Name: Heavy Rain in California, September 2 to 3, 2013
Start: 2013-09-02T02:00
End: 2013-09-03T02:00
Location: California

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

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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 STO wrote it up.

A large amount of subtropical moisture combined with good instability resulted in convective heavy rain showers and some localized flooding along the Sierra and Sierra foothills. First semi-widespread rain of the wet season.

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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 1, 9:14 PM PST, 4 hours 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 1, 9:14 PM PST, 4 hours 46 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
1014 PM PDT SUN SEP 1 2013

.SYNOPSIS...
OFFSHORE LOW WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES NEAR TO BELOW NORMAL THROUGH
FRIDAY. SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE WILL BRING SIERRA SHOWERS WITH
VALLEY SPRINKLES/LIGHT SHOWERS THROUGH LABOR DAY. DRIER CONDITIONS
TUESDAY THROUGH THE WEEK WITH WARMING BY SATURDAY.

.DISCUSSION...

MID-LEVEL MOISTURE FROM REMNANT TROPICAL SYSTEM CONTINUES TO
STREAM OVER NORCAL THIS EVENING AHEAD OF UPPER LOW OFF THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST COAST. A FEW SHOWERS...BUT MAINLY SPRINKLES WITHIN
MOISTURE PLUME FROM SANTA ROSA-YUBA CITY-OROVILLE-CHESTER.
ISOLATED SHOWERS AND SPRINKLES WILL BE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT FOR ALL
BUT THE NORTHERN VALLEY AND COASTAL RANGE AS PLUME GRADUALLY
SHIFTS EAST. TEMPERATURES ARE RUNNING 2 TO 3 DEGREES COOLER VERSUS
YESTERDAY AT THIS TIME WITH ONSHORE FLOW. CURRENT FORECAST IS ON
TRACK AND NO EVENING UPDATE WILL BE NEEDED.

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...

ANOTHER BATCH OF MOISTURE WILL MOVE NORTHWARD THIS EVENING AND
OVERNIGHT. WE COULD SEE A REPEAT OF LAST NIGHT WITH MAINLY A MIX
OF LIGHT SHOWERS AND SPRINKLES OVER THE INTERIOR. INSTABILITY IS
STILL NOT LOOKING THAT GOOD BUT AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM CAN NOT
BE RULED OUT OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. ALREADY SOME LIGHT SHOWERS HAVE
POPPED UP THIS AFTERNOON AND ARE TRACKING ACROSS THE RIM FIRE.

BY MONDAY AFTERNOON THE MOISTURE WILL START TO BE PUSHED TO THE
EAST AND CLOUDS SHOULD BE STARTING TO THIN OVER THE WESTERN PARTS
OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE MORE NOTICEABLE CLEARING WILL OCCUR
MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING AS THE LOW MOVES ALONG THE COAST
AND DEEPENS.

TEMPERATURES THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS WILL RANGE FROM THE MID 80S TO
LOWER 90S IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY TO THE MAINLY 70S FOR THE
MOUNTAINS WITH TODAY THE WARMEST OF THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. ONE
MORE NIGHT OF LOWS IN THE 60S FOR THE VALLEY IS EXPECTED DUE TO
THE CLOUD COVER BEFORE WE START TO SEE SOME NIGHT TIME COOLING
INTO THE 50S.

.EXTENDED DISCUSSION (THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)

MEDIUM RANGE MODELS PAINTING A SIMILAR PICTURE IN KEEPING PACIFIC
UPPER LOW OFF THE PAC NW COAST THROUGH THURSDAY THEN MOVING IT
INLAND LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. OPER GFS CONTINUES TO TREND
TOWARDS THE ECMWF-HIRES WITH A MORE PROGRESSIVE AND NORTHEAST
TRACK OF THE LOW AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE PACNW. UPPER LOW EXPECTED
TO REMAIN FAR ENOUGH NORTH AS IT TRACKS INLAND TO KEEP A DRY
FORECAST FOR INTERIOR NORCAL. MAIN IMPACT WILL BE SOME COOLING
WITH INCREASED ONSHORE FLOW...AND GUSTY WINDS OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN THU/FRI. UPSTREAM PAC RIDGE FOLLOWS LOW SAT/SUN WITH
WARMING TREND. HIGHS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY WARM FROM THE UPPER
80S TO LOWER 90S THURSDAY TO MID TO UPPER 90S BY NEXT WEEKEND.

&&

.AVIATION...

SWLY FLOW ALF AS INTR NORCAL RMNS BTWN OFSHR UPR LOW AND HI PRES
TO E. MNLY VFR CONDS NXT 24 HRS EXC LCL MVFR TO LIFR CONDS IN FU
VCNTY RIM FIRE IN TUOLUMNE CNTY. LCL SW SFC WND GSTS TO 30 KTS
POSS THRU DELTA THIS EVE. ISOLD TSTM POSS OVR HYR TRRN OF NE MTNS
TIL 04Z MON.

&&

.STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

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, Nevada

When: September 2, 2:00 AM PST to September 3, 2:00 AM PST
Where: Nevada County, 1 mi NNE of Nevada City to 1 mi N of Grass Vly Alt Sra Ar
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.283, -121.013

Showers developed in a southwest to northeast line from southwest of Stockton area to northeast of Quincy. Trained spotters reported 1.50 of heavy rainfall as convective showers trained over the area all day long on Sept 2nd. Flooding was reported at 10:43 am PST along Highway 49 in Alta Sierra. Flooding was also reported at 10:46 am PST along Highways 49 and 20 in Nevada City. Rain continued through the early morning Sept. 3rd.

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

More

Every storm in California in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in California, September 2013

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: 477290.