Sunday, December 24, 2017

[californiadisasters] On This Date In California Weather History (December 20)



2010: A very wet period began 12/17 and continued through 12/22 as strong westerly flow across the Pacific tapped a pool of deep subtropical moisture near Hawaii, resulting in days of moderate to heavy rainfall. 4"-12" of rain fell in the coastal and valley areas over six days, 12"-28" in the mountains, up to 9" in the high desert and less than 4" in the lower desert.
Major landslides and flash flooding impacted the communities of Laguna Beach, Apple Valley, along the Whitewater Channel in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, Highland, Corona, Loma Linda, La Jolla, and the city of San Diego from 12/21 to 12/22.
Qualcomm Stadium was flooded, but was miraculously drained and prepared for the Poinsettia Bowl held there on 12/23.
Heavy wet snow accumulated above 6500 feet with amounts over 6" and as much as 24" above 7500 feet.

2010: A continuous feed of moisture into the Mojave Desert triggered by a slow moving area of low pressure off the coast of the Pacific Northwest resulted in several days of moderate to heavy rain falling across southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southwest Utah. This resulted in significant to major flooding on area rivers and washes. The Beaver Dam Wash reached major flood stage and flooded the community of Beaver Dam, AZ. Six homes in Beaver Dam Estates were washed away with one of the homes falling into the wash and floating 200 yards before it crashed into trees, split apart and sank. Another 12 homes were damaged, and two mobile homes and a garage were destroyed. A 300 to 400 foot stretch of Clark Gable Drive was washed out. The raging waters of the Beaver Dam Wash then flowed into the Virgin River which then flooded Littlefield, AZ where a sewer lift station was damaged. Further downstream on the Virgin River at Mesquite, NV flooding damaged a golf course, two homes, a diversion dam for an irrigation canal and 200 feet of reinforced concrete pipes which serve as the outlet for a detention basin. The Virgin River crested at 13.2 feet at the Scenic Bridge in Mesquite at 5:02 PM on December 23rd.

In California the Mojave River overflowed its banks between December 21st and 24th due to a combination of heavy rain and an emergence release of water from the Cedar Spring Dam near Arowhead. Numerous roads in and around Barstow were covered with mud and closed, one bridge was washed out, a broken levee flooded a Barstow neighborhood and 3 swiftwater rescues were performed in Yermo.

In addition, this series of storms produced heavy mountain snows between December 17th and December 22nd. Aspendell, CA measured 88.1 inches of snow while 96 inches was measured at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort on Mt. Charleston, NV. At least 2 feet of snow fell on Westgard Pass in the White Mountains of California. The tremendous volume of snow crippled mountain communities with a "Code Red" declared by Inyo County for the eastern southern Sierra Nevada as people were advised to either stay put or leave before the snow set in. On Mt. Charleston at least 3 avalanches took place, and this combined with the volume of snow triggered evacuations. There were numerous downed trees and power lines and damages on the mountain alone were estimated at a half a million dollars from the snow.

Elsewhere across the area numerous roads were flooded. Valley of Fire, Echo Canyon and Spring Valley State Parks in Nevada were closed due to flash flooding. Total damages across the entire Las Vegas County Warning and Forecast Area were estimated at $13.5 million in 2010 dollars.

2007:
Strong wind gusts struck a Nestor neighborhood of San Diego.
This was thought to be a microburst, but no evidence of a thunderstorm was found.
Six homes were damaged.
Fences and trees were blown over.
Roof tiles were removed and a shed was destroyed.

2001: A few minutes after 4 pm an upper-F1 intensity tornado moved through semi-rural land near the city of Watsonville.
The thunderstorm that produced this tornado also generated severe hail.
In addition, at least two other severe hail events occurred that afternoon, both in the immediate vicinity of the city of Monterey.


