Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

June 14, 1990Marshall County, West Virginia

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this flash flood warning at Jun 14, 1990, 9:08 PM EDT for Marshall County, West Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 14, 1990, 9:08 PM EDT (01:08 UTC)
Expired
Jun 15, 1990, 12:00 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Marshall 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 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 78 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 00:00Z on 1990-06-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 567 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 00:00Z on 1990-06-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -38 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
567 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1165 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPIT 150109
FFWPIT
PAC003-WVC051-150400-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
908 PM EDT THU JUN 14 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN WEST PENNSYLVANIA
 
   ...ALLEGHENY COUNTY
 
 
IN THE WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE
 
   ...MARSHALL COUNTY
 
WEATHER RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALLEGHENY COUNTY IN
PENNSYLVANIA...AND MARSHALL COUNTY IN THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST
VIRGINIA PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINS. SOME ROADWAY FLOODING HAS BEEN
OBSERVED. MORE RAIN MOVING INTO THE AREA WILL BRING STREAMS AND
CREEKS OUT OF THIER BANKS.
 
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.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS 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.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
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.

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, Jun 14, 8:09 PM EDT, 59 minutes before
PAZ001>006-013>015-WVZ001-150400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND WEATHER RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
810 PM EDT THU JUN 14 1990

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR ALLEGHENY COUNTY UNTIL 900 PM...
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR BEAVER COUNTY UNTIL 845 PM...
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY AND BROOKE
   COUNTIES UNTIL 830 PM...

AT 810 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A NUMEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER
THE SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AREA AND THE NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
PANHANDLE.

ONE SEVERE STORM WAS IN SOUTHEASTERN BEAVER COUNTY...JUST ENTERING
NORTHWESTERN ALLEGHENY COUNTY NEAR THE GREATER PITTSBURGH AIRPORT.

THIS STORM WILL MOVE INTO THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH BETWEEN 815 AND 830
PM.  EXPECT DAMAGING WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...HAIL AND VERY HEAVY
RAINS AS IT MOVES THROUGH.

DRIVERS ON THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE...INTERSTATE 70....79 AND THE
PARKWAY IN THE PITTSBURGH METROPOLITAIN AREA WILL ENCOUNTER SEVERE
WEATHER.  SLOW DOWN WHEN ENCOUNTERING HEAVY RAINS.

ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS NEAR THE BORDER OF BROOKE AND
WASHINGTON COUNTY BETWEEN WELLSBURG AND AVELLA.

IF DANGEROUS WEATHER APPROACHES...MOVE INDOORS AT ONCE.  c

HEAVY RAINS CAN CAUSE RAPID RISES IN STREAM AND CREEKS.

IF YOU ARE BOATING AND SEE SKIES DARKENING...MOVE TO SHORE AT ONCE.
Special weather statement, Jun 14, 8:40 PM EDT, 28 minutes before
PAZ001>006-013>015-WVZ001-150500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND WEATHER RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
835 PM EDT THU JUN 14 1990

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR ALLEGHENY COUNTY UNTIL 900 PM...
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR BEAVER COUNTY UNTIL 845 PM...
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EXPIRED FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY AND BROOKE
   COUNTIES...

AT 835 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER BEAVER AND
ALLEGHENY COUNTIES.  THE STRONGEST STORM IN PENNSYLVANIA WAS IN THE
EASTERN SUBURBS OF PITTSBURGH NEAR PENN HILLS.

IN THE NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE...THE MOST POTENT STORM WAS
BETWEEN WEST WEST LIBERTY AND WELLSBURG.

THESE STORMS ARE BRINGING VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...AS WELL AS DAMAGING
WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE WEAKEN SLIGHTLY WILL STILL PRODUCE STRONG WINDS
AND HAIL.

IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR SO OVER
MANY AREAS IN SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AND THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF
WEST VIRGINIA.

REMEMBER...HEAVY RAINS CAN CAUSE RAPID RISES IN STREAM AND CREEKS. IN
ADDITION...HEAVY THUNDERSTORM RAINS CAN CAUSE FLOODING OF ROADWAYS AND
POOR DRAINAGE AREAS TOO.

IF YOU LIVE NEAR A STREAM OF CREEK...KEEP ALERT FOR RISES IF HEAVY
RAINS PERSIST OVER YOUR AREA.

PALKO/STAIRS/HIGGINS/R. SMITH/DRAKE/KOHLHAGEN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 14, 8:45 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZOhio3 hr
Jun 14, 11:19 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZMarshall, Ohio5 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West 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.