Alert archive / Nevada / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 17, NWS Elko, NV

August 21, 2003Elko County, Nevada

NWS Elko, NV issued this flash flood warning at Aug 21, 2003, 3:53 PM PDT for Elko County, Nevada. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 21, 2003, 3:53 PM PDT (22:53 UTC)
Expired: Aug 21, 2003, 6:00 PM PDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Elko, NV
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Elko County, NV

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Elko, NV (KLKN), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 138 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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 2085 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 63 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KLKN 212259
FFWLKN
NVC007-220100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
353 PM PDT THU AUG 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS EXTENDED THE 

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY IN NEVADA
  THIS INCLUDES THE COMMUNITIES OF...WILDHORSE...TUSCARORA   
  ...OWYHEE...MOUNTAIN CITY...MONTELLO...JARBIDGE...CONTACT
  ...CHARLESTON AND GIBBS RANCH

* UNTIL 600 PM PDT

* AT 350 PM PDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY 
  RAIN ACROSS CENTRAL ELKO COUNTY MOVING NORTH AT 15 TO 20 MPH. 

IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND AND 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.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.

LAT...LON 4113 11673 4071 11408 4183 11415 4197 11689

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 21, 2:24 PM PDT, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 2:24 PM PDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before

NORTHERN GREAT BASIN FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
224 PM PDT THU AUG 21 2003

.SYNOPSIS...LOW OFF THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST COMBINED WITH
HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE FOUR CORNERS AREA IS PRODUCING SOUTHERLY
WIND OVER NEVADA. THESE SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE VERY MOIST AND WILL
CAUSE HEAVY RAIN AND ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST
NEVADA TODAY AND FRIDAY. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS RETURN ON SATURDAY
BRINGING DRIER AND WARMER TEMPERATURES THROUGH MID WEEK.

.SHORT TERM...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS DEEP MOISTURE OVER
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE NEVADA ARIZONA
BORDER. CONVECTION FIRING OFF ALL OVER THE FORECAST AREA...BUT
MAINLY CONFINED TO OUR CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL ZONES. HAVE
ISSUED FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS FOR ELKO AND NORTHERN EUREKA COUNTIES AND
WILL ISSUE FOR SOUTHERN LANDER AND WHITE PINE COUNTIES AS INTENSE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THAT AREA. FRIDAY LOOKS EVEN MORE OMINOUS
AS UPPER JET MOVES OVER NORTHEAST NEVADA. DEEP MOISTURE AND
INSTABILITY REMAINS...ALL DYNAMICS ARE THERE FOR SEVERE WEATHER.
WILL MAINLY START FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND LAST THROUGH EARLY EVENING
IN NORTHERN HUMBOLDT...ELKO AND EASTERN WHITE PINE COUNTIES. SO
SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE IN THE FORECAST TOMORROW AFTERNOON. DRY
SOUTHWEST FLOW RETURNS SATURDAY MORNING AND MOISTURE MOVES OFF TO
EAST. SUNDAY WILL BE FAIRLY DRY AND WARMER.

.EXTENDED...MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING LOOKS DRY AS
SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW CONTINUES. MRF SHOWS ANOTHER SHOT OF MID AND
UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE MOVING INTO EASTERN NEVADA WEDNESDAY...SO
INTRODUCED SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE
AFTERNOON.

.EKO...NVZ030>037 FLASH FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

CLAYCOMB

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 21, 3:38 AM PDT, 12 hours 15 minutes before

NVZ030>037-221400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
338 AM PDT THU AUG 21 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL
NEVADA

.DAY ONE...

FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NEVADA FOR THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SEE FFALKN FOR DETAILS. A MOIST AIRMASS
REMAINS ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NEVADA TODAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHERN
NEVADA TODAY AND TONIGHT AND SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

ON FRIDAY A DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN ACCOMPANIED
BY STRONG UPPER LEVEL WINDS WHICH WILL AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

SEDLOCK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Elko, NV issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 21, 12:14 PM PDT	Flash Flood Warning	LKN	Elko, Eureka	2 hr
Aug 21, 1:07 PM PDT	Flash Flood Warning	LKN	Eureka, White Pine	3 hr
Aug 21, 2:00 PM PDT	Flash Flood Warning	LKN	Elko, Eureka	2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Nevada, 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.