Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 71, NWS Blacksburg, VA

August 21, 2003Patrick County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Aug 21, 2003, 6:02 PM EDT for Patrick 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 21, 2003, 6:02 PM EDT (22:02 UTC)
Expired: Aug 21, 2003, 9:00 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Patrick County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 39 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:04 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 78 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: 513 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 896 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 4 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 212205
FFWRNK
VAC141-220100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
602 PM EDT THU AUG 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 900 PM EDT

* AT 602 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER 
  OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM NEAR THE MEADOWS OF DAN TO STUART AND ON TO  
  THE NORTH CAROLINA BORDER.  THESE STORMS WERE NEARLY STATIONARY 
  AND PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.  DOPPLER RADAR RAINFALL 
  ESTIMATES AS 605 PM WERE AS HIGH AS 3 INCHES IN LESS THAN AN HOUR.

* SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED BY HEAVY RAIN THROUGH 900 PM EDT 
  INCLUDE THE MEADAOWS OF DAN AND STUART...

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 3655 8062 3664 8065 3667 8048 3674 8046
          3687 8025 3685 8004 3669 8008 3654 8004

$$

08

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 220057
FFSRNK
VAC141-220115-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
900 PM EDT THU AUG 21 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR PATRICK COUNTY HAS EXPIRED...

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO TRACK ACROSS THE REGION...BUT THE 
THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING HAS ENDED.  

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.

$$

SN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 21, 5:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Patrick	47 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.