Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS Baltimore/Washington

January 28, 1998Page County, Rappahannock County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Jan 28, 1998, 11:13 AM EST for Page County, Rappahannock County, Virginia. 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 28, 1998, 11:13 AM EST (16:13 UTC)
Expired
Jan 28, 1998, 3:15 PM EST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties Page County, VA, Rappahannock County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:13 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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 86 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-01-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-01-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 267 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
433 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
267 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
546 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 KWBC 281613
FFWWBC
VAC003-079-125-139-157-282015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON DC
1113 AM EST WED JAN 28 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON DC HAS ISSUED
A FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN NORTHWESTERN VIRGINIA

   ...PAGE COUNTY
   ...GREENE COUNTY
   ...RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY

IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

   ...NELSON COUNTY
   ...ALBEMARLE COUNTY
 
HEAVY RAIN OVERNIGHT AND THIS MORNING ALONG THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA
BLUE RIDGE HAS EXCEEDED THE AMOUNT NECESSARY TO CAUSE
FLOODING. WITH MORE RAIN EXPECTED...STREAM LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO
RISE...CAUSING INUNDATION OF LOW LYING AREAS AND SPOTS WITH POOR
DRAINAGE. ROAD CLOSURES MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AS STREAM
LEVELS CONTINUE TO RISE.

ANOTHER INCH OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON. THE RAIN WILL
TAPER OFF LATE IN THE DAY.
 
WARNINGS MAY BE REQUIRED IN ADDITIONAL AREAS LATER TODAY.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE 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.

HITCHENS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 28, 11:13 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXAlbemarle, Greene, Nelson4 hr
Jan 28, 12:07 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXClarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford and 1 more4 hr
Jan 28, 12:07 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXSpotsylvania, City of Fredericksburg4 hr
Jan 28, 12:07 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXMadison, Orange4 hr
Jan 28, 12:07 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXFairfax, City of Fairfax4 hr
Jan 28, 12:07 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXArlington, City of Alexandria, City of Falls Church4 hr
Jan 28, 12:07 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningLWXCity of Manassas, City of Manassas Park4 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 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.