California, 2016

Flood in California, September 29, 2016

September 29, 2016 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An upper level low off the SoCal coast en-trained moisture from northern Mexico, resulting showers and isolated thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts on the 29th.

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
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.

An upper level low off the SoCal coast en-trained moisture from northern Mexico, resulting showers and isolated thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts on the 29th.

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 Sep 29, 12:50 PM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 29, 12:50 PM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Diego CA
150 PM PDT THU SEP 29 2016

.SYNOPSIS...
Warm weather will continue over the next couple of days ahead of
a longwave trough off the Pacific Northwest. This trough is poised
to move through California this weekend into early next week,
bringing a noticeable cool-down to Southern California after the
recent heat. Onshore flow will strengthen with a return of the
marine layer. Gusty winds will develop over the mountains and
deserts each afternoon and evening beginning Saturday, strongest
on Sunday and Monday. The trough will move east by the middle part
of next week with warmer conditions returning.

&&

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

Visible satellite imagery shows scattered mid/upper level clouds
over the mountains this afternoon. Some light showers are showing
up south of the border at this time, drifting slowly north, along
with a few showers developing over the southern San Diego County
mountains. The chance for showers remains for the SoCal mountains
through this evening. It will continue to be rather warm through
Friday along with increasing humidity near the coast, before
noticeable changes to the cooler side occur with an incoming
longwave trough this weekend.

The large, longwave trough will amplify along the West Coast on
Friday, ushering in drier southwest flow aloft. Some marine
stratus may return to the immediate coastal areas as early as
Friday morning as onshore flow strengthens. The trough then digs
and slowly progresses inland Saturday through Monday, which will
help to deepen the marine layer for more widespread night and
morning low clouds and considerable cooling. The most significant
cooling occurs Sun night through Monday. The result will be the
coolest day in some time with Monday's high temps some 5 to 15
degrees F below normal for this time of year. The only locales
in the 80s Monday will be the lower deserts, with highs elsewhere
only in the 60s and 70s, and 50s in the mountains. Gusty onshore
winds will develop in the mountains and deserts as well, with the
strongest winds on Sunday and Monday as the main trough axis
moves through. The latest run of the GFS brings the vort max
further south into SoCal, and if this holds true, it could be very
windy indeed.

The 12Z ECMWF has backed off on precip indications with this
trough for Monday, and the GFS keeps things mostly dry as well.
Given the high uncertainty and current trends, will keep the
forecast dry for now and monitor future model runs. That being
said, the marine layer will be quite deep by then, so some drizzle
west of the mountains is not out of the question.

Temperatures will begin to rebound for the latter half of next
week as weak high pressure aloft and possible offshore flow
develops behind the departing trough.

&&

.AVIATION...
292045Z...Coastal and Valley areas...Mostly clear through 06Z except
for scattered low clouds over the coastal waters. After 06Z...SCT-
BKN004-008 spreading 5-10 miles inland through 16Z Friday. Areas of
vis 2-4 miles in fog, with vis below 2 miles on the coastal mesas
including KCRQ. Low confidence of lengthy impact at coastal
airports. Clearing skies after 16Z.

Mountains and Deserts...Cumulus clouds over the mountains through
03Z with bases between 8000-12000 feet and isolated SHRA/-TSRA.
Becoming clear after 03Z.

&&

.MARINE...
No hazardous marine weather is expected through Friday. Northwest
winds will increase over the weekend, strongest from Sunday
afternoon through Monday when winds over the Outer Waters will
increase to 20-30 kt. A Small Craft Advisory may be needed Sunday
and Monday for the combination of strong winds and high seas.

&&

.BEACHES...
Prevailing southerly swells through Sunday will bring 3-5 foot surf,
with occasional sets to 6 feet in Orange County. High rip current
risk.

Strong gusty west winds may impact the beaches Sunday evening
through Monday afternoon as a deep Pacific trough moves inland.

&&

.SKYWARN...
Skywarn activation is not requested. However weather spotters are encouraged
to report significant weather conditions.

&&

.SGX Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
CA...None.
PZ...None.

&&

PUBLIC...TS
AVIATION/MARINE...Moede

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, San Diego

When
September 29, 3:00 PM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where
San Diego County, 1.33 mi S of Guatay to 1.68 mi E of Guatay
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
32.831, -116.546

A spotter reported minor urban flooding from a nearly stationary thunderstorm in Pine Valley.

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in California, September 2016

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: 661637.