Alert archive / New Mexico / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 12, NWS Albuquerque, NM

July 30, 1997Bernalillo County, Valencia County, New Mexico

NWS Albuquerque, NM issued this flash flood warning at Jul 30, 1997, 6:39 PM MDT for Bernalillo County, Valencia County, New Mexico. 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
Jul 30, 1997, 6:39 PM MDT (00:39 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 1997, 8:45 PM MDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Albuquerque, NM
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bernalillo County, NM, Valencia County, NM

The nearest sounding before it

Albuquerq/Krtlnd, NM (KABQ), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 23 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, Albuquerq/Krtlnd, NM at 00:00Z on 1997-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 133 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, Albuquerq/Krtlnd, NM at 00:00Z on 1997-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -42 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
133 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-79 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1391 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-15 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 KABQ 310037
FFWABQ
NMC001-061-310245-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
639 PM MDT WED JUL 30 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL NEW MEXICO
 
   ...BERNALILLO COUNTY...VALENCIA COUNTY
 
AT 630 PM RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MIDDLE RIO
GRANDE VALLEY. MOVEMENT WAS NORTH NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH. THESE STORMS ARE
TRACKING OVER AREAS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED NEARLY ONE INCH OF RAIN
SINCE 430 PM. THIS RAIN WILL FALL ON SATURATED GROUND FURTHER
AGGRAVATING THIS FLASH FLOOD SITUATION. HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE OVER THE
MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY TIL AROUND 730 PM.
 
BOTH LOCALIZED AND DISTANT HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CREATE DANGEROUS
FLOWS IN ARROYOS AND OVER LOW WATER CROSSINGS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
DRIVE THROUGH THESE WATERS. WATER IN ARROYOS MAY TRAVEL MANY @MILES
AND TAKE HOURS TO REACH YOUR LOCATION FROM UPSTREAM RAIN AREAS.

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 30, 4:44 PM MDT, 1 hour 55 minutes before
NMZ009-302315

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  ALBUQUERQUE NM
444 PM MDT WED JUL 30 1997

VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING ACROSS THE ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA.
THIS STORM IS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINS WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF
A HALF INCH TO ONE INCH IN LESS THAN 15 MINUTES.  NUMEROUS REPORTS
OF PEA SIZE HAIL HAVE ALSO BEEN RECEIVED.

MOTORIST SHOULD DRIVE WITH EXTREME CAUTION AS WATER WILL BE FLOWING
RAPIDLY IN STREETS.  SOME LOW SPOTS AND INTERSECTION MAY BE FLOODED.
WATER WILL RISE RAPIDLY IN ARROYOS...EVEN IF IT IS NOT RAINING IN
YOUR AREA...SO KEEP CHILDREN AND PETS AWAY FROM ARROYOS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Albuquerque, NM issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 6:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABQSanta Fe39 min
Jul 31, 12:08 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningABQGuadalupe, Lincoln3 hr
Jul 31, 12:47 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningABQChaves, De Baca3 hr
Jul 31, 3:58 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningABQChaves, De Baca, Guadalupe, Lincoln3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in New Mexico, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997

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.