Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS Baltimore/Washington

October 18, 1990Culpeper County, Madison County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Oct 18, 1990, 2:56 PM EDT for Culpeper County, Madison County, Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 18, 1990, 2:56 PM EDT (18:56 UTC)
Expired
Oct 18, 1990, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties Culpeper County, VA, Madison 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, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 83 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 1990-10-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 8 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1990-10-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 231 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
8 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-299 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
702 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
231 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
203 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 181857
FFWWBC
VAC047-061-113-182200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
256 PM EDT THU OCT 18 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...CULPEPER COUNTY
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...FAUQUIER COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...EASTERN MADISON COUNTY
 
RADAR HAS INDICATED AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN OVER THE WARNING AREA FOR THE
PAST SEVERAL HOURS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF OVER AN INCH HAVE BEEN
COMMON WITH MADISON VIRGINIA REPORTING 2.28.
 
HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT ONE TO TWO HOURS IN THE
COUNTIES...AND MINOR FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS IS LIKELY AS THE HEAVY
RAIN RUNS OFF INTO STREAMS AND CREEKS.
 
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.
 
HITCHENS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 18, 1:55 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFairfax, Fauquier, Prince William40 min
Oct 18, 2:56 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXFauquier3 hr
Oct 18, 3:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXArlington, Fairfax, Prince William58 min

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.