Alert archive / Missouri / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 6, 2003Franklin County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this flash flood warning at May 6, 2003, 7:37 PM CDT for Franklin County, Missouri. It was in force for 3 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
May 6, 2003, 7:37 PM CDT (00:37 UTC)
Expired
May 6, 2003, 10:30 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

County Franklin County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:40 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 288 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2003-05-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 208 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2003-05-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 85 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
208 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-120 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
187 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 
WGUS53 KLSX 070042
FFWLSX
MOC071-070330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
737 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 1030 PM CDT

* AT 737 PM CDT...FRANKLIN COUNTY EOC REPORTED WATER COVERING 
NUMEROUS ROADS THROUGHOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY. I-44 MAY BE CLOSED EAST 
OF ST CLAIR.

RADAR ESTIMATES UP TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN SINCE 600 PM AND 
ANOTHER 1 INCH OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE THROUGH 900 PM BEFORE SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS COME TO AN END. 

* FLASH FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA...AND WILL BE   
AFFECTING UNION...ST CLAIR...AND MOST LOCATIONS NEAR SMALL CREEKS 
AND STREAMS THROUGHOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY.

IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR IMMINENT...MOVE QUICKLY TO HIGHER 
GROUND. NEVER DRIVE INTO AN AREA WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW WATER CROSSINGS IF WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. DO NOT DRIVE AROUND BARRICADES IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS...
ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND.

$$

FG
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS73 KLSX 070243
FFSLSX
MOC071-070330-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
937 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR FRANKLIN COUNTY UNTIL 
1030 PM CDT...

LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED FLOODING CONTINUED ACROSS PORTIONS OF 
FRANKLIN COUNTY INCLUDING AROUND THE COMMUNITIES OF UNION...ST 
CLAIR...AND GRUBVILLE.  HIGHWAYS AD...FF...AB...MILL HILL 
ROAD...SCHUCHART ROAD...AND WEST BOUND I-44 AT MILE POST 240 NEAR ST 
CLAIR WERE ALL CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER. 

LINGERING RAIN SHOULD MOVE TO THE EAST AND END ACROSS FRANKLIN 
COUNTY BY 1015 PM.  

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.

MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. AVOID BRIDGES...DIPS...
OR OTHER LOW LYING AREAS...AND NEVER 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.

$$
000 
WGUS73 KLSX 070342
FFSLSX
MOC071-070415-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1039 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR FRANKLIN COUNTY HAS EXPIRED...

WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH 
PROMPTED THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAVE MOVED OUT OF THE AREA.  LATEST 
INFORMATION FROM LOCAL LAW ENFOREMENT INDICATE IMPROVING CONDITIONS 
AND SOME STANDING WATER.

RESIDENTS HOWEVER SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AS A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS 
IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA.  WHILE HEAVY RAINFALL IS NOT EXPECTED FOR 
THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT...ANY ADDITIONAL RAIN WHICH AFFECTS THE 
AREA WILL FALL ON SATURATED GROUND AND COULD PRODUCE RENEWED 
FLOODING.

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 6, 7:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCrawford44 min
May 6, 7:16 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXFranklin, Jefferson59 min
May 6, 7:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXSainte Genevieve, Saint Francois50 min
May 6, 7:38 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXSainte Genevieve, Saint Francois52 min
May 6, 7:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLSXJefferson4 hr
May 6, 8:00 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXSainte Genevieve45 min
May 6, 8:07 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXIron, Madison, Saint Francois38 min
May 6, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXIron, Madison, Reynolds59 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Missouri, 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.