Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999

Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS Blacksburg, VA

September 15, 1999Pittsylvania County, City of Danville, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 15, 1999, 10:51 AM EDT for Pittsylvania County, City of Danville, Virginia. 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 counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 15, 1999, 10:51 AM EDT (14:51 UTC)
Expired
Sep 15, 1999, 5:00 PM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

Counties City of Danville, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:50 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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 56 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 1999-09-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1999-09-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -16 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
826 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
63 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 KROA 151451
FFWRNK
VAC143-590-152100-

BULLETIN--IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING FOR SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1051 AM EDT WED SEP 15 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS FOR...
  SOUTHERN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA.
  DANVILLE IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA.

* UNTIL 500 PM EDT.

* AT 1050 AM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS SOUTHERN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY...
  INCLUDING THE CITY OF DANVILLE.  A BAND OF HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES
  TO DRIFT   SLOWLY WESTWARD ACROSS
  SOUTHERN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY...AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST
  NOON.


* STORM DRAIN FLOODING IS REPORTED IN THE CITY OF DANVILLE. THE
  CONTINUING HEAVY RAIN IS LIKELY TO CAUSE WIDESPREAD ROADWAY
  FLOODING...AND MAY CAUSE SMALL STREAMS TO COME OUT OF THEIR BANKS.
  ADDITIONAL RAINFALL...BETWEEN 11 AM AND J2 PM WILL RANGE FROM 2
  TO 3 INCHES.


<< CALL TO ACTION >> DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROAD!

.END/JJ/RMG

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 15, 10:30 AM EDT, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 15, 10:30 AM EDT, 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1030 AM EDT WED SEP 15 1999

KFCX RADAR IS USING TROPICAL ZR UFN.

RAINS ARE EXPANDING WESTWARD IN ADVANCE OF FLOYD AND ALONG MID
ATLANTIC TROUGH.  BASED ON 88D TRENDS ONSET OF STEADY RAIN TO REACH
THE BLUE RIDGE BY MID AFTERNOON.  CONCERN ATTM IS FOR HEAVY RAINFALL
DUE TO EASTERLY UPSLOPE OF TROPICAL AIRMASS.  CURRENT QPF THROUGH 12
UTC THURSDAY ENTERTAINS 2.00 BASIN AVERAGES EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE
AND THIS MAY NEED TO BE SKEWED UPWARD WITH THE 18 UTC QPF RELEASE AS
WE GET A BETTER HANDLE OF RADAR-RAINGAGE ESTIMATES.  FFG IS HIGH DUE
TO RECENT DROUGHT...BUT WILL CONSIDER FFA FOR THE AFTN ZONE RELEASE
IF CURRENT WESTWARD BUILD OF HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES.

NPW FOR THE HIGH WIND WATCH WILL BE MODIFIED SLIGHTLY. WILL EXPAND
WATCH TO INCLUDE THE ROANOKE...AND SHENANDOAH VALLEYS PER 5AM TPC
WIND FCST AROUND FLOYD FOR EARLY THURSDAY.  CURRENT FCST SUGGEST
SUSTAINED WINDS OF 35 TO 50 MPH...AND THIS SEEMS REASONABLE.  GUST
ABOVE 60 MPH WILL LIKELY BE RESERVED TO AREAS EAST OF THE BLUE
RIDGE.

.RNK
VA...HIGH WIND WATCH TONIGHT AND THURSDAY VAZ009-012>020-
     022>024-032>035-043>047-058-058
WV...NONE.
NC...HIGH WIND WATCH TONIGHT AND THURSDAY NCZ001>006-018>020.

MANUEL

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 1999Every flash flood warning in 1999

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.