Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 3, 2001Donley County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this flash flood warning at May 3, 2001, 7:46 PM CDT for Donley County, Texas. It was in force for 3 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
May 3, 2001, 7:46 PM CDT (00:46 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 2001, 11:00 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Donley County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 85 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2001-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 20 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2001-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 0 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
20 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-196 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
513 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
0 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
0 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 
WGUS54 KAMA 040046
FFWAMA
TXC129-040400-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
746 PM CDT THU MAY 3 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  DONLEY COUNTY IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE

* UNTIL 1100 PM CDT

* AT 745 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY         
  RAINFALL WAS OCCURRING ACROSS MUCH OF DONLEY COUNTY. THUNDERSTORMS 
  WITH HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTY OVER   
  THE NEXT FEW HOURS. THIS WILL RESULT IN FLOODING OF ROADWAYS AND   
  WILL CAUSE STREAMS TO RISE OUT OF THEIR BANKS.

DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR 
IN AUTOMIBILES.

LAT...LON 3476 10098 3476 10076 3517 10058 3518 10090

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 3, 4:05 PM CDT, 3 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 3, 4:05 PM CDT, 3 hours 41 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
405 PM CDT THU MAY 3 2001

UPR LVL LOW ROTATING OVER SRN UT THIS AFTN WITH LITTLE MVMT EXPECTD
DURING THE NEXT 18 TO 24 HRS. DOWNSTREAM SHORTWAVE RIDGING UNDERWAY
OVER THE SRN PLAINS. STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDS FROM JUST EAST OF
BEAVER SWWD TO NEAR CLAUDE TO SOUTH OF MULESHOE. WITH RIGHT-MVG
SUPERCELL TRACKING EAST JUST S OF CWA. DRYLINE FAR SW OF TX PNHDL IN
XTRM SERN NM AND FAR W TX.

NOW THAT AVN HAS CAUGHT UP WITH ETA WRT TO LOW LVL FEATURES...HAVE
BASED MUCH OF THIS FCST PACKAGE ON AVN. ETA CONTINUES TO BE TOO
PROGRESSIVE WITH MVT OF GREAT BASIN UPR LOW WHILE NGM IS TOO FAR
NORTH WITH LOW LEVEL FEATURES. WIDESPREAD SHRA/TSRA ON TAP FOR
TONIGHT AS WARM MOIST AIR ADV PATTERN AND UPR LVL DIFFLUENCE
STRENGTHENS. STATIONARY FRONT WILL GRADUALLY LIFT BACK NORTH AS A
WARM FRONT DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. IN FACT...LOCALLY HVY RAIN A
REAL POSSIBILITY DUE TO TRAINING OF CELLS...PARTICULARLY ALONG AND
NEAR WARM FRONT.

MORE ACTIVE WX WILL BE POSSIBLE FRI AFTN AND FRI NIGHT AS UPR LVL
LOW BEGINS TO LIFT NE TOWARDS THE CNTRL PLAINS AND MAIN ENERGY
ROTATES NE ACROSS THE PNHDLS. CONVECTION LIKELY TO INITIATE ALONG
THE DRYLINE LATE FRI AFTN ACROSS ERN NM. STORMS EXPECTED MOVE EAST
AND EVOLVE INTO A SQUALL LINE. DESPITE LOW LVL DRY AIR ADVECTING
ACROSS THE AREA ON SAT...DECIDED TO RETAIN LOW CHANCE POPS AS STEEP
LAPSE RATES AND WRAP AROUND MID LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR
VIRGA TYPE CONVECTION.

WENT AHEAD AND INTRODUCED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF POPS IN FOR SUN AND
MON DUE TO WEAK IMPULSE MOVG SE IN NWRLY FLOW AND INTERACTING WITH
NEXT COLD FRONT TO PUSH ACROSS THE AREA. DRY FOR WED AND THU.

.AMA...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE.

JH

The office that day

Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 10:40 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningAMAArmstrong, Donley4 hr
May 3, 11:17 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningAMAGray, Wheeler4 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 2001Every flash flood warning in 2001

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.