Alert archive / Missouri / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS St. Louis, MO

July 18, 2003Lincoln County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 18, 2003, 4:26 PM CDT for Lincoln 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 18, 2003, 4:26 PM CDT (21:26 UTC)
Expired: Jul 18, 2003, 7:30 PM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS St. Louis, MO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lincoln County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:26 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 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 222 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: 315 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -200 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 874 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 183 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 243 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 6.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS53 KLSX 182128
FFWLSX
MOC113-190030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
426 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* SINCE 330 PM...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN IN AN 
EXTREMELY NARROW AREA FROM ABOUT 10 MILES WEST OF ELSBERRY...TO NEAR 
WINFIELD.  SOME AREAS MAY HAVE RECEIVED IN EXCESS OF 3 INCHES OF 
RAIN.

* FLASH FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA...AND WILL BE   
AFFECTING FOLEY AND WINDFIELD.

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.

THOSE CAMPING NEAR SMALL STREAMS SHOULD MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND AT
ONCE. WATER LEVELS MAY RISE RAPIDLY WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING...EVEN
IF THE HEAVY RAINS ARE WELL UPSTREAM OF YOUR CAMPSITE.

LAT...LON 3922 9074 3893 9067 3889 9086 3922 9101

$$

TRUETT

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS73 KLSX 182249
FFSLSX
MOC113-190030-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
545 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN LINCOLN 
COUNTY UNTIL 730 PM CDT...

AT 540 PM WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS INDICATING THAT MOST OF 
THE HEAVY RAIN HAS MOVED OUT OF LINCOLN COUNTY.  HOWEVER...THERE ARE 
STILL SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH THE COUNTY.  WHILE 
THESE STORMS ARE NOT NEARLY AS STRONG AS THE ONES WHICH PRODUCED THE 
HEAVY RAIN EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON...THEY STILL MAY CONTAIN BRIEF 
HEAVY RAIN WHICH WILL ONLY WORSEN ANY FLOODING WHICH IS ALREADY 
OCCURRING.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TRAINING 
OVER EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY UNTIL AT LEAST 600 PM.

RADAR WAS INDICATING THAT THE HEAVIEST RAIN FELL IN A NARROW BAND IN 
EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY.  BECAUSE THE RAIN FELL IN SUCH A NARROW 
BAND...THE FLOODING WILL NOT BE WIDESPREAD.  HOWEVER...PEOPLE IN AND 
NEAR WINFIELD...AND FOLEY SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS THIS EVENING 
ON THEIR COMMUTE HOME FROM WORK.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS AND OTHER
LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

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.

$$

CARNEY

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 18, 9:14 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Saint Charles, Saint Louis, City of Saint Louis	46 min
Jul 18, 9:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Jefferson, Saint Louis	49 min
Jul 18, 3:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Jefferson, Saint Francois, Washington	48 min
Jul 18, 3:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Lincoln, Saint Charles	50 min
Jul 18, 3:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Madison, Sainte Genevieve, Saint Francois	48 min
Jul 18, 5:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Saint Francois, Washington	50 min
Jul 18, 6:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Iron, Madison, Saint Francois	45 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Missouri, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.