Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 98, NWS Charleston, WV

July 19, 1996Braxton County, Gilmer County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Jul 19, 1996, 6:27 PM EDT for Braxton County, Gilmer 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
Jul 19, 1996, 6:27 PM EDT (22:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 19, 1996, 9:30 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Braxton County, WV, Gilmer County, WV

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:28 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 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 187 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 12:00Z on 1996-07-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1573 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 12:00Z on 1996-07-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 259 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
1573 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
259 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.1
Supercell composite
10.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCRW 192231
FFWCRW
WVC007-021-200130-
 
BULLETIN
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
627 PM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...S...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...BRAXTON COUNTY...SOUTHERN GILMER COUNTY
 
RAIN GAGES AND RADAR INDICATED UP TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE PAST 11/2
HOURS IN SOUTHERN GILMER AND NORTHERN BRAXTON COUNTIES. THUNDERSTORMS
WILL CONTINUE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. PRECIPITATION WILL END IN
GILMER COUNTY BY 630 PM EDT.
 
LOW LYING AREAS OR AREAS THAT FLOOD DURING HEAVY RAINS WILL EXPERIENCE
MINOR FLOODING DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.
 
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. WATCH OUT FOR MUD@ SLIDES.

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, Jul 19, 5:40 PM EDT, 47 minutes before
WVZ005>011-013>020-026>032-036>040-046-047-192200-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
539 PM EDT FRI JUL 19 1996

...THE TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA HAS BEEN
   CANCELLED...

...THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST OHIO AND NORTHERN
   WEST VIRGINIA HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA IS BEGINNING TO
USHER DRIER AIR INTO THE REGION.  THUNDERSTORMS tEARLIER IN THE
EVENING HAVE ALSO HELPED TO REDUCE THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER.

THESE FACTORS HAVE LEAD TO THE CANCELLATION OF THE WATCH.

BELK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 19, 9:44 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXBarbour4 hr
Jul 19, 10:35 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXRandolph6 hr
Jul 19, 2:13 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXBarbour4 hr
Jul 19, 2:49 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXPleasants, Tyler3 hr
Jul 19, 4:21 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXUpshur4 hr
Jul 19, 4:32 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXRandolph4 hr

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.