Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 11, NWS Sioux Falls, SD

July 9, 2003Cherokee County, Iowa

NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this flash flood warning at Jul 9, 2003, 2:37 AM CDT for Cherokee County, Iowa. It was in force for 113 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 9, 2003, 2:37 AM CDT (07:37 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 2003, 4:30 AM CDT
In force
113 min
Issued by
NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cherokee County, IA

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 127 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:41 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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 174 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2003-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1531 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2003-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 131 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
1531 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-73 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1503 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
131 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
235 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
9.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS53 KFSD 090738
FFWFSD
IAC035-090930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
237 AM CDT WED JUL 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SIOUX FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA

* UNTIL 430 AM CDT

* AT 237 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH THUNDERSTORMS WAS OCCURRING OVER THE 
  WARNED AREA.  RADAR ESTIMATES SHOW THAT 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE 
  FALLEN SINCE 1 AM CDT.  ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OF OVER AN INCH MAY 
  OCCUR IN THE NEXT HOUR PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

LAT...LON 4289 9546 4261 9547 4260 9583 4291 9585

$$

SCHUMACHER
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS73 KFSD 090844
FFSFSD
IAC035-090915-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
344 AM CDT WED JUL 9 2003

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 430 AM CDT FOR...

...CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA...

THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS CHEROKEE COUNTY AT 345 AM CDT.  
RAINFALL WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH THROUGH 430 AM WITH MOST LOCATION 
RECEIVING ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OF LESS THAN AN INCH.  
HOWEVER...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR ESTIMATES THAT 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN 
HAVE FALLEN ACROSS NORTHERN CHEROKEE COUNTY.  ANY ADDITIONAL 
RAINFALL WILL INCREASE RUNOFF AND THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

$$

SCHUMACHER
000 
WGUS73 KFSD 090930
FFSFSD
IAC035-091000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
430 AM CDT WED JUL 9 2003

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR...

...CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA...

THE HEAVY RAIN HAS MOVED EAST OF THE AREA. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL 
FALL THROUGH MID MORNING...BUT IT IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE HEAVY. 
PLEASE USE CAUTION HOWEVER...AS SOME PONDING ON ROADS IS LIKELY 
STILL OCCURRING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

$$

08

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 12:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDCherokee, Ida27 min
Jul 9, 2:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDCherokee29 min
Jul 9, 2:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDCherokee31 min
Jul 9, 3:33 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningFSDIda3 hr
Jul 9, 4:05 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningFSDBuena Vista3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Iowa, 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.