Alert archive / Missouri / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS St. Louis, MO

December 18, 20024 counties in Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this flash flood warning at Dec 18, 2002, 11:20 AM CST for 4 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 6 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
Dec 18, 2002, 11:20 AM CST (17:20 UTC)
Expired
Dec 18, 2002, 5:15 PM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties City of Saint Louis, MO, Franklin County, MO, Saint Charles County, MO, Saint Louis County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 12 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:23 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 242 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2002-12-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2002-12-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 371 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
562 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
371 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
433 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 KLSX 181720
FFWSTL
MOC071-183-189-510-182315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1111 AM CST WED DEC 18 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
  ST. CHARLES COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
  ST. LOUIS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
  WESTERN ST. LOUIS CITY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 515 PM CST

* AT 1111 AM CST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM JERSEYVILLE ILLINOIS 
SOUTHWEST THROUGH ST CLAIR TO AROUND SALEM MISSOURI.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES ONE TO ONE AND A 
HALF INCHES OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN FROM JUST WEST OF UNION 
NORTHEAST THROUGH ST PETERS AND ST CHARLES. MORE STORMS ARE FORMING 
TO THE  SOUTHWEST OF THE AREA AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES 
ARE LIKELY IN SOME AREAS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

* FLASH FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA...AND WILL BE   
AFFECTING ST CHARLES...WELDON SPRING...UNION...CHESTERFIELD...AND 
MUCH OF WEST AND NORTH ST LOUIS COUNTY AS THESE STORMS FOLLOW ONE
ANOTHER ACROSS THE AREA.  

STREET FLOODING WILL BE COMMON IN MANY AREAS THROUGH THE LUNCH HOUR
SO TAKE SPECIAL CARE NOT TO DRIVE OR WALK THROUGH WATER COVERED 
AREAS.

SIGNIFICANT RISES WILL OCCUR IN DARDENNE CREEK BY EVENING AND OTHER
SMALLER STREAMS AND TRIBUTARIES WILL BE MOST AFFECTED.

IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR IMMINENT...MOVE QUICKLY TO HIGHER
GROUND. NEVER DRIVE INTO AN AREA WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW WATER CROSSINGS IF WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. DO NOT DRIVE AROUND BARRICADES IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS...
ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND.

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 17, 9:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX43 min
Dec 17, 9:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX46 min
Dec 17, 10:33 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXPike42 min
Dec 17, 10:57 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX48 min
Dec 17, 11:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX48 min
Dec 17, 11:22 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXLincoln23 min
Dec 17, 11:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX43 min
Dec 17, 11:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX30 min
Dec 18, 12:22 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX23 min
Dec 18, 12:38 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX37 min
Dec 18, 1:13 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX32 min
Dec 18, 1:46 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX29 min
Dec 18, 2:03 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX27 min
Dec 18, 2:10 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX35 min
Dec 18, 2:31 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX29 min
Dec 18, 2:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX25 min
Dec 18, 3:06 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX24 min
Dec 18, 3:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX42 min
Dec 18, 3:57 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX48 min
Dec 18, 10:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX27 min
Dec 18, 10:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX50 min
Dec 18, 11:07 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX23 min
Dec 18, 1:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX45 min
Dec 18, 1:27 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX48 min
Dec 18, 2:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX44 min
Dec 18, 2:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX43 min
Dec 18, 3:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX45 min
Dec 18, 3:31 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX44 min
Dec 18, 3:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX45 min
Dec 18, 3:49 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXPike26 min
Dec 18, 3:54 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXPike21 min
Dec 18, 4:08 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX22 min
Dec 18, 4:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX35 min
Dec 18, 4:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX45 min
Dec 18, 4:34 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXFranklin, Gasconade26 min
Dec 18, 4:39 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXFranklin, Gasconade21 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Missouri, 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.