Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 15, NWS Blacksburg, VA

June 11, 2003Smyth County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Jun 11, 2003, 5:13 PM EDT for Smyth County, 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jun 11, 2003, 5:13 PM EDT (21:13 UTC)
Expired: Jun 11, 2003, 8:15 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Smyth County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:17 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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 175 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: 73 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -132 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1056 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 88 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 39 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 
WGUS51 KRNK 112112
FFWRNK
VAC173-120015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
513 PM EDT WED JUN 11 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SMYTH COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 815 PM EDT

* AT 510 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN CONTINUING TO MOVE OVER THE RYE 
  VALLEY AREA OF THE COUNTY.  ADDITIONAL STORMS ARE LIKELY TO 
  PRODUCE AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 1.5 INCHES OF RAIN BY 600 PM.

AREAS AFFECTED MAY INCLDE SUGAR GROVE AND ROBERTS MILL ALONG WITH 
GEORGES BRANCH AND BISHOPS BRANCH.

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.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER OR FLOODING TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY AND HAVE THEM RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.

RELAY REPORTS OF FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
BLACKSBURG BY CALLING TOLL FREE...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4.

LAT...LON 3686 8134 3676 8131 3672 8150 3681 8155

$$

04

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 112241
FFSRNK
VAC173-120000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
642 PM EDT WED JUN 11 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES AND
INDEPENDENT CITIES...SMYTH...

UNTIL 815 PM EDT.

AT 635 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
RAIN 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ATKINS...OR 5 MILES NORTH OF SUGAR GROVE...
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 MPH. IN ADDITION...AN AREA OF ADDITIONAL HEAVY 
RAIN WILL BE MOVING INTO THE COUNTY BETWEEN 6:50 AND 7:15 PM EDT.  
THIS RAIN WILL LIKELY PRODUCE ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL 
STREAMS...SECONDARY ROADS AND LOW LYING AREAS.  

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE....SUGAR GROVE...ROBERTS 
MILL...SUMMIT AND MOUNT ROGERS RECREATION AREA.  THE AREA OF HEAVY 
RAIN WEST  OF THE AREA WILL BE MOVING INTO THE CHILHOWIE...THOMAS 
BRIDGE AREA OF THE COUNTY AROUND 7:00 PM.

NO REPORTS OF FLOODING HAVE BEEN RECEIVED AT THE NWS OFFICE AS OF 
6:40 PM EDT.
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.

RELAY YOUR REPORTS OF FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY
CALLING TOLL FREE...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4.

$$

MG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 11, 4:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pulaski	43 min
Jun 11, 4:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Giles	29 min
Jun 11, 6:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Halifax	46 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 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.