Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2000

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Baltimore/Washington

February 18, 20006 counties in West Virginia; Allegany County, Washington County, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Feb 18, 2000, 11:45 PM EST for 6 counties in West Virginia; Allegany County, Washington County, Maryland. 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
Feb 18, 2000, 11:45 PM EST (04:45 UTC)
Expired
Feb 19, 2000, 5:45 AM EST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties Allegany County, MD, Washington County, MD, Grant County, WV, Hampshire County, WV, Hardy County, WV, Mineral County, WV, Morgan County, WV, Pendleton County, WV

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:49 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 00:00Z, 4.8 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2000-02-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 12 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2000-02-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 293 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
12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
417 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
293 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
347 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 
WGUS51 KLWX 190445
FFWLWX
MDC001-043-WVC023-027-031-057-065-071-191045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
1145 PM EST FRI FEB 18 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  ALLEGANY COUNTY IN MARYLAND
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN MARYLAND
  GRANT COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA
  HAMPSHIRE COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA
  HARDY COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA
  MINERAL COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA
  MORGAN COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA
  PENDLETON COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 545 AM EST

HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES TO FALL IN THE EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST
VIRGINIA AND WESTERN MARYLAND. REPORTS OF OVER 2 INCHES HAVE BEEN
INDICATED WITH ANOTHER INCH POSSIBLE IN THE NEXT THREE HOURS. VALLEY
LOCATIONS NEED TO BE ALERT FOR QUICKLY RISING STREAMS.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  THESE INCLUDE STANDING WATER ON
ROADS AND WATER FLOWING OVER LOW LYING ROADS.

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.

REPORT FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
STERLING VIRGINIA.

.END/

STRONG/DAG

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Feb 18, 9:17 PM EST, 2 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 9:17 PM EST, 2 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
917 PM EST FRI FEB 18 2000

AFT A LULL IN PRECIP ERLIER THIS EVE...RADAR HAS FILLED IN AGN ACRS
NRN HALF OF FA. SFC LOW PRES HAS BN HEADING NE THRU KY ALG ASSOC WRMFNT
FOR LAST SEV HRS AND WAS MOVG INTO SRN OH AT 02Z. TSRAS HV BN OCCURRING
AHD OF THE LOW IN WRM SECT OVR WRN WV INTO KY. THE RA AREA OVR NRN FA
WAS ALG ERN EXTENT OF WRMFNT. IN PA FZRA WAS OCCURRING N OF WRMFNT.

TEMPS HV BN CLIMBING SLOWLY OVR THE FA THIS EVE. SRN PTNS OF FA WERE IN
L/M 40S AT 02Z...ERN PANHANDLE WV TEMPS HAD RISEN INTO L50S. TEMPS AVGD
IN M30S OVR NRN FA.

00Z LWX SDNG INDCTD STG INVERSION FM ABT 900 TO 950 MB.

ETA AND RUC HAD GUD HANDLE ON SYS AT 00Z IN TERMS OF TEMP PROFILES.
BOTH KEPT MUCH OF FA STABLE THRU 12Z SAT. BELIEVE BEST CHC OF TSRA/S
WILL BE FM SHEN VLLY WWD WHERE SFC TEMPS AND DWPTS WL BE HIEST AND
INSTAB GREATEST AS SYS PROGRESSES E. WL PROB HV SOME DOWNPOURS AS
CDFNT APPCHS BUT GIVEN THAT SYS WL BE PROGRESSIVE AND FFG HI...DON/T
FORSEE ANY FLD THREAT.

SO...OVERALL FCST IN GUD SHAPE. WL TRIM BACK TSTM MENTION TO SHEN VLLY
WWD AND ADJUST TEMPS HIER WHERE NECESSARY.

.LWX...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY POTOMAC AND NRN CHES BAY

ARTHUR

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West Virginia, 2000Flash Flood Warnings in Maryland, 2000Every flash flood warning in 2000

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.