Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Des Moines, IA

June 18, 2002Cerro Gordo County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this flash flood warning at Jun 18, 2002, 2:01 AM CDT for Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. It was in force for 18 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 18, 2002, 2:01 AM CDT (07:01 UTC)
Expired
Jun 18, 2002, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
18 hr
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cerro Gordo County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 159 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:01 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 196 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2002-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 57 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2002-06-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
57 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-68 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1568 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
68 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 
WGUS53 KDMX 180701
FFWDSM
IAC033-181300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
201 AM CDT TUE JUN 18 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CERRO GORDO COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF MASON CITY

* UNTIL 800 AM

* AT 156 AM...THE RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH FLASH FLOOD
  PRODUCING RAINS IN THE WARNING AREA.

* SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL
  CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT THREE TO SIX HOURS. RAINFALL RATES WILL
  AVERAGE ONE TO TWO INCHES PER HOUR. THIS WILL PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING
  ALONG THE MANY OF THE SMALLER STREAMS IN THE COUNTY.

OTHER WARNING LOCATIONS INCLUDE...
CLEAR LAKE...PLYMOUTH...ROCK FALLS...ROCKWELL...SWALEDALE...THORNTON
AND VENTURA

FLASH FLOODS OCCUR QUICKLY...MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. NEVER DRIVE
THROUGH ANY FLOWING WATER...THE ROAD SURFACE MAY BE WASHED OUT.
LESS THAN ONE FOOT OF FAST FLOWING WATER CAN SWEEP AN AUTOMOBILE OFF
THE ROAD.

LAT...LON 4324 9304 4292 9305 4291 9351 4324 9349

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 1:20 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXHancock, Winnebago18 hr
Jun 18, 1:20 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXHancock, Winnebago6 hr
Jun 18, 1:56 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXMarshall18 hr
Jun 18, 1:56 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXMarshall6 hr
Jun 18, 2:01 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXCerro Gordo6 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Iowa, 2002Every flash flood warning in 2002

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.