Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 58, NWS Baltimore/Washington

June 19, 2003Fairfax County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Jun 19, 2003, 4:15 AM EDT for Fairfax County, Virginia. 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
Jun 19, 2003, 4:15 AM EDT (08:15 UTC)
Expired
Jun 19, 2003, 7:15 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Fairfax County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 24 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:15 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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 17 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2003-06-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 141 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2003-06-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
141 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
737 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jun 19, 3:41 AM EDT, 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 19, 3:41 AM EDT, 34 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 18, 11:30 AM EDT, 16 hours 45 minutes before
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-
050>057-WVZ048>055-190900-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1130 AM EDT WED JUN 18 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE
BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...NORTHERN
VIRGINIA...THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY...AND THE
EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT. SOME OF THE RAINFALL
COULD BE HEAVY ENOUGH TO PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THURSDAY. SOME OF THE
RAINFALL COULD BE HEAVY ENOUGH TO PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY AT THIS
TIME.

MMARGRAF

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 18, 10:30 PM EDT, 5 hours 45 minutes before
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-
050>057-WVZ048>055-191000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1030 PM EDT WED JUN 18 2003

...MODERATE RAINFALL EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON...

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS THE MID ATLANTIC
REGION LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE
PERIODS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY
AFTERNOON. A TOTAL OF 0.5 TO 1.5 INCHES OF RAIN COULD FALL ACROSS
THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

THIS AMOUNT OF RAINFALL COULD CAUSE WATER TO POND ON ROADS. WATER
MAY ALSO COLLECT IN DITCHES...UNDERPASSES...AND OTHER LOW LYING
AREAS. IN ADDITION...SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS MAY RISE TO BANKFULL
BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

THE RAINFALL IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE HEAVY ENOUGH TO CAUSE FLASH
FLOODING OR RIVER FLOODING AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...AREAS RIVERS MAY
EXPERIENCE RISES TO THREE QUARTER BANKFULL BECAUSE OF THE
SIGNIFICANT RUNOFF EXPECTED DUE TO THE WET GROUND CONDITIONS. A
FLOOD WATCH WILL BE ISSUED IF THE AMOUNT OF EXPECTED PRECIPITATION
INCREASES AND WIDESPREAD FLOODING BECOMES A THREAT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION ON THIS WEATHER EVENT.

CPW

The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 19, 12:58 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXFairfax, Loudoun, Prince William3 hr
Jun 19, 6:40 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXFrederick3 hr
Jun 19, 7:45 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXHoward, Montgomery3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 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.