Alert archive / Washington / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Pendleton, OR

January 31, 1997Umatilla County, Oregon; Columbia County, Walla Walla County, Washington

NWS Pendleton, OR issued this flash flood warning at Jan 31, 1997, 9:34 AM PST for Umatilla County, Oregon; Columbia County, Walla Walla County, Washington. It was in force for 4 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
Jan 31, 1997, 9:34 AM PST (17:34 UTC)
Expired
Jan 31, 1997, 2:00 PM PST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Pendleton, OR
Area
Whole counties

Counties Umatilla County, OR, Columbia County, WA, Walla Walla County, WA

The nearest sounding before it

Spokane, WA (KOTX), launched 12:00Z, 5.6 hours before the alert went out and 238 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, Spokane, WA at 12:00Z on 1997-01-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 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, Spokane, WA at 12:00Z on 1997-01-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -6 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
520 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPDT 311739
FFWPDT
ORC059-061-063-WAC013-071-312130-
 
BULLETIN
SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
934 AM PST FRI JAN 31 1997
 
A SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING
LOCATIONS UNTIL 2:00 PM...
 
IN NORTHEAST OREGON
 
   ...EASTERN UMATILLA COUNTY...UNION COUNTY...WALLOWA COUNTY
 
 
IN SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON
 
   ...COLUMBIA COUNTY...EASTERN WALLA WALLA COUNTY
 
AREAS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUE THIS MORNING. 24 HOUR
RAINFALL TOTALS ALONG THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
MOUNTAINS HAS RANGED BETWEEN HALF TO AN INCH OF RAIN. MANY SMALL STREAMS
ARE AT BANKFUL AND APPROACHING FLOOD STAGE.
 
SEVERAL ROADS IN EASTERN WALLA WALLA COUNTY HAVE BEEN CLOSED DUE TO MUD
SLIDES. SPOTTERS THIS MORNING ALONG THE SMALL STREAMS REPORT A RISE IN N
RALL STREAMS OVERNIGHT. THE RAIN IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THE
AFTERNOON BEFORE TAPERING OFF THIS EVENING.
 
IF YOU LIVE NEAR SMALL STREAMS YOU SHOULD MONITOR THERE RISE CAREFULLY.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THIS IS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF
DEATHS IN FLOODIND EVENTS.
 
SOLOMON

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.

NWS Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jan 31, 8:03 AM PST, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 8:03 AM PST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
800 AM PST FRI JAN 31 1997

SN IS GONE AT KPDT THIS AM.  FEW CWA LOCATIONS REPORTG MOD RA.  NEW
QPS AMOUNT FOR MEH LOW FOR FIRST PERIOD.  FORECAST AMOUNT OF 0.25
12-18Z AND KMEH ALREADY RECIEVED 0.25 ATTM.  STLT WATER VAPOR
SHOWS BACK EDGE OF FRNT MOVG ONTO N ORE COAST.  KAST OBS ALSO
INDICATE FRNT IS THRU THERE.  FRNT SHOULD BE IN KALW/KPDT AREA NR
00Z.  PCPN SHWRY BHND FRNT TIL TROF PASSAGE SAT EVE.  ZONES LOOK
GOOD WITH ONLY MINOR CHGS.  WILL LWR SN LVLS IN MTNS SAT.  SB

PDT 9633  ALW 9633  PSC 8522  YKM 9522

.PDT...FLOOD WATCH ORE ZONES 17>20.
       FLOOD WATCH WA ZONE 24.
       SEE ALSO PDXFFWPDT FOR SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNINGS.

.KPDT...VCP21/CSR21 OPERATIONAL.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pendleton, OR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 30, 9:35 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTUmatilla, Union, Wallowa8 hr
Jan 31, 9:34 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTUnion, Wallowa4 hr
Jan 31, 10:35 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTUmatilla, Union, Wallowa6 hr
Jan 31, 10:35 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTMorrow6 hr
Jan 31, 3:50 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTUmatilla, Union, Wallowa4 hr
Jan 31, 3:50 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTMorrow4 hr
Jan 30, 9:35 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTWalla Walla8 hr
Jan 31, 10:35 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTColumbia, Walla Walla6 hr
Jan 31, 2:27 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningPDTWalla Walla12 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Washington, 1997Flash Flood Warnings in Oregon, 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.