Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 62, NWS Blacksburg, VA

August 9, 2003Roanoke County, City of Roanoke, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Aug 9, 2003, 11:15 PM EDT for Roanoke County, 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: Aug 9, 2003, 11:15 PM EDT (03:15 UTC)
Expired: Aug 10, 2003, 1:15 AM EDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties City of Roanoke, VA, Roanoke County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:17 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 00:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 51 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: 385 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -79 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 980 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 22 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KRNK 100316
FFWRNK
VAC161-770-100515-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1115 PM EDT SAT AUG 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 115 AM EDT

* AT 1115 PM EDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED FLOODING IN EASTERN ROANOKE
  COUNTY. GLADE CREEK WAS REPORTED OUT OF ITS BANKS AND RISING IN
  VINTON AT 5TH AND WALNUT STREET. WOLF CREEK HAS ALSO COME OUT OF
  ITS BANKS AND HAS FLOODED HARDY ROAD. RUNOFF FROM EARLIER HEAVY
  RAIN IS EXPECTED TO CREATE LOCAL STREET FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS 
  OF ROANOKE CITY. 

* SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED BY HEAVY RAIN THROUGH 115 AM EDT INCLUDE
  ROANOKE...
  AND VINTON.

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.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF
CREEKS AND STREAMS...ROADS AND ROADSIDE CULVERTS. THE HEAVY RAINS
COULD ALSO CAUSE ROCK AND MUDSLIDES.

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 3721 8019 3734 8030 3743 8009 3733 7984
          3722 7984 3713 7996 3717 8003 3711 8018

$$

14

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 100428
FFSRNK
VAC161-770-100515-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1225 AM EDT SUN AUG 10 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY AND CITY 
UNTIL 115 AM EDT...

  ROANOKE CITY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  ROANOKE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

AT 12:25 AM EDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED GLADE 
CREEK IN VINTON WAS STILL RISING. COUNTY OFFICIALS ALSO REPORTED 
WOLF CREEK HAD BEGUN TO RECEDE. TRAINED SPOTTERS REPORTED 4 TO 5 
INCHES OF RAIN IN EXTREME EASTERN ROANOKE COUNTY BETWEEN 8:30 AND 
10:30 PM. 

RUNOFF FROM THIS EARLIER EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE FLASH 
FLOODING IN EASTERN ROANOKE COUNTY...ESPECIALLY VINTON. 

SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL RAPIDLY FLOOD...POSSIBLY WASHING OUT 
ROADS AND FLOODING NEARBY LOW AREAS.

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
Aug 9, 10:06 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Bedford	114 min
Aug 10, 1:07 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke	113 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.