Alert archive / Ohio / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 15, NWS Cleveland, OH

July 21, 20034 counties in Ohio

NWS Cleveland, OH issued this flash flood warning at Jul 21, 2003, 9:47 PM EDT for 4 counties in Ohio. It was in force for 5 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
Jul 21, 2003, 9:47 PM EDT (01:47 UTC)
Expired
Jul 22, 2003, 2:45 AM EDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Cleveland, OH
Area
Whole counties

Counties Medina County, OH, Portage County, OH, Summit County, OH, Trumbull County, OH

The radar

The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:51 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 136 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2003-07-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 171 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2003-07-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 150 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
171 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-40 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1282 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
150 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
181 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KCLE 220151
FFWCLE
OHC103-133-153-155-220745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
947 PM EDT MON JUL 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CLEVELAND HAS EXTENDED THE

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  MEDINA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OHIO...
  PORTAGE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OHIO...
  SUMMIT COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OHIO...
  TRUMBULL COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OHIO...

* UNTIL 345 AM EDT

* AT 941 PM EDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS BEGINNING TO TAPER OFF ACROSS THE MEDINA AKRON KENT 
WARREN AREAS. RUNOFF FROM THE HEAVY RAIN TODAY AND THIS EVENING 
WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AND FLOODING WILL 
CONTINUE.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE FLASH 
FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...ROADS AND UNDERPASSES. 
ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS 
AND STREAMS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL IN THE DARK. WATER DEPTH AND CURRENT ARE HARD 
TO SEE. 
$$
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS71 KCLE 220355
FFSCLE
OHC103-133-153-155-PAC039-220445-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
1146 PM EDT MON JUL 21 2003

FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR MEDINA...SUMMIT...PORTAGE 
AND TRUMBULL COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST OHIO AND CRAWFORD COUNTY IN 
NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA.

THE HEAVY RAIN HAD ENDED ACROSS NORTHEAST OHIO AND NORTHWEST 
PENNSYLVANIA BUT FLOODING CONTINUED. RAINFALL AMOUNTS ON MONDAY THE 
21ST AVERAGED 3 TO 5 INCHES IN MANY AREAS. 

ROADS WERE STILL BEING CLOSED IN MANY COMMUNITIES. A FEW BRIDGES 
WERE CLOSED OR WASHED OUT.

A TRAILER PARK IN NILES IN TRUMBULL COUNTY WAS EVACUATED DUE TO 
FLOOD WATERS. SOME MOBILE HOMES WERE REPORTED TO BE FLOATING. 
EVACUATION CENTERS WERE BEING OPENED IN HUDSON AND BATH IN SUMMIT 
COUNTY TO HOUSE RESIDENTS DISPLACED BY FLOOD WATERS.

THE FLOOD WARNINGS WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT INTO THE EARLY MORNING 
HOURS. RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN LOW LYING AREAS AND NEAR WATERWAYS 
SHOULD EVACUATE IF RISING WATER IS OBSERVED. NEVER DRIVE THROUGH 
FLOODED ROADS.
$$

KOSARIK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cleveland, OH issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 21, 8:53 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningCLE2 hr
Jul 21, 9:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEMahoning41 min
Jul 21, 9:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEMarion25 min
Jul 22, 9:30 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLERichland45 min
Jul 22, 11:44 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLEPortage, Summit, Trumbull, Wayne4 hr
Jul 22, 12:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEStark38 min
Jul 22, 1:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEMahoning44 min
Jul 22, 3:33 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCLEPortage, Trumbull4 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Ohio, 2003Every 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.