Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1993

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS Baltimore/Washington

March 4, 1993Prince William County, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Mar 4, 1993, 1:53 PM EST for Prince William County, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park, Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 4, 1993, 1:53 PM EST (18:53 UTC)
Expired
Mar 4, 1993, 5:00 PM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties City of Manassas, VA, City of Manassas Park, VA, Prince William County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:56 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 202 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 1993-03-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 1993-03-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 654 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
445 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
654 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1061 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 041859
FFWWBC
VAC179-059-107-600-610-153-683-685-043-WVC003-037-042200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
153 PM EST THU MAR 4 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  500 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...STAFFORD COUNTY
 
IN NORTH VIRGINIA
 
   ...FAIRFAX COUNTY...LOUDOUN COUNTY
 
  AND THE INDEPENDENT CITIES OF
 
   ...CITY OF FAIRFAX...FALLS CHURCH
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
 
  AND THE INDEPENDENT CITIES OF
 
   ...MANASSAS...MANASSAS PARK
 
IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...CLARKE COUNTY
 
IN NORTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...BERKELEY COUNTY...JEFFERSON COUNTY
 
THIS EXTENDS THE WARNING FOR THE COUNTIES THAT WAS SCHEDULED TO EXPIRE
AT 200PM.
 
HEAVY RAIN WILL EXIT THE WARNED COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT ONE TO TWO
HOURS.  EXTENSIVE FLOODING IS REPORTED...AND THIS SHOULD CONTINUE FOR
THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON.  HEAVIEST RAIN IN THE WARNING AREA AT THIS
TIME IS LOCATED OVER PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY.  THIS AREA WAS MOVING
RAPIDLY NORTH AT 30 TO 40 MPH.
 
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.
 
RDH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 4, 7:20 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXRockingham5 hr
Mar 4, 7:20 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Fredericksburg5 hr
Mar 4, 7:20 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Staunton5 hr
Mar 4, 9:02 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXFrederick, City of Winchester4 hr
Mar 4, 9:02 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXPage, Shenandoah, Warren4 hr
Mar 4, 9:02 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXMadison, Rappahannock4 hr
Mar 4, 9:36 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCulpeper, Orange4 hr
Mar 4, 9:36 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXFauquier4 hr
Mar 4, 9:59 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXClarke4 hr
Mar 4, 9:59 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXPrince William, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park4 hr
Mar 4, 10:35 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXArlington, City of Alexandria4 hr
Mar 4, 12:11 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Waynesboro4 hr
Mar 4, 12:11 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Staunton4 hr
Mar 4, 12:54 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXMadison, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Warren4 hr
Mar 4, 12:54 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXFrederick, City of Winchester4 hr
Mar 4, 1:34 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCulpeper, Fauquier, Orange3 hr
Mar 4, 1:53 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXClarke3 hr
Mar 4, 1:53 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Falls Church3 hr
Mar 4, 2:20 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXArlington, City of Alexandria3 hr
Mar 4, 5:00 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXClarke, Frederick3 hr
Mar 4, 5:00 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCulpeper, Fauquier3 hr
Mar 4, 5:00 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXFairfax3 hr
Mar 4, 5:00 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXLoudoun, Prince William3 hr
Mar 4, 5:00 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXArlington3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 1993Every flash flood warning in 1993

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.