Alert archive / Washington / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Seattle, WA

February 8, 1996Klickitat County, Skamania County, Washington

NWS Seattle, WA issued this flash flood warning at Feb 8, 1996, 11:40 PM PST for Klickitat County, Skamania County, Washington. It was in force for 2 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
Feb 8, 1996, 11:40 PM PST (07:40 UTC)
Expired
Feb 9, 1996, 1:45 AM PST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Seattle, WA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Klickitat County, WA, Skamania County, WA

The nearest sounding before it

Salem/Mcnary, OR (KSLE), launched 00:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 172 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, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 00:00Z on 1996-02-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 81 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, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 00:00Z on 1996-02-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 62 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
81 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
594 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
74 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
62 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 KSEA 090748
FFWSEA
WAC039-059-090945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
1140 PM PST THU FEB 8 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  145 AM PST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON

   ...EASTERN SKAMANIA COUNTY AND WESTERN KLICKITAT COUNTY...

CONDIT DAM ON THE WHITE SALMON RIVER FAILED AT 11 PM. 50,000 CFS OF WATEWITH CONSIDERABLE DEBRIS IS MOVING DOWN THE WHITE SALMON RIVER. THE
HIGHWAY 14 BRIDGE OVER THE WHITE SALMON RIVER WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY BE
WASHED AWAY.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION.  TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY TO PROTECT LIFE
AND PROPERTY.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

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
O"NE...ON FOOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

BURKE

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

Local storm report, Feb 8, 6:49 PM PST, 4 hours 51 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
650 PM THU FEB 8 1996

TIME(PST) ...CITY LOCATION.. ...STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE      ...COUNTY LOCATION....

600 PM    DUVALL              WA      HEAVY RAINFALL.
2/8/96    KING                        KING 4  REPORTS 3.00 INCHES
                                      OF RAINFALL IN PAST 24 HOURS.

600 PM    SEATTLE             WA      HEAVY RAINFALL
2/8/96    KING                        KING 21 REPORTS 2.05 INCHES
                                      IN PAST 24 HOURS.
Local storm report, Feb 8, 7:51 PM PST, 3 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
750 PM THU FEB 8 1996

TIME(PST) ...CITY LOCATION.. ...STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE      ...COUNTY LOCATION....

750 PM    MAZAMA              WA      HEAVY RAINFALL.
2/8/96    OKANOGAN                    OKANOGAN 4 GOT 1.59 INCHES
                                      WATER EQUIVALENT IN 24 HOURS.
                                      6.5 INCHES NEW SNOW
                                      50 INCHES ON THE GROUND
Local storm report, Feb 8, 8:35 PM PST, 3 hours 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
835 PM THU FEB 8 1996

TIME(PST) ...CITY LOCATION.. ...STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE      ...COUNTY LOCATION....

830 PM    REDMOND             WA      HEAVY RAINFALL.
2/8/96    KING                        KING 35 REPORTS 1.15 INCHES IN
                                      PAST 10.5 HOURS...FROM 10 AM
                                      TO 830 PM. STILL RAINING HARD.
Local storm report, Feb 8, 8:51 PM PST, 2 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
950 PM THU FEB 8 1996

TIME(PST) ...CITY LOCATION.. ...STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE      ...COUNTY LOCATION....

945 PM    BOTHELL             WA      HEAVY RAINFALL.
2/8/96    SNOHOMISH                   NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTS 2.37
                                      INCHES IN PAST 24 HOURS.

950 PM    REDMOND             WA      HEAVY RAINFALL
2/8/96    KING                        KING 28 REPORTS 1.32 INCHES
                                      SINCE 8 AM TODAY. STILL
                                      RAINING HARD.
Special weather statement, Feb 8, 9:55 PM PST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
WAZ001>003-171800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
955 PM PST THU FEB 8 1996

...RAINFALL COULD PRODUCE EXCESSIVE RUNOFF SATURDAY NIGHT...

A FRONTAL SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH LOW PRESSURE SEVERAL HUNDERED MILES
OFFSHORE WILL STALL OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY
NIGHT. RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND
CONTINUE SATURDAY NIGHT WITH BETWEEN ONE HALF AND ONE INCH OF RAIN
ACCUMULATING IN THE LOWLANDS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON BY EARLY SUNDAY
MORNING.

GROUND CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO BE SATURATED FROM THE HEAVY RAINFALL
THAT OCCURRED LAST WEEK. WHILE RAINFALL IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE
SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE FLOODING ON WESTERN WASHINGTON RIVERS...IT COULD
BE HEAVY ENOUGH TO CAUSE EXCESSIVE RUNOFF AND PONDING ON ROADWAYS.

END/ALBRECHT
Local storm report, Feb 8, 11:19 PM PST, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
1120 PM THU FEB 8 1996

TIME(PST) ...CITY LOCATION.. ...STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE      ...COUNTY LOCATION....

1120 PM   KENT                 WA     HEAVY RAINFALL.
2/8/96    KING                        3.25 INCHES PAST 24 HOURS.

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Washington, 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.