Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 44, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

September 15, 2003Berks County, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this flash flood warning at Sep 15, 2003, 8:18 AM EDT for Berks County, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. 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
Sep 15, 2003, 8:18 AM EDT (12:18 UTC)
Expired
Sep 15, 2003, 12:15 PM EDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Whole counties

Counties Berks County, PA, Montgomery County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:17 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

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 101 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2003-09-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 364 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, Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD at 12:00Z on 2003-09-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 18 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
364 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
661 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KPHI 151221
FFWPHI
PAC011-091-151615-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
818 AM EDT MON SEP 15 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN BERKS COUNTY 
  NORTHWESTERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY 
 
* UNTIL 1215 PM EDT.

* AT 811 AM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT TWO TO FOUR 
INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN SO FAR ACROSS THE WARNED AREA AND CREEKS 
ARE RISING RAPIDLY. FLOODING HAS JUST STARTED ALONG THE MANATAWNY 
CREEK IN POTTSTOWN AND MORE STREAMS ARE EXPECTED TO FLOOD IN THE 
AREA. DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT MORE HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED 
ACROSS THE REGION AND THIS WILL ONLY EXACERBATE THE ONGOING FLOODING.

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.

NEVER EVER DRIVE AROUND BARRICADES.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT 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.

FOR THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION...PLEASE TUNE TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO...YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION...OR YOUR CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLET.

$$

LAT...LON 4034 7535 4013 7545 4013 7552 4019 7557
          4025 7567 4017 7583 4018 7597 4056 7572

TFG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 15, 6:07 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIChester3 hr
Sep 15, 8:47 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIChester6 hr
Sep 15, 12:10 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIBerks4 hr
Sep 15, 3:24 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIBerks, Chester, Montgomery6 hr
Sep 15, 5:19 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIChester6 hr
Sep 15, 6:33 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIBucks, Lehigh, Northampton3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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.