Strong high pressure centered over the Four-Corners region produced a moist southeasterly flow across Southern California. This monsoonal moisture combined with some instability to produce strong thunderstorms and flash flooding across the Antelope Valley as well as the mountains of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
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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.
Strong high pressure centered over the Four-Corners region produced a moist southeasterly flow across Southern California. This monsoonal moisture combined with some instability to produce strong thunderstorms and flash flooding across the Antelope Valley as well as the mountains of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
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 Jul 12, 2:00 PM PST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 300 PM PDT SAT JUL 12 2008 .SHORT TERM... NICE EAST PUSH THIS MORNING CLEARED OUT ALL OF THE CLOUDS. 12Z SOUNDINGS SHOWED A GREATLY WEAKENED INVERSION. SAT SHOWS LOW CLOUDS RETREATING FROM THE COAST AND FEEL THAT THERE WILL BE AT WORST PATCHY LOW CLOUDS TONIGHT AND PARTLY CLOUDY WORDING SHOULD COVER IT. WITH CLEAR SKIES OVERHEAD COASTS ARE RUNNING ABOUT 2 DEGREES ABOVE YDY VLYS ARE UP ABOUT 5 AND DESERTS AND MTNS ARE UP AS MUCH AS 10 DEGREES. BETTER THUNDER COVERAGE TODAY WITH TSTM CURRENTLY AS CLOSE AS BIG BEAR. NO REAL TRIGGER VISIBLE ON SATELLITE OR IN MDLS SO THINK TSTMS WILL FORM MOSTLY BY SUNSHINE. WITHOUT THE TRIGGER DO NOT SEE CENTRAL COAST OR WATERS GETTING ANY TSTMS TIL TOMORROW...OTHERWISE SLIGHT CHC TO CHC POPS WILL DO FINE. MDLS SHOW CONTINUED INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE OVER VTA AND LA COUNTY AND SLGT CHC THREAT OF TSTMS WILL CONTINUE. BETTER 850 MOISTURE EVERYWHERE SUNDAY. IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE SKIES WILL ONLY BE PARTLY CLOUDY. LIS ARE ABOUT A DEGREE OR 2 LOWER THAN TODAY AND THINK CURRENT CHC MTN DESERT/SLGT CHC EVERYWHERE ELSE LOOKS GOOD. WITH GOOD MOISTURE FROM 850 MB TO 600 MB ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO FORM WILL PRODUCE RAIN IN FACT A SLOWER MOVING TSTM COULD PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING. TEMPS SUNDAY WILL BE SIMILAR TO TODAY A FEW DEGREES COOLER IF THE CONVECTION STARTS EARLIER. INSTABILITY WILL NOT ALLOW A MARINE LAYER TO FORM AND SKIES WILL BE PARTLY CLOUDY OCCASIONALLY MOSTLY CLOUDY. MONDAYS REDUCTION IN TSTM COVERAGE LOOKS GOOD. NAM SHOWS A GOOD DECREASE IN 850 MB DEWPOINTS MOST EVERYWHERE EXCEPT THE L.A./VTA MTNS/DESSERTS. MARINE LAYER COVERAGE IS A TRICKY FORECAST FOR MONDAY CURRENTLY HAVE SOME CLOUDS RIGHT AT THE COAST...BUT IT IS ANYTHING BUT A SLAM DUNK. SYNOPTIC TEMPERATURE PARAMETERS VERY SIMILAR TO SUNDAYS AND DO NOT SEE MUCH CHANGE IN TEMPS...ALTHOUGH IT WILL FEEL A LITTLE BETTER AS THE HUMIDITIES WILL BE A BIT LOWER. .LONG TERM... GFS ENSEMBLES IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH EACH OTHER...BUT LARGE SCALE PATTERN WILL NOT MEAN AS MUCH TO THE LONG RANGE FORECAST AS THE LITTLE DETAILS SO CONFIDENCE IN THE MDLS PERFORMANCE IS PRETTY GOOD. UPPER HIGH MOVES SOUTH OVER MEXICO TUESDAY AND THEN INTO AZ WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. BY SATURDAY THE HIGH IS FORECAST INTO THE FOUR CORNERS AREA WHICH WILL GIVE THE BEST CHC OF A RETURN TO MONSOON FLOW. TEMPS WILL BE COOLER TUE AND WED AS THE HIGH PUSHES AWAY BUT AS IT MOVES WESTWARD THUR AND FRI THE TEMPS WILL START TO WARM AGAIN. && .AVIATION...12/2115Z. EARLY BURN OFF TO VFR CONDITIONS AT ALL COASTAL TAFS THIS MORNING. MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH WESTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND LIKELY CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE LA/VTU/SBA COUNTY MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS CONVECTION SLOWLY GETS STARTED. SOME MODERATE UDDF WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR THUNDERSTORMS. TO THE NORTH...SOME LOCAL SMOKE POSSIBLE FROM THE GAP FIRE. KLAX...HIGH CONFIDENCE FOR VFR REST OF TODAY AND MODERATE CONFIDENCE THAT STRATUS WILL NOT RETURN OVERNIGHT DUE TO PRESSURE GRADIENTS TRENDING OFFSHORE AND HIGH CLOUDS FROM THUNDERSTORMS TO THE EAST. KBUR...EXPECT VFR CONDS THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM MOVING OFF THE LOCAL MOUNTAINS AND MOVING SW TOWARDS KBUR. IF THUNDERSTORMS DO MOVE NEAR KBUR...SOME MODERATE UDDF COULD BE POSSIBLE LATE AFTERNOON EARLY EVENING HOURS. LOW CONFIDENCE WITH THIS OCCURRING. && .LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE && PUBLIC...RORKE AVIATION...MORRIS WWW.WEATHER.GOV/LOSANGELES
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 600 AM PDT SAT JUL 12 2008 CAZ034>041-044>047-051>054-059-087-088-131300- 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 PDT SAT JUL 12 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...AND ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...THEN IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...AND ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. BRUNO
The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:23 UTC.
4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The USFS reported torrential rain and flash flooding at the intersection of Big Pines Highway and Largo Vista Road.
The USFS reported flash flooding and debris flow across Lockwood Valley Road at mile marker 13. An observer at Lockwood Valley Yard reported 2.21 of rainfall in one hour and fifteen minutes.
A weather spotter near the community of Llano reported heavy rain and flash flooding near the intersection of Highway 138 and 175th Street East.
Law enforcement reported heavy rain and flash flooding along Lockwood Valley Road between Highway 33 and Chico Larson. In some areas, Lockwood Valley Road was covered by over two feet of water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2008
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: 104695, 104701, 104710, 104716.