Alert archive / Massachusetts / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

July 3, 1997Franklin County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this flash flood warning at Jul 3, 1997, 8:49 PM EDT for Franklin County, Massachusetts. 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 3, 1997, 8:49 PM EDT (00:49 UTC)
Expired
Jul 3, 1997, 11:45 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area
Whole counties

County Franklin County, MA

The nearest sounding before it

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 102 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, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 1997-07-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 373 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 1997-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 44 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 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
373 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
896 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBOS 040049
FFWBOS
MAC011-040345-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
849 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1145 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST MASSACHUSETTS
 
   ...SOUTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY
 
AT 845 PM...SPOTTER REPORTS ALONG THE SAWMILL RIVER IN LEVERETT
INDICATED THAT HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUED AND THE SAWMILL RIVER WAS
APPROACHING BANKFULL. RAINFALL OF 2 TO 3 INCHES HAS BEEN REPORTED THUS
FAR. THUNDERSTORMS WITH TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL LIKELY PRODUCE ANOTHER
1 TO 2 INCHES IN EXTREME SOUTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY THROUGH 10 PM
RESULTING IN FLASH FL~OODING OF SMALL STREAMS.
 
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.
 
DRV/GF

The office that day

Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 3, 8:27 PM EDTTornado WarningBOXFranklin, Worcester63 min
Jul 3, 8:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXHampshire61 min
Jul 3, 9:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXMiddlesex68 min
Jul 3, 10:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXBristol, Plymouth69 min
Jul 3, 11:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXBarnstable52 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Massachusetts, 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.