1/19/10 DISC: CA

[Jason Harris]

Pretty impressive day for southern CA, 2 tornado reports and check out this wind gust:

93 NEWPORT BEACH PZZ655 CA 3361 11791 93 MPH GUST 1230 PM MEASURED BY LIFEGUARDS AT NEWPORT BEACH PIER. ALSO MEASURED GUSTS TO 72 AND 73 MPH. (SGX)

Didn't hear much about this event before things were in motion with the warnings, though there was the slight risk out there by SPC.

So are lifeguards carrying anemometers now?

The current MD explains at least for central N. CA why there's no watch:
--

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY

VALID 192353Z - 200130Z

BKN/SEGMENTED BAND OF TSTMS IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ENEWD 35-40 KT
ACROSS THIS REGION THROUGH ROUGHLY 0130Z...BEFORE ENTERING SIERRAS
AND WEAKENING. ISOLATED DAMAGING GUSTS AND HAIL APCHG SVR LEVELS IS
POSSIBLE.

VWPS AND RUC SOUNDINGS -- MODIFIED FOR OROGRAPHICALLY FORCED
BACKING/ENHANCEMENT OF SFC FLOW -- SHOW ENLARGED 0-1 KM HODOGRAPHS
WITH ENHANCED SFC STORM-RELATIVE INFLOW. SRH AROUND 150 J/KG IS
EVIDENT IN 0-1 KM LAYER...ALTHOUGH STORM MOTION VECTOR DOES CROSS
HODOGRAPH AROUND 2 KM AGL. MOSTLY LINEAR CONVECTIVE MODE FAVORS
POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF EMBEDDED/SMALL BOWS WITH CONVECTIVE
WIND GUSTS BEING PRIMARY CONCERN. PRIMARY LIMITING FACTOR WILL BE
LACK OF MORE ROBUST BUOYANCY...WITH SFC TEMPS ONLY IN LOW 50S F AND
WEAK LOW-MIDDLE LEVEL LAPSE RATES RESULTING IN MLCAPE GENERALLY
BELOW 100 J/KG IN MOST AREAS. COOLING ALOFT WILL FOLLOW THIS BAND
IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO MID-UPPER SHORTWAVE TROUGH.
HOWEVER...STABILIZATION OF NEAR-SFC AIR MASS FROM CONVECTION...ALONG
WITH SHEAR-LIMITING CHARACTERISTIC OF VEERING SFC FLOW...FURTHER
SHOULD REDUCE ALREADY MRGL SVR THREAT ONCE THIS BAND PASSES.

From recent forecast discussion out of Sacramento:

INTENSE THUNDERSTORM NEAR VACAVILLE EARLIER THIS EVENING
THAT MOVED INTO YOLO COUNTY BEFORE DISSIPATING IN THE MORE STABLE
AIR. PENNY SIZED HAIL COVERED SOME LOCAL ROADS UP TO A THICKNESS OF
2 INCHES.

 

[Christopher Jacobs]

Yes, impressive day indeed. I have seen many winter storms in Southern California, but these are packing some of the most violent winds I have seen in recent memory. I work in San Juan Capistrano...and in the past two days...I have seen a 12" diameter tree fall across the main road in town, numerous other smaller trees and branches down, have lost power twice at city hall (monday afternoon and tuesday afternoon), and watched as the rain fell almost horizontally. The quick downpour along the front overwhelmed the storm drains for a period of time, turning a nearby street into a river (see picture).

The 93 mph wind gust at the Newport Pier is amazing, but believable based on what I saw at San Juan today. I'm sure some of the gusts I saw approached at least the 40-50 mph range...if not closer to 60.

Two more storms to go this week. The final one is still forcast to be the strongest, so I'll be taking my camera to work!

 

[Paul Knightley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qkigoZj9yI

Some pics from Twitter there too.
http://twitpic.com/yw1wt

 

[Dennis Dennison]

Better video of Tornado not waterspouts inland

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=723_1263996313

 

[Eric Hostetter]

Dennis, I'm afraid the link is incorrect. Whoever posted that video did it as a hoax. The radar animation might be correct, but the tornado video clips they included are from the Perris, CA tornado(es) of May 22, 2008. The damage footage is from yesterday's tornado in Huntington Beach.

 

[Bill Hark]

Here is a recent i report on CNN from the Sunset Beach CA tornado. Not bad for a CA coast tornado.

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-397257?hpt=Sbin


Bill Hark

 

[Will Wilkens]

Sorry for the late posting on this event.

I chased this same storm as well. I was parked at the Seal Beach pier and awaited the arrival of the supercell. At about 1:15pm PST Seal Beach police evacuated the pier area after spotting a waterspout just offshore. I was not able to see it due to the intense rainfall, but the mesocyclone moved close enough for me to see broad circulation and the classic clear slot just offshore. I headed south on PCH into Sunset Beach and came upon the tornado damage minutes after it happened.

Here is my video at Seal Beach, time lapsed for effect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiUKdapqwnY

Here is my tornado damage video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLbstoJ2JYA