Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2000

Flash Flood Warning 30, NWS Baltimore/Washington

September 2, 2000Albemarle County, Nelson County, City of Charlottesville, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Sep 2, 2000, 6:30 PM EDT for Albemarle County, Nelson County, City of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was in force for 2 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
Sep 2, 2000, 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC)
Expired
Sep 2, 2000, 8:30 PM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Albemarle County, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, Nelson County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 161 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:30 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 104 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 2000-09-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 637 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 2000-09-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
637 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
473 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
19 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 022233
FFWLWX
VAC003-125-540-030030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
630 PM EDT SAT SEP 2 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  ALBEMARLE COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  NELSON COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 830 PM EDT

* AT 624 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL 6 MILES SOUTH OF SCHUYLER...
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IN THE WARNED AREA WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING NEAR
SHIPMAN...SCHUYLER AND ESMONT

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS, ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK
HIGHER GROUND.

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

LAT...LON 3778 7899 3760 7866 3796 7812 3821 7861

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 Sep 2, 2:00 PM EDT, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 2:00 PM EDT, 4 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
200 PM EDT SAT SEP 2 2000

AT 18Z...SCT SHRA/TSRA CWA WIDE SLOWLY MOVING NNE WITH RAINFALL
RATES 1-2 IN/HR. UL LOW STILL SPINNING ACROSS E TN. MODELS FCST LOW
TO REMAIN FAIRLY STATIONARY THROUGH SUN NIGHT BUT DYNAMIC FOCUS...
VORT MAX AND VVEL...WILL MOVE OVER CWA LATE TONIGHT THRU SUN NIGHT.
LOOKS LIKE SHRA/TSRA WILL BE MORE NUMEROUS TOMORROW. PRECIP WATER
VALUES REMAIN AROUND 2 INCHES AND ETA FCSTS 1 IN QPF OVER CWA SUN.
WILL GO HIGH CHANCE POPS CWA WIDE TONIGHT..THEN LIKELY SUN AND SUN
NIGHT BECAUSE OF BETTER DYNAMIC FORCING. WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION
HVY RAIN THRU PERIOD SINCE WINDS WITH HEIGHT REMAIN RELATIVELY
LIGHT. WILL ALSO MENTION FOG OVERNIGHT.

BY LATE SUN NIGHT...WEAK 850MB UPSLOPE WINDS WILL SUBSIDE...DYNAMICS
WILL BE ON THE DECREASE AND LOW DRIFTS A BIT FARTHER S.  MODELS PROG
SFC FRONT CURRENTLY OVER GREAT LAKES TO MOVE SSE ACROSS CWA MON NIGHT.
BECAUSE DEEP RH WILL STILL BE HERE MON AND SFC FRONT WILL BE
APPROACHING WILL LEAVE CHANCE POPS IN MON FCST. ATTM EXPECTING FROPA
NW CWA ABOUT 00Z TUE AND AFT 06Z SE. STRONG HI PRES WILL BUILD IN
TUE THRU THU BRINGING QUITE A CHANGE...COOLER AND LESS HUMID AIR
STRAIGHT FROM CANADA.

MODELS HAVE BEEN DOING WELL WITH HI TEMPS...WILL NOT STRAY FAR.

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

MMARGRAF

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 2, 2:45 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXAugusta, Nelson2 hr
Sep 2, 4:45 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXAugusta, Nelson2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 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.