Alert archive / Ohio / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 40, NWS Wilmington, OH

July 4, 2003Mercer County, Ohio

NWS Wilmington, OH issued this flash flood warning at Jul 4, 2003, 11:07 PM EDT for Mercer County, Ohio. It was in force for 4 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 4, 2003, 11:07 PM EDT (03:07 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 2003, 3:00 AM EDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, OH
Area
Whole counties

County Mercer County, OH

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:07 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

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 3.1 hours before the alert went out and 142 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2003-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1527 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2003-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 27 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1527 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1393 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KILN 050306
FFWILN
OHC107-050700-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1107 PM EDT FRI JUL 4 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  MERCER COUNTY IN OHIO...

* UNTIL 300 AM EDT...

* THREE TO FOUR INCHES OF RAIN HAVE FALLEN ACROSS NORTHERN MERCER 
COUNTY TONIGHT.  THIS HAS CAUSED SOILS TO BECOME SATURATED.  SHOWERS 
AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES WILL MOVE ACROSS THE 
COUNTY THROUGH 3 AM EDT. AS A RESULT...AN ADDITIONAL TWO TO FOUR 
INCHES OF RAIN WILL BE LIKELY.  CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL OVERFLOW 
THEIR BANKS.  LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS WILL BECOME 
INUNDATED WITH WATER.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE...
  CELINA...
  COLDWATER...
  FORT RECOVERY...
  ROCKFORD...
  ST. HENRY...

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY 
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS...ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK 
HIGHER GROUND.

MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR
VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER MAY
BE TOO DEEP TO SAFELY CROSS. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD
BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.

$$

RANDALL/HICKMAN
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS71 KILN 050403
FFSILN
OHC107-050700-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1202 AM EDT SAT JUL 5 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR MERCER COUNTY UNTIL 300 AM
EDT...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OF 3 TO 
5 INCHES OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MERCER COUNTY TONIGHT. ADDITIONAL 
HEAVY RAIN ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WILL RESULT IN WIDESPREAD 
FLASH FLOODING ACROSS THE COUNTY OVERNIGHT.  

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE...
  CELINA...
  COLDWATER...
  FORT RECOVERY...
  ROCKFORD...
  ST. HENRY...

AT 1150 PM EDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED HIGH WATER OVER NUMEROUS 
COUNTY ROADS. 

NEVER ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THROUGH A FLOODED ROAD OR AROUND HIGH WATER
SIGNS. MORE THAN HALF OF FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. IT
ONLY TAKES BETWEEN ONE AND TWO FEET OF WATER TO FLOAT A CAR OR TRUCK.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLASH FLOODS. HEAVY RAIN OBSCURES VISION AND MAKES IT
DIFFICULT TO SEE WATER ON THE ROAD. 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.

$$
HICKMAN/RANDALL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 4, 8:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNHardin, Logan45 min
Jul 4, 8:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNPreble65 min
Jul 4, 8:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNMiami64 min
Jul 4, 8:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNMontgomery55 min
Jul 4, 8:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNChampaign, Clark49 min
Jul 4, 8:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNGreene41 min
Jul 4, 8:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNButler39 min
Jul 4, 8:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNWarren51 min
Jul 4, 9:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNClinton39 min
Jul 4, 9:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNHamilton40 min
Jul 4, 9:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNClermont50 min
Jul 4, 9:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNBrown, Highland44 min
Jul 5, 1:04 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningILNDarke4 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.