Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989

Flash Flood Warning 70, NWS Charleston, WV

August 23, 1989Randolph County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Aug 23, 1989, 9:35 AM EDT for Randolph County, West Virginia. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 23, 1989, 9:35 AM EDT (13:35 UTC)
Expired
Aug 23, 1989, 11:45 AM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

County Randolph 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 183 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 1989-08-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 90 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 1989-08-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 0 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
90 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
783 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
0 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
0 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 KEKN 231336
FFWEKN
WVC083-231545-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKINS WV
935 AM EDT WED AUG 23 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ELKINS HAS EXTENDED THE
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1145 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...

IN NORTH WEST VIRGINIA
          ...SOUTHERN RANDOLPH

SMALL STREAMS ARE OUT OR STARTING OUT OF THEIR BANKS ACROSS SOUTHERN
RANDOLPH COUNTY FROM ELKINS SOUTH TO VALLEY HEAD AND WEST TO PICKENS.
THE MIDDLE FORK RIVER AT ADOLPH IS STARTING TO OVERFLOW ITS BANKS. 
HEAVY RAINS ARE REPORTED ACROSS SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWEST RANDOLPH     
COUNTY BY RADAR AND SURFACE REPORTS. NORTHERN AND NORTHEAST RANDOLPH
COUNTY ARE OUT OF THE RAIN FOR THE PRESENT TIME.

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.

MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.

GILKERSON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 23, 5:27 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXRandolph2 hr
Aug 23, 7:25 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXRandolph2 hr
Aug 23, 8:37 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXUpshur3 hr
Aug 23, 8:37 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXLewis2 hr
Aug 23, 11:44 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXRandolph, Upshur2 hr
Aug 23, 4:25 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXBraxton, Webster3 hr

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.