Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 15, 2003City of Roanoke, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at May 15, 2003, 1:57 PM EDT for City of Roanoke, Virginia. It was in force for 2 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: May 15, 2003, 1:57 PM EDT (17:57 UTC)
Expired: May 15, 2003, 4:00 PM EDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County City of Roanoke, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 39 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:58 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, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 42 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1166 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 72 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 114 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 151759
FFWRNK
VAC770-152000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
157 PM EDT THU MAY 15 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  ROANOKE CITY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT

* AT 157 PM EDT...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLOODING
  OF SEVERAL STREETS IN DOWNTOWN ROANOKE. THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY 
  HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 3:00PM.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS WILL CAUSE FLASH
FLOODING OF URBAN AREAS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL 
AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.

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 3727 8003 3722 7995 3728 7987 3732 7996

$$

14

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 151854
FFSRNK
VAC770-152000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
250 PM EDT THU MAY 15 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR ROANOKE CITY UNTIL 4:00 PM EDT...

AT 250 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
THUNDERSTORMS WITH CONTINUED HEAVY RAIN OVER ROANOKE. CITY EMERGENCY 
MANAGERS REPORTED FLOODED STREETS AND WATER IN MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS. 
THE BRIDGE AT WALNUT STREET ACROSS TINKER CREEK HAS ALSO BEEN 
FLOODED AND THERE IS CLOSED. 

ANOTHER LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND VERY STRONG WINDS 
WILL MOVE ACROSS THE CITY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL FURTHER 
AGGRAVATE ANY FLOODING. 

<<CALL TO ACTION>>EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE MINOR 
FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND 
UNDERPASSES.

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.

AMS

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 2:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery, Pulaski	26 min
May 15, 2:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pulaski	20 min
May 15, 2:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery, City of Radford	61 min
May 15, 3:11 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke	3 hr
May 15, 3:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Patrick, Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	66 min
May 15, 3:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	65 min
May 15, 4:09 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Franklin	36 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.