Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 79, NWS Charleston, WV

August 16, 2003Randolph County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Aug 16, 2003, 10:01 PM EDT for Randolph County, West Virginia. It was in force for 119 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 2003, 10:01 PM EDT (02:01 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 2003, 12:00 AM EDT
In force
119 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

County Randolph County, WV

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 169 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:02 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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 178 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, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 2003-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1052 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, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 2003-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 75 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
1052 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
933 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
75 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
66 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KRLX 170204
FFWRLX
WVC083-170400-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
1001 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  RANDOLPH COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA...

* UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT...

* AT 957 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN ACROSS WESTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE BEVERLY...COALTON...
  PUMPKINTOWN AND ELLAMORE.

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 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 170357
FFSRLX
WVC041-083-097-170430-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
1154 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS FOR UPSHUR...RANDOLPH AND LEWIS COUNTIES 
WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THE HEAVY RAINFALL WAS 
ENDING AND SHIFTING SOUTH OF THE WARNED AREAS...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.  

WATER MAY CONTINUE TO BE PONDING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW 
SPOTS OVER THE NEXT HOUR OR SO AS LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINS DIMINISH.

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

$$

HC

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 10:14 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXLewis, Upshur106 min
Aug 17, 2:30 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXWebster2 hr

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.