FAA tower at Santa Barbara Airport received a pilot report of a funnel cloud near El Capitan Beach.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2006
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: 5424.