Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 15, NWS Pueblo, CO

August 23, 2003Rio Grande County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this flash flood warning at Aug 23, 2003, 3:51 PM MDT for Rio Grande County, Colorado. 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: Aug 23, 2003, 3:51 PM MDT (21:51 UTC)
Expired: Aug 23, 2003, 6:45 PM MDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Pueblo, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Rio Grande County, CO

The radar

The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 212 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:52 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

Grand Junction, CO (KGJT), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 234 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: 72 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -119 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 921 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 43 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 240 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KPUB 232154
FFWPUB
COC105-240045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
351 PM MDT SAT AUG 23 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  RIO GRANDE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 645 PM MDT

* AN AUTOMATED RAIN GAUGE IN THE MILLION BURN SCAR HAS REPORTED MORE THAN
  HALF AN INCH OF RAIN SINCE ABOUT 330 PM. THE SHERIFFS OFFICE HAS REPORTED
  DEBRIS AND WATER FLOWS IN SOME AREAS OF THE BURN SCAR...AND AS A RESULT
  COUNTY ROAD 20 HAS BEEN CLOSED.

* ADDITIONAL RAINFALL CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH AT LEAST 500 PM WHICH   
  WILL ONLY ADD TO THE FLOODING PROBLEM. 

IF YOU ARE IN OR CLOSE TO THE WARNED AREA GO TO HIGHER GROUND
IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE ALONG CREEKS AND DRAINAGE AREAS SHOULD TAKE
IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER OR STILL WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH ON FOOT
OR BY VEHICLE. AS LITTLE AS 6 INCHES OF WATER MAY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE
CONTROL OF YOUR VEHICLE...AND 2 FEET OF RUSHING WATER CAN CARRY AWAY
MOST VEHICLES...INCLUDING SUVS AND PICKUPS. NEARLY HALF OF ALL FLOOD
FATALITIES ARE VEHICLE RELATED. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS IN WATER
ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND GO TO HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 3767 10655 3763 10654 3759 10662 3760 10669
          3769 10665

$$

2 follow-up statements

000 
WGUS75 KPUB 232311
FFSPUB
COC105-240000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
503 PM MDT SAT AUG 23 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 645 PM MDT SATURDAY
EVENING FOR (DESCRIBE LOCATION)...

AT 500 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING LIGHTNING...BRIEF RAIN AND SMALL HAIL OVER 
RIO GRANDE COUNTY. SPOTTERS AND AUTOMATED RAIN GAUGES REPORT BETWEEN 
ONE HALF AND THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN AND 
AROUND THE MILLION BURN SCAR...SOUTH OF SOUTH FORK. THE RIO GRANDE 
SHERIFF HAS CLOSED BEAVER CREEK ROAD AND MILL CREEK ROADS DUE TO RUN 
OFF. SOME DEBRIS FROM THE BURN SCAR WAS REPORTED ON THE ROAD WAYS 
AND IN LOW AREAS. 

THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE AREA AT LEAST UNTIL 700 PM BUT 
THE INTENSITY OF RAINFALL AND FREQUENCY OF LIGHTNING SHOULD BE 
DIMINISHING BETWEEN 600 AND 700 PM. RUNOFF FROM THE BURN SCAR WILL 
CONTINUE TO BE A CONCERN ALONG WITH THE QUICK RISE TO SMALL CREEKS 
AND STREAM.
 
WATCH FOR ROCKSLIDES AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN AS WELL AS WATER 
OVER THE ROADWAY IN SOME OF THE LOWER AREAS NEAR THE MILLION BURN 
SCAR. WHEN DRIVING...SLOW DOWN TO AVOID HITTING ROCKS AND MUD ON THE 
ROADWAY.

LAT...LON 3770 10613 3743 10610 3742 10662 3773 10664

$$

000 
WGUS75 KPUB 240047
FFSPUB
COC105-240115-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
645 PM MDT SAT AUG 23 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING WHICH WAS IN EFFECT FOR RIO GRANDE COUNTY...

HAS EXPIRED.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DECREASED IN INTENSITY OR MOVED SOUTH 
OF THE MILLION BURN SCAR. SMALL CREEKS...SMALL STREAMS AND DRAINAGE 
DITCHES MAY REMAIN HIGH AND THERE MAY STILL BE SOME RUNOFF IN THE 
LOW AREAS NEAR THE BURN SCAR. HOWEVER THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN OR 
SIGNIFICANT RUNOFF HAS ENDED.

WATCH FOR ROCKSLIDES AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN AND FOR DEBRIS 
ON ROADWAYS ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING NEAR OR ACROSS SMALL 
CREEKS...STREAMS OR DRAINAGE DITCHES.

LAT...LON 3772 10628 3745 10628 3744 10669 3773 10668

$$

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Colorado, 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.