Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 31, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 22, 1998Cass County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this flash flood warning at Jul 22, 1998, 12:21 AM CDT for Cass County, Iowa. 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 22, 1998, 12:21 AM CDT (05:21 UTC)
Expired
Jul 22, 1998, 3:00 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Cass County, IA

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 120 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1998-07-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1959 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1998-07-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 111 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1959 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-218 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
991 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
350 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
15.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 220521
FFWDSM
IAC029-220800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1221 AM CDT WED JUL 22 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN IOWA

* UNTIL 300 AM CDT

* AT 1220 AM CDT... AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM
  WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG AND JUST SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80...
  MOVING SOUTH AT LESS THAN 5 MPH.

* UP TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN IS EXPECTED...ESPEICALLY IN THE NORTH END OF
  THE COUNTY. THIS WILL CAUSE RAPID RISES ALONG TRIBUTARIES OF THE
  NISHNABOTNA RIVER.

SOME STREAMS AFFECTED INCLUDE...
  CAMP CREEK
  BUCK CREEK
  TROUBLESOME CREEK
  T*URKEY CREEK

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGER OF FLOODING.

PYTLAK

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 21, 10:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086-
092>097-221100-

CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1050 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 1998

HAZARD--THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL.
3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT.  THERE IS A SMALL
THREAT FOR LOCALIZED DAMAGING WIND.

TIMING--BETWEEN 1040 PM AND 6 AM.

AREA OF CONCERN--HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE
ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80.  3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN WILL FALL
OVERNIGHT.  A STORM OR TWO COULD PRODUCE HAIL TO ONE INCH BUT THE
GREATER THREAT WILL BE THE TORRENTIAL RAIN AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS--THUNDERSTORMS ARE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING ALONG
A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN CENTRAL IOWA.  PRECIPITABLE WATER
AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF TWO INCHES ARE POOLING ALONG THIS BOUNDARY.
STORMS WILL TRAIN ALONG THIS BOUNDARY THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT
CAUSING LONG DURATIONS OF HEAVY RAIN.  A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE
NEEDED FOR COUNTIES ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80 BECAUSE OF THE
HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL.

PRECAUTIONS--IF RIVERS RISE RAPIDLY MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND
IMMEDIATELY.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS.  EMERGENCY
MANAGERS SHOULD MONITOR RIVER LEVELS IN THEIR COUNTIES.

FAB
Special weather statement, Jul 21, 10:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086-
092>097-221100-

CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1050 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 1998

HAZARD--THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL.
3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT.  THERE IS A SMALL
THREAT FOR LOCALIZED DAMAGING WIND.

TIMING--BETWEEN 1040 PM AND 6 AM.

AREA OF CONCERN--HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE
ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80.  3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN WILL FALL
OVERNIGHT.  A STORM OR TWO COULD PRODUCE HAIL TO ONE INCH BUT THE
GREATER THREAT WILL BE THE TORRENTIAL RAIN AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS--THUNDERSTORMS ARE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING ALONG
A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN CENTRAL IOWA.  PRECIPITABLE WATER
AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF TWO INCHES ARE POOLING ALONG THIS BOUNDARY.
STORMS WILL TRAIN ALONG THIS BOUNDARY THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT
CAUSING LONG DURATIONS OF HEAVY RAIN.  A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE
NEEDED FOR COUNTIES ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80 BECAUSE OF THE
HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL.

PRECAUTIONS--IF RIVERS RISE RAPIDLY MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND
IMMEDIATELY.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS.  EMERGENCY
MANAGERS SHOULD MONITOR RIVER LEVELS IN THEIR COUNTIES.

FAB

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 21, 10:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPolk31 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Iowa, 1998Every flash flood warning in 1998

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.