Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS Charleston, WV

May 30, 1998Randolph County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at May 30, 1998, 4:31 PM EDT for Randolph County, West Virginia. It was in force for 119 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 30, 1998, 4:31 PM EDT (20:31 UTC)
Expired
May 30, 1998, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
119 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

County Randolph County, WV

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 178 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-05-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 265 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-05-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 41 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
265 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-75 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1055 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
28 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 KCRW 302031
FFWCRW
WVC083-302230-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
431 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION......
 
IN NORTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY
 
CHARLESTON WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A NEARLY STATIONARY THUNDERSTORM IN
SOUTHEASTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY AT 4:30 PM EDT. THIS STORM IS OVER THE
MONONGAHELA NATIONAL FOREST BETWEEN VALLEY HEAD AND CHEAT BRIDGE.
PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES INDICATE UP TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN HAS
FALLEN IN THE PAST HOUR.
 
CREEKS THAT MAY BE AFFECTED BY FLASH FLOODING AREA BECKY
CREEK AND STEWARTS RUN.
 
 
<< CALL TO ACTION >> A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS
IMMINENT.  IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO STREAMS
...RIVERS...OR CREEKS WHICH CAN BECOME KILLERS IN HEAVY RAINS.
CAMPERBS SHOULD AVOID CAMPING ALONG STREAMS DURING THREATENING RAINS.
 
ZINN

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, May 30, 3:45 PM EDT, 46 minutes before
WVZ005>011-013>020-024>040-046-047-VAZ003-004-OHZ066-067-075-076-
083>087-KYZ101>103-105-310500-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
345 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 1998

BRIEF THUNDERSTORMS...SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR SUNDAY EVENING...COULD
CONTAIN STRONG WINDS GUSTS OR HAIL.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS TIMING A STRONG COLD FRONT TO SWEEP
THROUGH THE MID OHIO VALLEY AND CENTRAL APPALACHIANS SUNDAY NIGHT.
YET...WELL AHEAD OF THE ACTUAL FRONT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD
DEVELOP DURING SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR SUNDAY EVENING.

BEING A WEEKEND...IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTDOORS...BE PREPARED FOR
THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING RAPIDLY FROM WEST TO EAST.
WEEKEND BOATERS AND HIKERS WILL NEED EVEN MORE TIME TO SEEK A SAFE
LOCATION.

DURATIONS OF ANY STORMS SHOULD BE BRIEF...DUE TO THEIR FAST MOVEMENT.
THIS WOULD LIMIT ANY FLASH FLOOD THREAT.

EVEN THE THREAT OF STRONG WIND GUSTS AND HAIL ON SUNDAY...IS NOT A SURE
BET.  THERE ARE FACTORS THAT COULD INHIBIT STRONG CONVECTION.  IF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS INCREASES...A TORNADO OR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH WOULD BE POSTED DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY.  INCREASE
YOUR WEATHER AWARENESS ON SUNDAY...AND MONITOR FORECASTS AND CONDITIONS
MORE OFTEN THAN USUAL.

.END / KTB / NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Special weather statement, May 30, 3:45 PM EDT, 46 minutes before
WVZ005>011-013>020-024>040-046-047-VAZ003-004-OHZ066-067-075-076-
083>087-KYZ101>103-105-310500-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
345 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 1998

BRIEF THUNDERSTORMS...SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR SUNDAY EVENING...COULD
CONTAIN STRONG WINDS GUSTS OR HAIL.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS TIMING A STRONG COLD FRONT TO SWEEP
THROUGH THE MID OHIO VALLEY AND CENTRAL APPALACHIANS SUNDAY NIGHT.
YET...WELL AHEAD OF THE ACTUAL FRONT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD
DEVELOP DURING SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR SUNDAY EVENING.

BEING A WEEKEND...IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTDOORS...BE PREPARED FOR
THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING RAPIDLY FROM WEST TO EAST.
WEEKEND BOATERS AND HIKERS WILL NEED EVEN MORE TIME TO SEEK A SAFE
LOCATION.

DURATIONS OF ANY STORMS SHOULD BE BRIEF...DUE TO THEIR FAST MOVEMENT.
THIS WOULD LIMIT ANY FLASH FLOOD THREAT.

EVEN THE THREAT OF STRONG WIND GUSTS AND HAIL ON SUNDAY...IS NOT A SURE
BET.  THERE ARE FACTORS THAT COULD INHIBIT STRONG CONVECTION.  IF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS INCREASES...A TORNADO OR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH WOULD BE POSTED DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY.  INCREASE
YOUR WEATHER AWARENESS ON SUNDAY...AND MONITOR FORECASTS AND CONDITIONS
MORE OFTEN THAN USUAL.

.END / KTB / NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West 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.