Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 15, 1990Rockingham County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at May 15, 1990, 5:28 PM EDT for Rockingham County, Virginia. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 1990, 5:28 PM EDT (21:28 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1990, 7:30 PM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

County Rockingham County, VA

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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 137 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1990-05-15Temperature 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 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1990-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 79 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
NaN m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
145 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 KWBC 152131
FFWWBC
VAC165-152330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
528 PM EDT TUE MAY 15 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
          ...NORTHERN ROCKINGHAM
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATES THAT A THUNDERSTORM HAS BEEN
NEARLY STATIONARY OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHERN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
DURING THE PAST HALF HOUR AND IS CONTINUING TO INTENSIFY. THE STORM
HAS BEEN CLOSE TO THE COMMUNITIES OF NEW MARKET AND BROADWAY AND MAY
BE DRIFTING SLOWLY SOUTHEAST.
 
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE
STORM...LIKELY PRODUCING FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS...CREEKS AND LOW
LYING AREAS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS.
 
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.
 
STERN

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

Local storm report, May 15, 3:27 PM EDT, 2 hours 1 minute before
WBCLSRBWI
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE, MD
STORM REPORT
330 PM EDT TUE MAY 15 1990

THE FOLLOWING IS A FOLLOW UP OF THE STORM REPORT OF 5/11/90 CONCERNING
STORM DAMAGE OF 5/10 AND AN INITIAL REPORT OF THE STORMS OF 5/13/90.

ADDENDUM TO TORNADO REPORT OF 5/11...THE TORNADO WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN
F1 ON THE FUJITA SCALE OF 0 TO 5. WINDS WERE ESTIMATED AT 100 TO 110
MPH. THE PATH LENGTH IN TWO SPOTS WAS JUDGED TO BE ABOUT 1/8TH OF A
MILE LONG AND 65 TO 100 FT. WIDE.

DATE/TIME          LOCATION                   DAMAGE
5/10 610PM EDT    N.E. DORCHESTER CO.      MANY LARGE TREES DOWN
                                           BETWEEN STATE ROADS
                                           14 AND 313 IN THE
                                           MARSHYHOPE AREA.

5/13 435PM TO     N. CENTRAL CARROLL CO.   LIMBS ON ROADWAYS AND
     440PM                                 LARGE TREES DOWN IN
                                           FRIZZELLBURG AREA JUST
                                           NORTH OF WESTMINSTER.

5/13 610PM        BETWEEN LA PLATA AND     LARGE TREES DOWN SOUTH
                  WHITE PLAINS EAST OF     OF WHITE PLAINS PARK
                  RT. 301.

5/13 630PM        SASSAFRAS RIVER AREA     A MACHINE SHED WAS DESTOYED
                  BETWEEN LOCUST GROVE     AND A CAR WAS THROWN SEVERAL
                  AND GALENA.              YARDS INTO A HOUSE. TIN FROM
                                           THE SHED WAS DEPOSITED CLOSE
                                           TO 1/4 ML AWAY. SEVERAL EYE
                                           WITNESSES INCLUDING A LOCAL
                                           FARMER AND SEVERAL FIRE DEPT.
                                           WORKERS REPORTED A SMALL
                                           FUNNEL WHICH CAME DOWN TO
                                           THE GROUND FOR AN INSTANT
                                           AND QUICKLY MOVED BACK INTO
                                           THE CLOUDS. A SMALL BARELY
                                           DISCERNIBLE PATH WAS ALSO
                                           REPORTED. THE FUNNEL WAS
                                           ESTIMATED TO BE 30 TO 40 FT
                                           WIDE.

WEATHER SERVICE PERSONNEL ON DUTY AT WSO BALTIMORE INDICATE THAT THIS
STORM FOLLOWED THE FLOW AND THE TIME FRAME OF THE TORNADO AT MIDDLETOWN
IN FREDERICK CO. SO IT APPEARS THAT A SMALL TORNADO REGENERATED FROM
THE SAME STORM SYSTEM. THE TORNADO WAS JUDGED TO BE AN F0 ON THE FUJITA
SCALE BASED ON THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE, THE SMALL PATH AND NARROW
FUNNEL WIDTH. BEST WIND ESTIMATES PLACE THE SPEED AT BETWEEN 70 AND 75
MPH.

DAVIS
Local storm report, May 15, 3:29 PM EDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before
WBCLSRBWI
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE, MD
STORM REPORT
330 PM EDT TUE MAY 15 1990

THE FOLLOWING IS A FOLLOW UP OF THE STORM REPORT OF 5/11/90 CONCERNING
STORM DAMAGE OF 5/10 AND AN INITIAL REPORT OF THE STORMS OF 5/13/90.

ADDENDUM TO TORNADO REPORT OF 5/11...THE TORNADO WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN
F1 ON THE FUJITA SCALE OF 0 TO 5. WINDS WERE ESTIMATED AT 100 TO 110
MPH. THE PATH LENGTH IN TWO SPOTS WAS JUDGED TO BE ABOUT 1/8TH OF A
MILE LONG AND 65 TO 100 FT. WIDE.

DATE/TIME          LOCATION                   DAMAGE
5/10 610PM EDT    N.E. DORCHESTER CO.      MANY LARGE TREES DOWN
                                           BETWEEN STATE ROADS
                                           14 AND 313 IN THE
                                           MARSHYHOPE AREA.

5/13 435PM TO     N. CENTRAL CARROLL CO.   LIMBS ON ROADWAYS AND
     440PM                                 LARGE TREES DOWN IN
                                           FRIZZELLBURG AREA JUST
                                           NORTH OF WESTMINSTER.

5/13 610PM        BETWEEN LA PLATA AND     LARGE TREES DOWN SOUTH
                  WHITE PLAINS EAST OF     OF WHITE PLAINS PARK
                  RT. 301. CHARLES CO.

5/13 630PM        SASSAFRAS RIVER AREA     A MACHINE SHED WAS DESTOYED
                  BETWEEN LOCUST GROVE     AND A CAR WAS THROWN SEVERAL
                  AND GALENA. KENT CO.     YARDS INTO A HOUSE. TIN FROM
                                           THE SHED WAS DEPOSITED CLOSE
                                           TO 1/4 ML AWAY. SEVERAL EYE
                                           WITNESSES INCLUDING A LOCAL
                                           FARMER AND SEVERAL FIRE DEPT.
                                           WORKERS REPORTED A SMALL
                                           FUNNEL WHICH CAME DOWN TO
                                           THE GROUND FOR AN INSTANT
                                           AND QUICKLY MOVED BACK INTO
                                           THE CLOUDS. A SMALL BARELY
                                           DISCERNIBLE PATH WAS ALSO
                                           REPORTED. THE FUNNEL WAS
                                           ESTIMATED TO BE 30 TO 40 FT
                                           WIDE.

WEATHER SERVICE PERSONNEL ON DUTY AT WSO BALTIMORE INDICATE THAT THIS
STORM FOLLOWED THE FLOW AND THE TIME FRAME OF THE TORNADO AT MIDDLETOWN
IN FREDERICK CO. SO IT APPEARS THAT A SMALL TORNADO REGENERATED FROM
THE SAME STORM SYSTEM. THE TORNADO WAS JUDGED TO BE AN F0 ON THE FUJITA
SCALE BASED ON THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE, THE SMALL PATH AND NARROW
FUNNEL WIDTH. BEST WIND ESTIMATES PLACE THE SPEED AT BETWEEN 70 AND 75
MPH.

DAVIS

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

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.