Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 137, NWS Charleston, WV

August 8, 1996Pocahontas County, Randolph County, Webster County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Aug 8, 1996, 10:08 PM EDT for Pocahontas County, Randolph County, Webster County, West Virginia. It was in force for 3 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
Aug 8, 1996, 10:08 PM EDT (02:08 UTC)
Expired
Aug 9, 1996, 1:00 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pocahontas County, WV, Randolph County, WV, Webster County, WV

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 143 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:19 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 209 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 1996-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 49 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 1996-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
49 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-153 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
986 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
97 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 KCRW 090210
FFWCRW
WVC075-083-101-090500-
 
BULLETIN
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
1008 PM EDT THU AUG 8 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  100 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...POCAHONTAS COUNTY
 
IN NORTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...RANDOLPH COUNTY
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...WEBSTER COUNTY
 
THE FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS FOR THESE COUNTIES HAVE BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 1
AM. WHILE MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION HAS ENDED RISES ON CREEKS AND
STREAMS WILL CONTINUE WITH CRESTS EXPECTED BETWEEN AROUND MIDNIGHT AND
1 AM.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING 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. DO NOT DRIVE AROUND POLICE BARRICADES.

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, Aug 8, 6:25 PM EDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before
KYZ100>105-107-119-090000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
621 PM EDT THU AUG 8 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 935 HAS BEEN CANCELLED IN
EASTERN KENTUCKY...

THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WHICH PRODUCED HAZARDOUS WEATHER EARLIER
TODAY HAS DIMINISHED SOME IN INTENSITY AS IT HAS MOVED SOUTH THROUGH
NORTHERN KENTUCKY.  AS A RESULT..THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS
BEEN DISCONTINUED IN EASTERN KENTUCKY.

END/R*EZEK
Special weather statement, Aug 8, 7:47 PM EDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before
WVZ007>011-016>020-028>032-039-040-047-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-090100-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
745 PM EDT THU AUG 8 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CANCELLED..>.

THE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEASTERN OHIO AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
HAVE WEAKENED DURING THE LAST HOUR...DIMINISHING THE THREAT OF
DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL. THEREFORE THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS
BEEN CANCELLED.

END/LDW

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West 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.