Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 50, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

September 15, 2003Bucks County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this flash flood warning at Sep 15, 2003, 6:33 PM EDT for Bucks County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. 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
Sep 15, 2003, 6:33 PM EDT (22:33 UTC)
Expired
Sep 15, 2003, 9:30 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bucks County, PA, Lehigh County, PA, Northampton County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:36 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, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 138 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 152241
FFWPHI
PAC017-077-095-160130-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN LEHIGH COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA   
  CENTRAL AND WESTERN NORTHAMPTON COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA     
  NORTHWESTERN BUCKS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 930 PM EDT.

* AT 630 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SEVERAL   
  INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN SO FAR ACROSS LOCALIZED AREAS. WITH MORE 
  MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN EXPECTED TO FALL ACROSS THE REGION THIS     
  EVENING, A FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED. 

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

$$

LAT...LON 4081 7532 4052 7519 4037 7534 4049 7552

KRUZDLO
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS71 KPHI 160126
FFSPHI
PAC011-017-077-091-095-160200-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
916 PM EDT MON SEP 15 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR BERKS...LEHIGH...NORTHAMPTON...BUCKS 
AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 930 PM...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE RAINFALL WAS
ENDING ACROSS THE WARNED AREA...AND THE FLOOD THREAT WAS DIMINISHING.
SOME MINOR FLOODING MAY CONTINUE...BUT THE THREAT OF SERIOUS FLOODING
IS ENDING. THUS...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS BEING ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.
SOME FLOODING CONTINUES IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS BUT THIS WILL ALSO 
SUBSIDE.

SOME RIVERS REMAIN OUT OF THEIR BANKS IN BERKS...MONTGOMERY AND 
CHESTER COUNTIES. PLEASE SEE THE RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS FOR CONTENT 
ABOUT FLOODING ON THE PERKIOMEN CREEK AND BRANDYWINE CREEKS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER MEDIA FOR THE LATEST SEVERE
WEATHER INFORMATION.

$$

RNS

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, 8:18 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHIBerks, Montgomery4 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

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.