Alert archive / Missouri / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 6, 2003Jefferson County, Missouri; Monroe County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this flash flood warning at May 6, 2003, 7:55 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Missouri; Monroe County, Illinois. 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
May 6, 2003, 7:55 PM CDT (00:55 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 2003, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Monroe County, IL, Jefferson County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 55 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:55 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, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 258 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 070058
FFWLSX
ILC133-MOC099-070500-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
  MONROE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS

* UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT

* AT 755 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS JEFFERSON COUNTY AND 
MONROE COUNTY.  WITH RECENT HEAVY RAIN...THE GROUND IS NEARLY 
SATURATED.

* FLASH FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA...AND MAY BE   
AFFECTING PERSONS AROUND HILLSBORO AND BARNHARDT.

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

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

$$
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS73 KLSX 070233
FFSLSX
ILC133-MOC099-070500-

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

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MONROE AND JEFFERSON 
COUNTIES UNTIL MIDNIGHT...

AT 927 PM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED NUMEROUS FLOODED ROADS 
ACROSS JEFFERSON COUNTY AND MONROE COUNTY INCLUDING THE CITIES OF  
MAEYSTOWN...DE SOTO...FESTUS...AND CRYSTAL CITY. FLOODED ROADS WERE 
ALSO HAMPERING RESCUE EFFORTS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY.  A NUMBER OF 
SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS WERE OUT OF THEIR BANKS.  

WHILE THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL HAS ENDED...LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN WILL 
CONTINUE THROUGH AROUND 1100 PM AND THIS WILL PROLONG AND AGGREVATE 
EXISTING FLOODING.

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 070352
FFSLSX
ILC133-MOC099-070500-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1045 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MONROE AND JEFFERSON
COUNTIES UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM JEFFERSON COUNTY REPORTED EXTENSIVE 
FLOODING IN AND AROUND THE COMMUNITIES OF DE SOTO...FESTUS...AND 
CRYSTAL CITY. PEOPLE WERE REPORTEDLY TRAPPED IN CARS DUE TO 3 TO 4 
FEET OF WATER. NUMEREROUS SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS WERE OUT OF THEIR 
BANKS.  IN MONROE COUNTY...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A NUMBER 
OF ROADS AROUND MAEYSTOWN REMAINED FLOODED.

WIDESPREAD RAINFALL SHOULD BE ENDING ACROSS THE AREA BY MIDNIGHT 
WITH ONLY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A THUNDERSTORM EXPECTED 
OVERNIGHT.

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.

$$
FG

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, 7:37 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLSXFranklin3 hr
May 6, 7:38 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXSainte Genevieve, Saint Francois52 min
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
May 6, 7:46 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMonroe59 min
May 6, 7:53 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXRandolph52 min
May 6, 8:06 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXSaint Clair54 min
May 6, 8:35 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXWashington55 min
May 6, 8:41 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXRandolph49 min
May 6, 9:24 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXWashington36 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Missouri, 2003Flash Flood Warnings in Illinois, 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.