Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 47, NWS Baltimore/Washington

August 12, 2001Greene County, Rockingham County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Aug 12, 2001, 6:14 PM EDT for Greene County, Rockingham County, Virginia. It was in force for 106 min. 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: Aug 12, 2001, 6:14 PM EDT (22:14 UTC)
Expired: Aug 12, 2001, 8:00 PM EDT
In force: 106 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Greene County, VA, Rockingham County, VA

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 118 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: 1033 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 508 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 33 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 43 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 122216
FFWLWX
VAC079-165-130000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
614 PM EDT SUN AUG 12 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  GREENE COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  EASTERN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 800 PM EDT

* AT 610 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE     
  OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ALONG AND EITHER SIDE 
  OF THE ROCKINGHAM-GREENE COUNTY LINE...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL 
CREEKS AND STREAMS...COUNTRY ROADS...OTHER POOR DRAINAGE OR LOW LYING
AREAS.

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. IT IS
IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO STREAMS...RIVERS...OR
CREEKS WHICH CAN BECOME KILLERS IN HEAVY RAINS. CAMPERS SHOULD AVOID
CAMPING ALONG STREAMS OR CREEKS DURING THREATENING RAINS.

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.

LAT...LON 3839 7848 3827 7874 3823 7837 3827 7837

$$
JLW/ABW

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 Aug 12, 3:15 PM EDT, 2 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 3:15 PM EDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
315 PM EDT SUN AUG 12 2001

12Z GUIDNC INDICATE ONE MORE PERIOD OF A POTENTIAL FLASH FLOOD SITU
ACRS THE CWA FOR THE OVRNGT PERIOD. THE AREA WL RMN IN THE
TROPICAL-LIKE AIR MASS OVRNGT INTO ELY MON IN ADVANCE OF THE CDFNT
WHICH IS FCST TO MOVE SLOLY ACRS THE CWA DURING MON. HENCE WL KEEP
FFA IN EFFECT ACRS THE BOARD OVRNGT THRU 12Z MON.

THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTS OF ANY FLOODING ACRS THE CWA TDA. TWO
FACTORS HAVE SAVED THE DAY SO FAR...PERSISTENT CLDINS AND THE
ACTIVITY THAT HAS DVLPD SO FAR HAS BEEN MVG STEADILY ALG. THIS MAY
CONTINUE OVRNGT BUT THE APPROACH OF THE CDFNT ALONG WITH INCRSG UPR
DYNAMICS DICTATES STRONGER ACTVTY FOR THE OVRNGT PD.

BEYOND THE MON PERIOD THE EVOLVING PTTN WUD SUGGEST A DRYING OUT
ALONG WITH NORMAL OR SLTLY BELO TEMPS UNTIL THE APPRCH OF THE NEXT
CDFNT DURING FRI.

OTW THATS IT FOR NOW...NEXT TIME.

FCSTID = 13...PAP
DCA   73  85  68  85 /  60  40  30  20
BWI   73  85  68  85 /  60  40  30  20
MRB   70  85  63  83 /  60  30  30  20
IAD   73  85  68  85 /  60  40  30  20
CHO   73  85  68  85 /  60  40  30  20
HGR   70  85  63  83 /  60  30  30  20
NHK   73  85  68  85 /  60  40  30  20
W99   66  80  59  80 /  60  30  20  10

.LWX...
DC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONE DCZ001.

MD...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES
MDZ002>007...MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.

VA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES
VAZ021...VAZ025>031...VAZ036>042...VAZ050>057.

WV...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES WVZ048>055.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 12, 5:36 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Culpeper, Madison	114 min

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.