Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 65, NWS Blacksburg, VA

August 10, 2003Bedford County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Aug 10, 2003, 8:04 PM EDT for Bedford 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
Aug 10, 2003, 8:04 PM EDT (00:04 UTC)
Expired
Aug 10, 2003, 11:00 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Bedford County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:06 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, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 32 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 2003-08-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 810 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 2003-08-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
810 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
775 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
2 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 110006
FFWRNK
VAC019-110300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
804 PM EDT SUN AUG 10 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN BEDFORD COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 1100 PM EDT

* AT 804 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER 
  OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH TORRENTIAL RAINFALL OVER NORTHERN BEDFORD 
  COUNTY BETWEEN SEDALIA AND BIG ISLAND. THESE STORMS HAVE ALREADY 
  DUMPED UP TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN...AND ARE EXPECTED TO BRING AN 
  ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES BY 900 PM. THIS WILL LIKELY CAUSE 
  FLOODING ALONG CREEKS AND STREAMS IN THE AREA.

* SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED BY HEAVY RAIN THROUGH 1100 PM EDT INCLUDE
  BIG ISLAND...
  SEDALIA...
  STONY CREEK...
  NORTH OTTER CREEK...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...COUNTRY ROADS...AS WELL AS FARMLAND ALONG THE
BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS.

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 3760 7942 3746 7926 3734 7942 3742 7964
          3750 7955

$$

06
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS71 KRNK 110058
FFSRNK
VAC019-110245-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
855 PM EDT SUN AUG 10 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES UNTIL
1045 PM EDT...

  NORTHERN BEDFORD COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

AT 855 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUE ACROSS 
PARTS OF NORTHERN BEDFORD COUNTY...FROM NEAR THE CITY OF 
BEDFORD...NORTHEAST TO THE TOWN OF BIG ISLAND. RADAR ESTIMATES 2.5 
TO 3.5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN SOME AREAS. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 
INCHES OF RAIN IS LIKELY THROUGH 10:30 PM...AND THIS WILL AGGRAVATE 
ANY FLOODING ALREADY OCCURRING.

RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING IN THE 
BIG ISLAND AND SEDALIA AREAS...AND ALONG STONY CREEK...NORTH OTTER 
CREEK...AND POSSIBLY THE BIG OTTER RIVER.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED. MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND.

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.

$$

JJ
000 
WGUS71 KRNK 110059 CCA
FFSRNK
VAC019-110245-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT...CORRECTED EXPIRATION TIME OF WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
855 PM EDT SUN AUG 10 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES UNTIL
1100 PM EDT...

  NORTHERN BEDFORD COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

AT 855 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUE ACROSS 
PARTS OF NORTHERN BEDFORD COUNTY...FROM NEAR THE CITY OF 
BEDFORD...NORTHEAST TO THE TOWN OF BIG ISLAND. RADAR ESTIMATES 2.5 
TO 3.5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN SOME AREAS. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 
INCHES OF RAIN IS LIKELY THROUGH 10:30 PM...AND THIS WILL AGGRAVATE 
ANY FLOODING ALREADY OCCURRING.

RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING IN THE 
BIG ISLAND AND SEDALIA AREAS...AND ALONG STONY CREEK...NORTH OTTER 
CREEK...AND POSSIBLY THE BIG OTTER RIVER.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED. MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND.

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.

$$

JJ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 10, 8:34 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKAmherst3 hr
Aug 10, 9:48 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKBedford2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in 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.