Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001
Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Baltimore/Washington
NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at May 26, 2001, 6:16 PM EDT for Frederick County, Virginia. It was in force for 119 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 26, 2001, 6:16 PM EDT (22:16 UTC)
- Expired
- May 26, 2001, 8:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 119 min
- Issued by
- NWS Baltimore/Washington
- Area
- Whole counties
County Frederick County, VA
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 80 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 100 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 656 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 83 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 76 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WGUS51 KLWX 262218 FFWLWX VAC069-270015- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON 616 PM EDT SAT MAY 26 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... FREDERICK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA * UNTIL 815 PM EDT * AT 614 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER NORTHERN AND WESTERN FREDERICK COUNTY. THE AREA OF HEAVY RAIN WAS NEARLY STATIONARY. AN OBSERVER IN CROSS JUNCTION HAS REPORTED 1.75 INCHES OF RAINFALL IN ONE HOUR. A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. IF YOU ENCOUNTER WATER FLOWING ACROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS TURN AROUND AND FIND AN ALTERNATE ROUTE. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP 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. $$ MMARGRAF/MARGRAF
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 May 26, 2:16 PM EDT, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 26, 2:16 PM EDT, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 216 PM EDT SAT MAY 26 2001 KLWX 88D OTS DUE TO FAILED PART. PART ON ORDER AND SHUD ARRIVE THIS EVENING. ALL THREE MDLS HV SIMILAR SOLNS THIS FCST PD. AXIS OF H5 S/W WHICH WAS PROVIDING LIFT TO SHRAS/TSRAS OVR ERN ZONES THIS AFTN PROGGED TO BE OVR CNTRL FA BY 00Z TNGT AND NE OF THE FA BY 06Z. ASSOCD RH WL BE OVR NE PTN OF FA BY 00Z THEN ATMOS DRIES OUT A BIT OVERNGT. WL CONT LIKELY POPS FOR THE EVE OVR ERN FA. OTHERWISE SKIES SHUD BE PC. HVIEST PCPN HAS NOT BEEN OVR THE MD ZONES W/LOWEST FFG SO NO NEED FOR FFA YET. WL CONT TO MONITOR. DWPTS IN U50S AND L60S WL KEEP TEMPS FM FALLING MUCH TNGT. THUS PREFER MAV TEMPS OVR LOWER FWC TEMPS. ON SUN...A FAIRLY STG VORT LOBE PROGGED TO PIVOT ARND GRT LAKES/OH VLLY UPR LOW INTO THE WRN ZONES. AREA OF HI RH AND DECENT UVV PROGGED TO ACCOMPANY THIS FEATURE AS IT ROTATES THRU THE NW PART OF THE FA. H85 WNDS WL INCR TO 25-30 KT. MDLS ALSO HV A SFC TROF MOVG E THRU FA DUR THE AFTN. THESE FACTORS SUPPORT THE FWC/MAV CHC POPS. PCPN WL MAINLY BE CONFINED TO THE AFTN. HIEST PROB WL BE IN NW. WL GO W/COMPROMISE BETW FWC/MAV FOR TEMPS SUN. SFC BDRY WL BE APPCHG ERN ZONES SUN EVE SO WL CONT CHC POPS THERE. WL OTHERWISE HV PC FOR SUN NIGHT. UPR LOW PROGGED TO SHIFT NE AND OPEN UP ON MON. H85 FLOW WL BE WESTERLY AND AMS WL CONT TO DRY OUT. WL HV P/S OR M/S. GUID TEMPS SUN NIGHT AND MON LUK RSNBL. IN THE EXTENDED PD...OLD MRF AND 12Z AVN BOTH HAD STG VORT PIVOTING THRU THE RGN ON WED BUT RH WAS LIMITED. WL GO MSTLY CLDY INSTEAD OF PC TO ACCT FOR THIS...OTRW XTENDED PD LUKS QUIET AND REFLECTS CURR FCST. .LWX... DC...NONE. MD...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. ARTHUR
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 26, 6:09 PM EDT, 7 minutes before
MDZ002-003-VAZ027-028-WVZ048>052-055-270130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON 609 PM EDT SAT MAY 26 2001 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BRINGING HEAVY RAIN TO THE REGION... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE INCREASING IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY EARLY THIS EVENING ACROSS THE POTOMAC HIGHLANDS AND THE NORTHERN SHENANDOAH VALLEY. THESE STORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING VERY SLOWLY... AND ARE PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL. SOME LOCATIONS HAVE REPORTED OVER AN INCH AND A HALF OF RAIN IN THE SPAN OF ONE HOUR. THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO PLAGUE THE AREA THROUGH SUNSET... AND WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS. SOME PONDING OF WAkTER ON ROADWAYS IS LIKELY... AND PERSONS LIVING NEAR SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD WATCH FOR RAPID RISES IN WATER LEVELS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. MARGRAF!
The office that day
Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 7:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Frederick, City of Winchester | 33 min |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 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.