Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS Baltimore/Washington

January 19, 1996Page County, Shenandoah County, Warren County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Jan 19, 1996, 8:54 AM EST for Page County, Shenandoah County, Warren County, Virginia. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 19, 1996, 8:54 AM EST (13:54 UTC)
Expired
Jan 19, 1996, 12:45 PM EST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties Page County, VA, Shenandoah County, VA, Warren County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:57 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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 90 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 1996-01-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 28 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 1996-01-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 416 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
28 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-45 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
448 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
416 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
480 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 KWBC 191352
FFWWBC
MDC001-VAC091-079-157-187-171-003-015-113-125-139-165-WVC023-
027-057-031-071-191745-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING...EXTENSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
854 AM EST FRI JAN 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS EXTENDED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST MARYLAND
 
   ...ALLEGANY COUNTY
 
 
IN  VIRGINIA
 
   ...HIGHLAND COUNTY...GREENE COUNTY...RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY...WARREN COU
Y   ...SHENANDOAH COUNTY...ALBEMARLE COUNTY...AUGUSTA COUNTY...MADISON CO
T   ...PAGE COUNTY...ROCKINGHAM COUNTY...NELSON
 
 
IN NORTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...GRANT COUNTY...MINERAL COUNTY...HARDY COUNTY...HAMPSHIRE COUNTY
   ...PENDLETON COUNTY
 
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES HEAVY RAINS CONTINUING ACROSS THE WARNED AREA.
THE RAINS ARE BEGINNING TO MOVE SLOWLY EAST. HOWEVER...ANOTHER 1 TO 3
HOURS OF RAIN IS EXPECTED...FURTHER EXACERBATING AN ALREADY
LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION.
 
DOPPLER RADAR AND SURFACE REPORTS INDICATE RAINFALL RATES OF BETWEEN 1
AND 1 AND 1/2 INCHES PER HOUR.  ADDITIONAL RAIN IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY
WILL CAUSE CATASTROPHIC FLOODS TO ENSUE.  ALREADY...THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN
WEST VIRGINIA IN PENDLETON COUNTY WAS BEING EVACUATED BEGINNING AT
AROUND 8 AM THIS MORNING.
 
EVEN AFTER THE RAIN ENDS...FLOODING WILL CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AS
SNOW MELT AND RUNOFF CONTRIBUTE ADDITIONAL WATER TO ALREADY
OVERSATURATED SOIL.  FLOODING WILL GRADUALLY END LATER TODAY AS
SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER AND DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION.
 
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.
 
 
 
&
GOLDSMITH/WALSTON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 18, 11:39 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXRappahannock4 hr
Jan 19, 12:52 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Waynesboro4 hr
Jan 19, 12:52 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXRockingham, Warren4 hr
Jan 19, 12:52 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXAugusta, Highland, City of Harrisonburg4 hr
Jan 19, 12:52 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXPage, Shenandoah4 hr
Jan 19, 12:52 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Staunton4 hr
Jan 19, 12:52 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXGreene, Madison, Rappahannock4 hr
Jan 19, 12:52 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXAlbemarle4 hr
Jan 19, 4:45 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXGreene, Madison, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, Shenandoah and 1 more4 hr
Jan 19, 4:45 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXAlbemarle, Augusta, Highland4 hr
Jan 19, 6:43 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXNelson2 hr
Jan 19, 8:29 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXClarke, Fauquier, Loudoun4 hr
Jan 19, 8:54 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXAlbemarle, Augusta, Greene, Nelson, Rockingham4 hr
Jan 19, 8:54 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXHighland4 hr
Jan 19, 8:54 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXMadison, Rappahannock4 hr
Jan 19, 9:16 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFauquier29 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 1996Every flash flood warning in 1996

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.