California, 2012

Flash Flooding and Hail in California, October 11, 2012

October 11, 2012 · NWS VEF · 5 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system combined with lingering monsoon moisture to produce flash flooding and severe weather over the Mojave Desert.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
$17,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 VEF wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system combined with lingering monsoon moisture to produce flash flooding and severe weather over the Mojave Desert.

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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 11, 8:35 AM PST, 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 11, 8:35 AM PST, 22 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 11, 2:10 AM PST, 6 hours 47 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
310 AM PDT THU OCT 11 2012

AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-120700-
NORTHWEST PLATEAU-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-NORTHWEST DESERTS-
LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES-
OWENS VALLEY-WHITE MOUNTAINS OF INYO COUNTY-
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK-WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT-
EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT-MORONGO BASIN-CADIZ BASIN-
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY-UPPER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-
ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY-LINCOLN COUNTY-
NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY-WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY-
SHEEP RANGE-SPRING MOUNTAINS-LAS VEGAS VALLEY-
SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY-
310 AM PDT THU OCT 11 2012 /310 AM MST THU OCT 11 2012/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST
ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST
THIS MORNING WILL MOVE INLAND TODAY AND TO FAR SOUTHERN NEVADA
LATE TONIGHT. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TO SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST
ARIZONA. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED
OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. RAINFALL AMOUNTS UP TO AN INCH ARE
POSSIBLE IN PORTIONS OF NEVADA AND ARIZONA. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS
POSSIBLE WITH STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS ALONG WITH WIND GUSTS UP TO
60 MPH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER FRIDAY
BUT WILL GRADUALLY END FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST FRIDAY
AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY NIGHT. DRY CONDITIONS WITH A WARMING TREND
CAN BE EXPECTED SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...
SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 11, 6:13 AM PST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 11, 7:48 AM PST, 1 hour 9 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 11, 8:07 AM PST, 50 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 11, 8:39 AM PST, 18 minutes before
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The radar

The Las Vegas radar (KESX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:56 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
October 11, 8:57 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 1.23 mi E of (Eed)needles Arpt to 1.6 mi SE of (Eed)needles Arpt
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
34.768, -114.598

Highway 95 was closed at Five Mile Road due to flooding.

Funnel Cloud, Inyo

When
October 11, 2:07 PM PST to 2:10 PM PST
Where
Inyo County, 14.94 mi NE of Shoshone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
36.121, -116.067

People in Pahrump, NV observed and photographed a funnel cloud just over the California state line.

Hail, Inyo

When
October 11, 4:23 PM PST to 4:30 PM PST
Where
Inyo County, 19.56 mi ENE of Tecopa
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
35.962, -115.899

A spotter in Charleston View measured one inch hail.

Flash Flood, Inyo

When
October 11, 6:32 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where
Inyo County, 0.8 mi NW of Death Vly Jct to 0.43 mi WSW of Death Vly Jct
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.308, -116.430

Eight vehicles were stuck at the intersection of Highways 190 and 127 due to flooding.

Flash Flood, Inyo

When
October 11, 7:45 PM PST to 9:30 PM PST
Where
Inyo County, 3.77 mi SSW of Death Vly to 3.16 mi WSW of Ryan
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.401, -116.881

Badwater Road was closed due to flooding.

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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, October 2012

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 411309, 411344, 411346, 411327, 411347.