Alert archive / Maryland / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989

Flash Flood Warning 48, NWS Charleston, WV

July 6, 1989Allegany County, Garrett County, Maryland

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Jul 6, 1989, 3:33 PM EDT for Allegany County, Garrett County, Maryland. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 6, 1989, 3:33 PM EDT (19:33 UTC)
Expired
Jul 6, 1989, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Allegany County, MD, Garrett County, MD

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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 133 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1989-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 406 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1989-07-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 9 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
406 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
689 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Jul 6, 2:26 PM EDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
WEST VIRGINIA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
215 PM EDT THU JUL 6 1989

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING FROM NORTHERN PUTNAM COUNTY
THROUGH JACKSON COUNTY TO NORTHERN ROANE AND SOUTHERN WIRT COUNTIES.
THESE STORMS ARE  MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 25 MPH.

BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING CAN BE EXPECTED
FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS AS THE STORMS CONTINUE THEIR NORTHEAST
MOVEMENT.

THE STORMS SHOULD MOVE INTO PORTIONS OF CALHOUN AND RITCHIE COUNTIES
BY 330 PM. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
RAPIDLY RISING WATER ALONG CREEKS AND STREAMS AND FOR WATER COVERING
ROADWAYS.

ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM IS DEVELOPING IN SOUTHERN WAYNE COUNTY AND SHOULD
BE MOVING INTO LINCOLN COUNTY BY 4 PM.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOODING...CALL YOUR NEAREST
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND HAVE THEM PASS THE REPORT TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

DGH
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 3:11 PM EDT, 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE-ELKINS, WV
3 PM EDT WED JUL 06 1989

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON FOR WESTERN
MARYLAND. THE POTOMAC HIGHLANDS AND EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST
VIRGINIA...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADARS SHOW MODERATE SHOWERS..AND SOME
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA EAST INTO
WESTERN MARYLAND AT 3 PM EDT. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AREA
MOVING VERY SLOWLY TO THE NORTHEAST.

THESE SHOWERS INCREASE VERY QUICKLY IN INTENSITY..PRODUCING VERY
HEAVY LOCAL DOWNPOURS THEN DECREASING IN STRENGTH. DIRECTLY UNDER
THESE STORMS..THE RUNOFF MAY CAUSE SMALLER STREAMS AND RIVERS TO
RISE VERY RAPIDLY.

IF YOU LIVE NEAR..OR ARE CLOSE TO A SMALL STREAM OR RIVER..AND A
SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORMS MOVES OVER OF UPSTREAM FROM YOU..KEEP A CLOSE
WATCH ON WATER LEVELS. SEEK HIGHER GROUND IF YOU NOTICE A RAPID RISE
OF WATER LEVEL.

NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.
DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

PEOPLE IN WEST VIRGINIA AND WESTERN MARYLAND  ARE URGED TO STAY ALERT
AND LISTEN TO COMMERCIAL RADIO..TV..OR WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER
STATEMENTS OR lPOSSIBLE WARNINGS. REPORT ANY FLOODING TO YOUR NEAREST
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

END/HILL

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 6, 3:09 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXPutnam96 min
Jul 6, 5:27 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXMineral3 hr
Jul 6, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXHampshire, Hardy63 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Maryland, 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.