Alert archive / Missouri / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 36, NWS Kansas City, MO

July 30, 1998Wyandotte County, Kansas; Clay County, Jackson County, Platte County, Missouri

NWS Kansas City, MO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 30, 1998, 3:00 AM CDT for Wyandotte County, Kansas; Clay County, Jackson County, Platte County, Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued
Jul 30, 1998, 3:00 AM CDT (08:00 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 1998, 9:00 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Kansas City, MO
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Wyandotte County, KS, Clay County, MO, Jackson County, MO, Platte County, MO

The radar

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:02 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 81 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, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 1998-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1098 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, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 1998-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 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
1098 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
872 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
145 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
2.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 300807 COR
FFWMCI
KSC091-103-209-MOC047-095-165-301400-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING...CORRECTION TO HEADER
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY-PLEASANT HILL MO
300 AM CDT THU JUL 30 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PLEASANT HILL HAS ISSUED A

* URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING FOR...
     JOHNSON COUNTY IN KANSAS
     LEAVENWORTH COUNTY IN KANSAS
     WYANDOTTE COUNTY IN KANSAS
     CLAY COUNTY IN MISSOURI
     JACKSON COUNTY IN MISSOURI
     PLATTE COUNTY IN MISSOURI
     INCLUDING KANSAS CITY AND OLATHE

* UNTIL 900 AM CDT

* SOME STREAMS AND RIVERS AFFECTED
  TURKEY...TOMAHAWK AND INDIAN CREEKS
  TODD CREEK
  FISHING RIVER
  BLUE AND LITTLE BLUE RIVERS

* CAUSE AND EFFECT
AT 240 AM CDT WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
VERY HEAVY   RAIN EXTENDING FROM EASTON TO PLATTE CITY...SOUTH TO 
DESOTO AND INDEPENDENCE. STORMS ACROSS THE AREA WERE MOVING 
EAST-NORTHEAST NEAR 20 MILES AN HOUR...BUT ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS WERE REDEVELOPING TO THE WEST OF THE KANSAS CITY 
METROPOLITAN AREA.

SINCE MIDNIGHT...AN INITIAL ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH 
VERY HEAVY RAIN PRODUCED A SWATH OF ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN FROM 
BONNER SPRINGS...EAST TO DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY...THEN EAST TO 
CLAYCOMO. BETWEEN 1 AND 2:30 AM...DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY AIRPORT 
RECEIVED 2.09 INCHES OF RAINFALL. WIDESPREAD AREAS OF 1/2 TO ONE 
INCH OF RAINFALL WERE NOTED SHORTLY BEFORE 3AM.

*FORECAST CONDITIONS
MORE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE KANSAS CITY METRO THROUGH 
7AM THIS MORNING...PRODUCING AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO LOCALLY 5 INCHES OF 
RAINFALL IN THE WARNED AREA. THE RAIN SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF FROM 
THE WEST AFTER 7AM. MOST OF THE HEAVIEST RAIN THIS MORNING IS 
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE NEAR A LANSING AND LIBERTY LINE...SOUTHWARD TO 
GARDNER AND LONE JACK. 

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL 
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS AND OTHER 
LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

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 HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

A 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 OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE 
ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON 
FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 3942 9518 3899 9519 3899 9507 3875 9506
          3874 9461 3885 9462 3884 9413 3915 9413
          3919 9423 3946 9423 3947 9462 3953 9463
          3954 9510 3943 9495

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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 30, 2:31 AM CDT, 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 2:31 AM CDT, 29 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
231 AM CDT THU JUL 30 1998

HEAVY RAIN THREAT CONTINUES INTO TODAY AS RADAR/SAT LOOPS SHOW CONTD
TRAINING OF STORMS FROM KS INTO NRN MO.  CAN'T EVEN SEE KANSAS ON
THE SAT LOOP DUE TO DUAL MCS'S OVR STATE.  THESE BEING FUELED BY
S/WV TRAVERSING AREA AND 30-35 KT LLJ.  PLENTY OF SFC AND ELEVATED
FTRS TO FOCUS ON AS WELL.  WHILE THERE SHOULD BE SOME DIURNAL DECREASE
IN THESE THIS MORNING...STORMS EXPECTED TO HEAD EAST INTO FCST AREA
TDY.  CRNT RADAR ESTIMATES BROAD SWATH OF HALF TO ONE-INCH RAINS
SO FAR...WITH LOCALIZED AMTS UP TO 2 INCHES.  KMKC ASOS HAD 1.81
INCHES IN JUST AN HOURS TIME ON 07Z OB.  THIS FALLING ON ALREADY
SOAKED SOIL.  WILL GO AHEAD AND EXTEND FLOOD WATCH THRU TDY ALNG
AND S OF A ST JOE TO FAYETTE LINE.  CLDS AND RAIN WILL KEEP TEMPS
DOWN...AND GUID NUMBERS APPEAR REASONABLE.

SFC RIDGING PROGGD TO NOSE SWD INTO NRN MO TONITE INTO FRI...AND
THIS SHOULD NUDGE PCPN THREAT SWD AS WELL.  MDLS IN DECENT AGREEMENT
ON THIS SCENARIO...WITH GUID POPS SLOWLY DECREASING N TO S.  THIS
TREND ALREADY ACCOUNTED FOR IN CRNT ZONES AND DON'T NEED TO CHANGE
ATTM.  WILL KEEP LOW POP OVR SRN ZNS FR"I...DRY N.

THANKS FOR THE COORD STL.

.EAX...
KS...FFA TODAY KSZ025-057-060-102>105
MO...FFA TODAY MOZ020-021-028>030-037>040-043>046-053-054

WELVAERT

The office that day

Everything else NWS Kansas City, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 3:00 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEAXJohnson, Leavenworth6 hr
Jul 30, 4:45 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEAXJohnson, Pettis5 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Missouri, 1998Flash Flood Warnings in Kansas, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.