Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 53, NWS Charleston, WV

July 9, 2003Lincoln County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Jul 9, 2003, 9:53 PM EDT for Lincoln County, West 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
Jul 9, 2003, 9:53 PM EDT (01:53 UTC)
Expired
Jul 10, 2003, 12:45 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

County Lincoln County, WV

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:55 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

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 205 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2003-07-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 907 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2003-07-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 5 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
907 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
912 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KRLX 100153
FFWRLX
WVC043-100445-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
953 PM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR...
  LINCOLN COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA...

* UNTIL 1245 AM EDT...

* AT 945 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN OVER HAMLIN...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE ALUM CREEK...MUD...     
  RANGER...WEST HAMLIN AND BRANCHLAND.

2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN OVER PARTS OF LINCOLN COUNTY THIS 
EVENING AND MORE RAIN IS EXPECTED.  WATER HAS BEEN REPORTED OVER THE 
ROADS NEAR BRANCHLAND AND RANGER.  STREAMS COULD REMAIN OUT OF THEIR 
BANKS FOR SEVERAL HOURS CLOSING ROADS AND THREATENING HOMES.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. 
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. 
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE 
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS 
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY 
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS, ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK 
HIGHER GROUND.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE 
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED 
ACT QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT 
STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

PLEASE REPORT HIGH WATER...HAIL OR STRONG WINDS TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...877-633-6772...WHEN YOU CAN DO
SO SAFELY.

$$

HC
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS71 KRLX 100441
FFSRLX
WVC043-100515-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
1238 AM EDT THU JUL 10 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR LINCOLN COUNTY UNTIL 12:45 AM THURSDAY 
MORNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 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.

A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 4:30 AM EDT THURSDAY.  WHILE 
THIS AREA OF RAIN HAS DIMINISHED...MORE SHOWERS MAY DEVELOP TOWARD 
MORNING...WHICH COULD CAUSE MORE FLOODING PROBLEMS...THUS THE WATCH 
REMAINS IN EFFECT.

PLEASE REPORT HIGH WATER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING
TOLL FREE...877-633-6772...WHEN YOU CAN DO SO SAFELY.

$$
.END/JMV

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 9:25 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXWayne2 hr
Jul 10, 4:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXCabell, Wayne25 min
Jul 10, 4:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXCabell, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam, Wayne32 min
Jul 10, 5:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBoone, Jackson, Kanawha30 min
Jul 10, 5:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBoone, Kanawha, Roane31 min
Jul 10, 6:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXClay33 min
Jul 10, 6:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBraxton, Nicholas27 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West 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.