1998: Snow showers fall on the central San Joaquin Valley during the late evening, whitening lawns in the Fresno-Clovis metropolitan area.
This is the last time on record that measurable snow has fallen in Fresno with a half inch (0.5") measured at Fresno Yosemite International Airport by the Air National Guard.

1997: A period of Santa Ana winds started on 12.18 and ended on 12.21.
Gusts of 60 mph were reported at Rialto.
Gusts of 67 mph were reported at Idyllwild and below Cajon Pass.
One was killed.
The winds downed trees, caused widespread wind damage and contributed to a fire.

1992: South Lake Tahoe had a morning low of -10° F.

1991: Strong northerly winds resulted from a deep low pressure system over Arizona starting on 12.19 and ending on 12.21.
Top gusts reached 63 mph in the Santa Monica Mountains, 52 mph in Van Nuys, and 36 mph at LAX airport.

1986: Heavy rain and a thunderstorm hit San Diego County for two hours.
0.70" fell in Oceanside, more than 0.50" in Alpine, and 0.32" fell in San Diego.
Power outages occurred from lightning strikes and power lines blown down.

1978: The morning low temperature at Reno, NV, was -7° F.

1977: Very strong Santa Ana winds gusted to 90 mph in the mountains of San Diego County.
A truck driver was killed on Interstate 8 and a girl in La Mesa was injured when a tree fell on her.
Some brush fires were fanned.
Widespread crop damage was suffered in northern San Diego County to avocados, strawberries, etc.
Numerous trees and power poles were knocked down. In Ramona entire barns were destroyed.

1977: "Once in a lifetime" wind and dust storm struck the south end of the Valley.
Winds reached 88 mph at Arvin before the anemometer broke and gusts were estimated at 192 mph at Arvin by a US Geological Survey.
Meadows Field in Bakersfield recorded sustained 46 mph winds with a gust of 63 mph.
The strong winds generated a wall of dust resembling a tidal wave that was 5,000 feet high over Arvin.
Blowing sand stripped painted surfaces to bare metal and trapped people in vehicles for several hours.
Seventy percent of homes received structural damage in Arvin, Edison and East Bakersfield. 120,000 Kern County customers lost power.
Agriculture was impacted as 25 million tons of soil was loosened from grazing lands.
Five people died and damages totaled $34 million dollars.

1975: Pismo Beach drops to 24° F, establishing an all-time monthly low.

1970: A series of storms brought heavy rain and snow to the region starting on 12.17 and ending on 12.22.
7.03" of precipitation was recorded in Palomar Mountain, 6.93" in Lytle Creek, 6.35" in Lake Arrowhead, 5.38" in Idyllwild, 4.72" in Big Bear Lake, 2.81" in San Bernardino, 2.67" in Santa Ana, 2.27" in Riverside, and 1.84" in San Diego.
Several roads were flooded and washed out in the northern Inland Empire, exacerbated by the extensive burn areas from earlier in the fall.
Snowfall amounts were 32" in Idyllwild, 28" in Big Bear Lake, 26" in Palomar Mountain, and 24" in Lake Arrowhead.

1968: Measurable snow falls in the Valley: 1.2" at Fresno.

1945: Las Vegas, NV, recorded a low temperature of 14° F, setting a daily record.

1909:
Greatest unofficial snowstorm ever documented in Las Vegas, NV, with 10-15" of snow.
13" measured on Fremont Street by railroad depot employees.  
From the 20th into the 21st, Mojave received 10.4" of snow.
Just twenty four hours later another storm brought another 2" of snow here.

1906: 33" of snow fell at Truckee.

Source: NWS San Francisco/Monterey, Hanford, Reno, Las Vegas, & San Diego

--


__._,_.___

Posted by: Kim Noyes <kimnoyes@gmail.com>


Be sure to check out our Links Section at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/links
Please join our Discussion Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters_discussion/ for topical but extended discussions started here or for less topical but nonetheless relevant messages.





__,_._,___

No comments:

Post a Comment