Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 41, NWS Blacksburg, VA

July 22, 2003Franklin County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Jul 22, 2003, 4:59 PM EDT for Franklin 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: Jul 22, 2003, 4:59 PM EDT (20:59 UTC)
Expired: Jul 22, 2003, 8:00 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Franklin County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:01 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, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 37 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: 84 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -123 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 997 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 93 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KRNK 222101
FFWRNK
VAC067-230000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
459 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL FRANKLIN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 800 PM EDT

* AT 459 PM EDT...A TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED 2.3 INCHES OF
  RAIN BETWEEN 4:00 AND 5:00 PM NEAR CALLAWAY. HEAVY RAIN WILL 
  CONTINUE TO FALL IN THIS AREA THROUGH 6:00 PM...WITH AN ADDITIONAL 
  1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN POSSIBLE.

* SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED BY HEAVY RAIN THROUGH 800 PM EDT INCLUDE
   CALLAWAY...
   BOONES MILL...

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.

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 3713 8010 3718 8004 3715 7998 3719 7990
          3722 7988 3723 7977 3720 7975 3720 7967
          3713 7972 3705 7985 3699 7994 3696 8009

$$

11

2 follow-up statements

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 222202
FFSRNK
VAC067-230000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
600 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES AND
INDEPENDENT CITIES UNTIL 800 PM EDT...

  NORTH CENTRAL FRANKLIN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

AT 600 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN COVERING MUCH OF 
FRANKLIN COUNTY. RADAR ESTIMATES OF BETWEEN TWO AND THREE INCHES OF 
RAIN HAD FALLEN OVER EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE 
COUNTY.

THE FRANKLIN COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT 515 PM EDT 
REPORTED THAT ROUTE 220 WAS FLOODED ONE MILE NORTH OF THE TOWN OF 
BOONESMILL.

FLOODING AND FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS AS WELL AS 
AREAS OF POOR DRAINAGE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO PERSIST OVER NORTHERN 
PORTIONS OF FRANKLIN COUNTY THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS 
IMMINENT. NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS HIGH WATER IN A VEHICLE OR ON FOOT

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.

$$

WERT

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 222253
FFSRNK
VAC067-230000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
655 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR NORTH CENTRAL FRANKLIN COUNTY IN WEST 
CENTRAL VIRGINIA HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

AT 655 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
THAT RAIN WAS ENDING OVER FRANKLIN COUNTY AND THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT 
HAD ENDED.  THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING THAT HAD BEEN IN 
EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL FRANKLIN COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

HOWEVER...PONDING OF WATER IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW 
SPOTS...ALONG WITH WATER LEVELS ON SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS...WILL 
REMAIN HIGH DUE TO RUNOFF FROM PREVIOUS HEAVY RAIN INTO THE MID 
EVENING HOURS.

MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING INTO AREAS 
WHERE EARLIER FLASH FLOODING MAY HAVE ERODED OR COMPROMISED ROAD 
BEDS.

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.

$$

WERT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 22, 4:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Wythe	25 min
Jul 22, 4:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Franklin	55 min
Jul 22, 5:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pittsylvania, City of Danville	63 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.