Beware Of The Monsoon
Mojave Desert, CA
Dan Gudgel, Warning
Coordination Meteorologist.
National Weather
Service office, Hanford, CA. (HEAR
GUDGEL) |
Monsoon storms can mean
trouble for anyone who gets caught in their path.
| "Along
with floods, lightning kills more people every year than tornadoes and
hurricanes." DG |
Early warning via your favorite media source,
could mean the difference between life and death. |
| "The heavy rainfall occurring from the
thunderstorm strikes the ground perhaps many miles away from where the waters are going
to be seen", says Dan Gudgel, Warning Coodination Meteorologist for the National Weather
Service office in Hanford, CA.
It can even be sunny where you are.
"You just need to be aware of thunderstorms that are occurring over higher
terrain that may be above you as you are traversing, especially the desert
areas of California with their nearby mountain areas", he added. |
Red Rock Canyon flood
9-3-97
Both northbound lanes of
Highway 14 washed out. Note woman, top - right center between barricades.
(Photo taken 9-4-97) |
| "Most people that are killed in flash
floods are killed in vehicles." Either because they tried to cross running
water and the road wasn't there because the water had taken it out, "or,
they get on the roadway itself, it's still there, but the force of the
water, even as little as two feet deep, is enough to dislodge a vehicle
off the road and put it into the deeper parts of the stream itself." Gudgel
said.
In comparison, the water that crossed the
roadway at Redrock-Randsburg road (Garlock Rd.) during this last storm
(7-11-99) was as high as two and a half feet deep, but didn't come through
all at once. See
Sequence.
This isn't the highest it's ever been there
by any means, according to a witness. "Within the last two years, a six
foot wall of water went across the Red Rock - Randsburg road," says Gudgel.
According to Sean Pratt, a deputy sheriff
for Kern County, when the water went through Red Rock canyon itself during
the flood of '97, the wall of water was at least six feet high and probably
closer to seven feet.
Although Deputy Pratt had stopped traffic
heading south on Highway 14 to prevent drivers from getting into the waters
path, motorists heading north were not as fortunate. |
Red Rock Canyon flood
9-3-97
Hours later, water still
flows around this abandoned vehicle. (Photo taken 9-3-97) |
Several vehicles were swept off the roadway.
One young woman, who escaped from her car,
was saved by a truck driver when she was encouraged by him to swim as hard
as she could.
Battered by debris and clothes basically
shredded, she was fortunate enough to escape with her life. Fortunately,
no one died in Red Rock canyon that day. |
| Desert areas are not the only areas prone
to flash flooding. According to Gudgel, "The Onyx flash flood, 1984, east
of Lake Isabella, had a substantial flow that demolished 7 mobile homes
to the extent that there was nothing larger than a two by four left of
them." The flow there may have been as high as eight feet deep. |
| "Along with flooding, lightning
kills more people every year than tornadoes and hurricanes", states Gudgel.
Lightning as well as flash flooding can
also occur some distance, even miles from the thunderstorm itself. Just
because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't coming.
Both can hit without warning and happen
in an instant. |
Lightning near Oklahoma
City. |
| Flash flooding and lightning are not the
only threat to Californians, or the general public at large, wherever they
may be. Tornadoes can occur anywhere if conditions are favorable.
"When we talk about thunderstorms in California,
very often the dangers of thunderstorms aren't mentioned all that frequently,
especially in comparison to those we might see in the mid-west. But, California
does have it's share of thunderstorms and like all of them, they are severe
weather generators." Says Gudgel.
On November 22, 1996, the Naval Air Station
at Lemoore was hit by a severe thunderstorm that produced two tornadoes. |
| Micro burst, or straight line winds, can
be just as damaging as a small tornado, says Gudgel. Micro burst winds
are caused when a storm collapses, causing the wind to fan out, sometimes
generating wind speeds as high as 120 Mph. See
Animation
Gudgel added, "That doesn't help anyone
that gets caught in them because they too can be just as damaging as a
small tornado." |
This funnel cloud in
it's "rope stage", was on the south east side of Ridgecrest. |
| Perhaps as public awareness grows, more
incidents like this will be observed and reported.
Anyone interested in attending a seminar
on weather related phenomena is encouraged to do so. The class is free and
takes approximately two hours. If you are interested, visit the National Skywarn
web site HERE, or contact your
local National Weather Service office.
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