Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Baltimore/Washington

March 21, 20018 counties in Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Mar 21, 2001, 1:48 PM EST for 8 counties in 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 counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 21, 2001, 1:48 PM EST (18:48 UTC)
Expired: Mar 21, 2001, 4:00 PM EST
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

Counties Augusta County, VA, City of Staunton, VA, City of Waynesboro, VA, Madison County, VA, Page County, VA, Rappahannock County, VA, Shenandoah County, VA, Warren County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 111 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:50 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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 116 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 480 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 402 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 688 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 211850
FFWWBC
VAC015-113-139-157-171-187-790-820-212100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
148 PM EST WED MAR 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  MADISON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA
  PAGE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA
  RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA
  SHENANDOAH COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA
  WARREN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA
  AUGUSTA COUNTY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA
  CITY OF STAUNTON IN WESTERN VIRGINIA
  CITY OF WAYNESBORO IN WESTERN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 400 PM EST

* AT 140 PM EST...THE PUBLIC REPORTED HAWKSVILLE CREEEK IN LURAY IN  
  PAGE COUNTY OUT OF ITS BANKS.  IN ADDITION...SEVERAL ROADS WERE    
  CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER IN PAGE...SHENANDOAH...MADISON...
  MRAPAHANNOCK...WARREN AND AUGUSTA COUNTIES.

EVEN THOUGH THE HEAVY RAIN HAS ENDED...SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL 
LIKELY BE OUT OF THEIR BANKS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS.  IN 
ADDITION...FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS IS LIKELY.


IF WATER IS FLOWING ACROSS A ROADWAY TURN YOUR VEHICLE AROUND AND
FIND AN ALTERNATE ROUTE. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW
YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

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.

WALSTON

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 Mar 21, 10:30 AM EST, 3 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 21, 10:30 AM EST, 3 hours 18 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1030 AM EST WED MAR 21 2001

DRY SLOT WORKING IT/S WAY NORTH...BUT STILL JUST TO OUR S AT 10AM.
RAIN IS FALLING AT THE RATE OF .05 TO .30 INCHES PER HOUR...WITH
MOST AROUND .10 INCHES PER HOUR.

AS FOR TOTAL PRECIP...MOST ARE RUNNING ABOUT 0.75 INCHES TO 1.25
INCHES OF RAIN. UPSLOPE AREAS ALONG THE RIDGES HAVE RECEIVED THE MOST
RAIN...THE HIGHEST READINGS ARE BETWEEN 2.50 AND 3.00 INCHES OF
RAIN. NO REPRTS OF FLOODING...ALTHOUGH WE ARE MONITORING A FEW
COUNTIES ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE CLOSELY.

SNOW ABOVE 1500 FEET IS PERSISTING. LATE MORNING PNSWBC (NOUS41
KLWX) HAS THE LATEST SNOW TOTALS FOR THE RIDGES.

GOING FORECAST ONLY NEEDS MINOR REVISION. WILL OPT FOR SHRA TNT
INSTEAD OF RAIN SINCE OVERRUNNG RAIN SHIELD WILL HAVE PASSED TO THE
NORTH BY THEN.

CS
.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY FOR MDZ002.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR MDZ003.
VA...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY FOR VAZ021
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR VAZ025>031...VAZ036>040.
WV...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY FOR WVZ048...WVZ049...WV054
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR WVZ050>053...WVZ055.

MARINE...SCA ALL WATERS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 21, 5:35 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Albemarle, Augusta, Greene, Madison, Nelson, Page and 4 more	3 hr
Mar 21, 5:56 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Frederick, City of Winchester	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 2001 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.