Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 80, NWS Blacksburg, VA

September 23, 2003Rockbridge County, City of Buena Vista, City of Lexington, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 23, 2003, 2:38 AM EDT for Rockbridge County, City of Buena Vista, City of Lexington, 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: Sep 23, 2003, 2:38 AM EDT (06:38 UTC)
Expired: Sep 23, 2003, 5:30 AM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties City of Buena Vista, VA, City of Lexington, VA, Rockbridge County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:38 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, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 73 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: 18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 555 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 436 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 551 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 230647
FFWRNK
VAC163-530-678-230930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
238 AM EDT TUE SEP 23 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN BUENA VISTA IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  LEXINGTON IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 530 AM EDT

* AT 238 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS 
WITH HEAVY RAINS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH ACROSS ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. 
RAINFALL DURING THE PAST TWELVE HOURS AVERAGED ONE TO THREE INCHES 
ACROSS THE REGION. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND RUNOFF FROM STORMS IN 
AUGUSTA COUNTY WILL RESULT IN FLASH FLOODING. CREEKS AND STREAM WILL 
COME OUT OF THEIR BANKS. SOUTH RIVER AND HAYS WILL LIKELY COME OUT 
OF THEIR BANKS.
  
* SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED BY HEAVY RAIN THROUGH 530 AM EDT INCLUDE
  ROCKBRIDGE BATHS...


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 3804 7954 3761 7946 3765 7937 3772 7937
          3777 7936 3788 7917 3808 7948

$$

07

2 follow-up statements

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 230748
FFSRNK
VAC163-530-230930-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
348 AM EDT TUE SEP 23 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES UNTIL
530 AM EDT...

  WESTERN BUENA VISTA IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  LEXINGTON IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

AT 348 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
THAT THE HEAVY RAINS HAVE MOVED EAST OUT OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY.
RUNOFF FROM THE STORMS EARLIER THIS MORNING CONTINUE FLASH FLOODING 
ALONG CREEKS AND STREAMS. FLASH FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG HAYS 
CREEK NEAR ROCKBRIDGE BATHS...AND ALONG WALKER CREEK NEAR ROUTE 602
IN NORTHERN ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY. THE SOUTH RIVER IS ALSO OUT OF ITS
BANKS NEAR CORNWALL. WATERS WILL SLOWLY RECEDE THIS MORNING. 

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.

STAY AWAY FROM DRAINAGE DITCHES...STORM SEWERS OR STREAMS...AS THEY
CAN BECOME DEADLY TORRENTS AFTER HEAVY RAIN.

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.

$$

KK

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 230946
FFSRNK
VAC163-530-231000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
545 AM EDT TUE SEP 23 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR WESTERN BUENA VISTA...LEXINGTON
  AND ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA HAS EXPIRED...

RAIN HAS ENDED ACROSS THE REGION AND FLOOD WATERS WERE BEGINNING TO 
RECEDE. AT 5:40 AM THE SOUTH RIVER NORTH OF CORNWALL WAS RECEDING. 
THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE TO FALL THIS MORNING...AS THE RUNOFF FROM 
THE RAIN OVERNIGHT FLOWS INTO THE MAURY RIVER. HAYS CREEK AND OTHER 
AREA STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO SLOWLY GO BACK DOWN 
WITHIN THEIR BANKS THROUGH MID MORNING. 

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE 
ROADWAY. USE EXTRA CAUTION IF TRAVELLING ALONG ROUTES 631 EAST OF 
LEXINGTON AND ON ROUTE 608 ALONG THE SOUTH RIVER. 

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

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.