Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 85, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

October 8, 2003Pecos County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this flash flood warning at Oct 8, 2003, 6:15 PM CDT for Pecos County, Texas. 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: Oct 8, 2003, 6:15 PM CDT (23:15 UTC)
Expired: Oct 8, 2003, 9:00 PM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pecos County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 138 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:17 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

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 139 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: 206 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 678 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 120 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 127 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KMAF 082315
FFWMAF
TXC371-090200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
615 PM CDT WED OCT 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL AND EASTERN PECOS COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS

* UNTIL 900 PM CDT

* AT 605 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED HEAVY RAINFALL   
  OCCURRING OVER MOST OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN PECOS COUNTY. DOPPLER 
  RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE RAINFALL TOTALS EXCEEDING TWO INCHES OVER A 
  LARGE AREA OF SOUTHERN PECOS COUNTY. THIS ACTIVITY WILL RESULT IN 
  FLASH FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS ACROSS HIGHWAYS 67...385...285...
  AND EVENTUALLY INTERSTATE 10 NEAR BAKERSFIELD.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...
  BAKERSFIELD...BELDING...FORT STOCKTON...GIRVIN AND LONGFELLOW

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF WILL INUNDATE ROADS AND FARM AND RANCH LAND. DO NOT
DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOWING WATER
IN A CAR OR ON FOOT.

LAT...LON 3066 10339 3009 10259 3028 10259 3030 10239
          3064 10239 3064 10217 3069 10215 3069 10181
          3094 10194 3101 10224 3107 10241 3120 10249
          3127 10284

$$

3 follow-up statements

000 
WGUS74 KMAF 082348
FFSMAF
TXC371-090200-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
647 PM CDT WED OCT 8 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR PECOS COUNTY UNTIL 900 PM CDT...

AT 634 PM CDT...THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTED HIGH WATER 
COVERING HIGHWAY 385 25 MILES SOUTH OF FORT STOCKTON AS A RESULT OF 
FLASH FLOODING. THE HIGHWAY WAS IMPASSABLE.

AT 638 PM...THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTED FLOODING ALONG 
U.S. HIGHWAY 67 SOUTHWEST OF FORT STOCKTON. 

HEAVY RAINFALL WILL SPREAD NORTHEAST AND LIKELY RESULT IN FLASH 
FLOODING ALONG HIGHWAY 285 SOUTH OF FORT STOCKTON...AND INTERSTATE 
10 EAST OF FORT STOCKTON BY 8 PM CDT. DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED 
ROADWAYS. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.

LAT...LON 3066 10339 3009 10259 3028 10259 3030 10239
          3064 10239 3064 10217 3069 10215 3069 10181
          3094 10194 3101 10224 3107 10241 3120 10249
          3127 10284

$$

000 
WGUS74 KMAF 090059
FFSMAF
TXC371-090200-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
759 PM CDT WED OCT 8 2003

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN PECOS 
COUNTY UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

AT 755 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER RURAL AREAS SOUTHWEST OF 
BAKERSFIELD...AND ALONG INTERSTATE 10 IN EASTERN PECOS COUNTY. RADAR 
ESTIMATES INDICATE UP TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN FROM U.S. 
HIGHWAY 285 SOUTHEAST OF FORT STOCKTON TO NEAR INTERSTATE 10 BETWEEN 
FORT STOCKTON AND BAKERSFIELD. THIS COULD RESULT IN ADDITIONAL FLASH 
FLOODING ALONG THOSE HIGHWAYS. 

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE
FLOOD DANGERS. DO NOT DRIVE INTO FLOODED AREAS.

LAT...LON 3065 10292 3053 10277 3077 10245 3084 10253
          3093 10263

$$

000 
WGUS74 KMAF 090206
FFSMAF
TXC371-090300-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
901 PM CDT WED OCT 8 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN PECOS COUNTY WAS ALLOWED
TO EXPIRE AT 900 PM CDT...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED HEAVY RAINFALL COMING TO AN 
END ACROSS EASTERN PECOS COUNTY. ALTHOUGH THE FLOOD THREAT WAS DIMINISHING. 
SOME MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS MAY CONTINUE IN BAKERSFIELD...IRAAN...
AND SURROUNDING HIGHWAYS AND ROADWAYS. IN ADDITION...EARLIER FLOODING ALONG 
HIGHWAYS 67...385...AND 285 SOUTH OF FORT STOCKTON MAY BE SLOW TO RECEDE.

MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS ON PECOS COUNTY HIGHWAYS AND ROADWAYS
TONIGHT...IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE FLOOD DANGERS. DO NOT DRIVE INTO 
FLOODED AREAS.

LAT...LON 3084 10275 3072 10260 3096 10228 3112 10247

$$

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 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.