Alert archive / Massachusetts / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 17, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

September 23, 2003Hampden County, Hampshire County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 23, 2003, 12:04 PM EDT for Hampden County, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 116 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: Sep 23, 2003, 12:04 PM EDT (16:04 UTC)
Expired: Sep 23, 2003, 2:00 PM EDT
In force: 116 min
Issued by: NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Hampden County, MA, Hampshire County, MA

The radar

The Albany radar (KENX), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:05 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

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 12:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 154 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: 101 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 374 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 394 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WGUS51 KBOX 231605
FFWBOX
MAC013-015-231800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
1204 PM EDT TUE SEP 23 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  HAMPDEN COUNTY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
    INCLUDING SPRINGFIELD...CHICOPEE
  HAMPSHIRE COUNTY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
    INCLUDING NORTHAMPTON...AMHERST

* UNTIL 200 PM EDT.

* AT 1201 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH TORRENTIAL RAINFALL FROM SOUTH HADLEY TO
  AGAWAM...OR FROM 6 MILES EAST OF NORTHAMPTON TO 7 MILES NORTH OF
  WINDSOR LOCKS...MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.

RADAR ESTIMATES AND SPOTTER REPORTS INDICATE THAT 2 TO 3 INCHES OF 
RAIN HAVE FALLEN IN NORTHAMPTON...SOUTHWICK AND WESTFIELD.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.

FLASH FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS IS LIKELY DUE TO THE TORRENTIAL
RAINFALL. CULVERTS ALONG ROADSIDES MAY BE WASHED OUT. STANDING WATER
ON ROADWAYS AND ESPECIALLY UNDERPASSES MAY RISE TO SEVERAL FEET IN
DEPTH SUBMERGING MOST VEHICLES.

$$

LAT...LON 4239 7266 4238 7236 4231 7232 4229 7216
          4218 7226 4203 7230 4203 7277

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS71 KBOX 231804
FFSBOX
MAC013-015-231900-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
200 PM EDT TUE SEP 23 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR HAMPSHIRE AND HAMPDEN COUNTIES HAS 
BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

THE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH PRODUCED TORRENTIAL RAINFALL EARLIER THIS 
AFTERNOON HAVE MOVED EAST OF THE AREA. THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD 
WARNING FOR HAMPSHIRE AND HAMPDEN COUNTIES HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO 
EXPIRE. 

LINGERING FLOOD WATERS FROM EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO 
GRADUALLY RECEDE DURING THE MID AFTERNOON HOURS.  WHILE SCATTERED 
SHOWERS WILL CROSS PORTIONS OF HAMPRHIRE AND HAMPDEN COUNTIES 
THROUGH MID AFTERNOON...THESE SHOWERS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO PRODUCE 
ADDITIONAL FLOODING. 

NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES OR ROADS WHERE WATER COVERS THE 
ROADWAY. 

$$

BELK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 23, 10:40 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Franklin, Hampshire	13 hr
Sep 23, 11:12 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Hampden	48 min
Sep 23, 5:04 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BOX		41 min
Sep 23, 5:04 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BOX		41 min
Sep 23, 5:06 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BOX		21 hr
Sep 23, 5:06 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BOX		21 hr
Sep 23, 7:03 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BOX		42 min
Sep 23, 7:03 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BOX		21 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Massachusetts, 2003 Every flash flood warning in 2003

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.