Alert archive / Massachusetts / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 22, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

September 28, 2003Franklin County, Hampden County, Hampshire County, Massachusetts; Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 28, 2003, 6:32 PM EDT for Franklin County, Hampden County, Hampshire County, Massachusetts; Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut. It was in force for 58 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 28, 2003, 6:32 PM EDT (22:32 UTC)
Expired: Sep 28, 2003, 7:30 PM EDT
In force: 58 min
Issued by: NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Capitol Planning Region, CT, Franklin County, MA, Hampden County, MA, Hampshire County, MA

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 125 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:34 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

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 113 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: 237 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 524 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 214 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KBOX 282235
FFWBOX
CTC003-MAC011-013-015-282330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
632 PM EDT SUN SEP 28 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  HARTFORD COUNTY IN NORTHERN CONNECTICUT
    INCLUDING WINDSOR LOCKS...WEST HARTFORD...NEWINGTON...EAST
    HARTFORD...BRISTOL
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
    INCLUDING GREENFIELD
  CENTRAL HAMPDEN COUNTY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
    INCLUDING SPRINGFIELD...CHICOPEE
  HAMPSHIRE COUNTY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
    INCLUDING NORTHAMPTON...AMHERST

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT.

* AT 630 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
SHOWERS TAPERING OFF OVER WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS AND HARTFORD COUNTY 
IN CONNECTICUT.  HOWEVER...RECENT EARLIER DOWNPOURS ARE STILL 
CAUSING AREA RIVER AND STREAMS TO SWELL OUT OF THEIR BANKS THEREFORE 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 730 PM.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT. IT IS
IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO RIVERS AND STREAMS. EVEN
THE SMALLEST STREAMS CAN BECOME KILLERS IN TORRENTIAL RAINS.

IF YOU LIVE ALONG A FLOOD PRONE STREAM NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION
TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. RAPID RISES ON SMALL RIVERS AND STREAMS
CAN FLOOD HOMES...BUSINESSES AND ROADWAYS WITHOUT WARNING.

$$

LAT...LON 4166 7298 4170 7256 4200 7254 4272 7232
          4276 7295

2 follow-up statements

000 
WGUS71 KBOX 282250
FFSBOX
CTC003-MAC011-013-015-282330-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
645 PM EDT SUN SEP 28 2003

...RAINFALL WILL DIMINISH THROUGH THIS EVENING IN THE CONNECTICUT 
RIVER VALLEY...

FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 730 PM FOR HARTFORD 
COUNTY CONNECTICUT...AND FOR HAMPDEN...HAMPSHIRE AND FRANKLIN 
COUNTIES IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS.

RAIN IS TAPERING OFF IN THESE AREAS...HOWEVER THE EARLIER DOWNPOURS 
OF OVER 3 OR MORE INCHES ARE CAUSING AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS TO 
SWELL.

SEVERAL SMALLER RIVERS AND STREAMS WERE OUT OF THEIR BANKS. IN 
GREENFIELD MASSACHUSETTS...THE GREEN RIVER WAS OUT OF ITS BANKS 
CAUSING NASHES MILL ROAD TO CLOSE.  IN MONTAGUE MASSACHUSETTS THE 
SAWMILL RIVER WAS OVER ITS BANKS.  IN FARMINGTON CONNECTICUT THERE 
WERE SEVERAL ROAD CLOSURES AND TRIBUTARIES OF THE TROUT BROOK WERE 
ABOVE BANK FULL. 

NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES OR ROADS WHERE WATER COVERS THE 
ROADWAY. IT ONLY TAKES A FOOT OR TWO OF WATER TO WASH MOST CARS AWAY.

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

$$

BUTTRICK

000 
WGUS71 KBOX 290017
FFSBOX
CTC003-MAC011-013-015-290100-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
815 PM EDT SUN SEP 28 2003

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS EXPIRED...

RAIN SHOWERS HAVE ENDED ACROSS WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS AND HARTFORD 
COUNTY CONNECTICUT...THEREFORE THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR THIS AREA 
HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

HEAVY DOWNPOURS FROM EARLIER TODAY AMOUNTING FROM 2.5 TO NEAR 5 
INCHES CAUSED SIGNIFICANT FLOODING OF AREA RIVERS...STREAMS...AND 
ROADWAYS.  ALTHOUGH MANY RIVERS AND STREAMS ARE STILL SWOLLEN AND AT 
OR ABOVE BANK FULL...LEVELS WILL BEGIN RECEDE TONIGHT.  


$$

BUTTRICK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 28, 10:20 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOX	Hampden	3 hr
Sep 28, 12:35 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOX	Hampden, Hampshire	6 hr
Sep 28, 2:10 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOX	Franklin	4 hr
Sep 28, 10:04 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOX	Capitol Planning Region	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Massachusetts, 2003 Flash Flood Warnings in Connecticut, 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.