Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Jackson, KY

February 16, 1989Mason County, West Virginia

NWS Jackson, KY issued this flash flood warning at Feb 16, 1989, 2:11 AM EST for Mason County, West Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 16, 1989, 2:11 AM EST (07:11 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 1989, 5:15 AM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Jackson, KY
Area
Whole counties

County Mason County, WV

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Huntington/Tri S, WV (KHTS), launched 00:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 61 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 00:00Z on 1989-02-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 00:00Z on 1989-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -91 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
620 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
81 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KHTS 160710
FFWHTS
WVC053-161015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTINGTON WV
211 AM EST THU FEB 16 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTINGTON HAS ISSUED A
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  515 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST WEST VIRGINIA
          ...MASON
 
AT 205 AM EST WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF MODERATE TO
HEAVY RAIN OVER MASON COUNTY MOVING SLOWLY SOUTHEASTWARD. THE GROUND
IS WATER SOAKED AND THIS ADDED RAINFALL WILL ONLY AGGRAVATE THE FLOOD
POTENTIAL. THE MASON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTS THAT THE ROADWAYS ARE
STILL IN GOOD CONDITION...HOWEVER...THE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL CAN
QUICKLY CHANGE THIS SITUATION.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT.  IT'S
IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO STREAMS...RIVERS...OR
CREEKS WHICH CAN BECOME KILLERS IN HEAVY RAINS.  CAMPERS SHOULD
AVOID CAMPING ALONG STREAMS OR CREEKS DURING THREATENING RAINS.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
BUSER

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 15, 9:08 PM EST, 5 hours 3 minutes before
URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KENTUCKY
907 PM EST WED FEB 15 1989

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY FOR
   TONIGHT...

AT 845 PM...SEVERAL SMALL STREAMS IN MORGAN COUNTY WERE OUT OF THERE
BANKS. THE STREAMS WERE FLOODING SOME LOW LYING AREAS. ALSO...KY 7
NEAR WRIGLEY...KENTUCKY HAD STANDING WATER ON THE ROAD. MOST OF
THE CREEKS AND STREAMS IN MORGAN COUNTY WERE SLOWLY RECEDING.

LIGHT RAIN CONTINUED TO FALL OVER MOST OF NORTHERN HALF OF SOUTHEAST
KENTUCKY AT 845 PM. THE RAIN WAS FALLING NORTH OF A LINE FROM LONDON
TO PIKEVILLE. THE LIGHT RAIN IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE IN MUCH OF
KENTUCKY THROUGH 1100 PM.

SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY RESIDENTS...PARTICULARLY THOSE LIVING NEAR STREAMS
OR AREA THAT ARE PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE ALERT AND PREPARED
TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR IF A WARNING IS
IS ISSUED.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECONIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING AND FLASH FLOODS.

IN THE SALYERSVILLE AREA...THE LICKING RIVER WAS AT 17.7 FEET LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. FLOOD STAGE IS 19 FEET.  IT WILL CREST AT 21 FEET THURSDAY
AFTERNOON.

YOU SHOULD TUNE FREQUENTLY TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO
OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

JOHNSON
Special weather statement, Feb 15, 11:01 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes before
URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KENTUCKY
1100 PM EST WED FEB 15 1989

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH CANCELLED FOR SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY...

THE INTENSITY OF RAINFALL IN SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY CONTINUED TO
BE LIGHT LATE THIS EVENING. THE LIGHT RAIN IS NOT EXPECTED TO
PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING IN THE COALFIELDS TONIGHT.

THE LIGHT RAIN CONTINUED TO FALL THROUGHOUT SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY AT
1040 PM AND IT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 100 AM THURSDAY MORNING.

SOME SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS WERE OUT OF THEIR BANKS IN MORGAN
COUNTY OF THE COALFIELDS. ALSO...KY HIGHWAY 7 NEAR WRIGLEY...
KENTUCKY HAD STANDING WATER ON THE ROAD. MOST OF THE CREEKS
AND STREAMS WERE SLOWLY RECEDING.

PEOPLE LIVING IN LOW-LYING AREAS OR IN FLOOD PRONE AREAS SHOULD
BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR
A WARNING IS ISSUED.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECONIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING.

MOTORIST SaHOULD USE CAUTION TONIGHT ON AREA ROADS. WATCH FOR STANDING
WATER ON THE HIGHWAYS AND YOU SHOULD NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOODED
ROADS.

JOHNSON
Special weather statement, Feb 16, 1:34 AM EST, 37 minutes before
URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KENTUCKY
130 AM EST THU FEB 16 1989

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH CANCELLED FOR SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY...

GENERALLY LIGHT RAIN CONTINUED OVER MOST OF SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY EARLY
THIS MORNING AT 115 AM. THE RAIN HAD BEEN FALLING AROUND THE REGION
THROUGH THE NIGHTTIME HOURS BUT AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN LESS THAN A QUARTER
OF AN INCH FOR SINCE SUNSET. ALTHOUGH THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN
CANCELLED TONIGHT..A FEW CREEKS AND STREAMS MAY GRADUALLY OVERFLOW
AND FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS. NO LARGE AMOUNT OF WATER IS EXPECTED TO
RAPIDLY FLOOD THE AREA OVERNIGHT. LIGHT RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
4 AM AROUND SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY.

WITH MOST OF THE AREAS WATERWAYS VERY FULL THIS MORNING AND RAIN
CONTINUING..IT WOULD BE ADVANTAGOUS TO REMAIN ALERT FOR MINOR FLOODING.
CONTINUE TO WATCH FOR WATER PONDING ON ROADS..POORLY DRAINING DITCHES..
LOW LANDS WHERE FLOODING IS NORMAL IN THIS TYPE OF SITUATION AND IN CITY
STREETS WERE EXCESSIVE WATER HAS CREATED PROBLEMS WITH DRAINAGE SYSTEMS.
ULLOM

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West Virginia, 1989Every flash flood warning in 1989

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.