Alert archive / Wisconsin / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 12, NWS La Crosse, WI

May 21, 2004Crawford County, Richland County, Vernon County, Wisconsin

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this flash flood warning at May 21, 2004, 11:44 PM CDT for Crawford County, Richland County, Vernon County, Wisconsin. 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: May 21, 2004, 11:44 PM CDT (04:44 UTC)
Expired: May 22, 2004, 2:45 AM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS La Crosse, WI
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Crawford County, WI, Richland County, WI, Vernon County, WI

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:45 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

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 00:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 243 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 542 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 418 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 649 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 
WGUS53 KARX 220444
FFWARX
WIC023-103-123-220745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1144 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  VERNON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN
  RICHLAND COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN
  CRAWFORD COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN

* UNTIL 245 AM CDT

* AT 1139 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED
  THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE WARNED
  AREA. ESTIMATES FROM RADAR INDICATED THAT NEARLY 2 INCHES OF RAIN
  HAS FALLEN DURING THE PAST 3 HOURS. THE STORMS PRODUCING THE VERY
  HEAVY RAINFALL WERE MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. LAW ENFORCEMENT
  OFFICIALS REPORT NUMEROUS ROADS UNDER WATER OVER THE WARNED AREA
  WITH SOME MUDSLIDES AS WELL. RAIN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA
  WITH AN ADDITIONAL ONE TO TWO INCHES POSSIBLE BY 245 AM. THIS
  WARNING EXTENDS THE PREVIOUS FLASH FLOOD WARNING ISSUED FOR
  VERNON...RICHLAND AND CRAWFORD COUNTIES.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT MAY BE AFFECTED INCLUDE...COON VALLEY...LA
  FARGE...RICHLAND CENTER...VIROQUA...WESTBY...HIGHWAY 82 AND COUNTY
  D AND HIGHWAY 82 AND COUNTY A.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS. IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO
FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING. THIS WARNING EXTENDS THE PREVIOUS
FLASH FLOOD WARNING ISSUED FOR VERNON...RICHLAND AND CRAWFORD
COUNTIES.

LAT...LON 4371 9115 4309 9108 4327 9027 4368 9040

$$

RABERDING

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS73 KARX 220541
FFSARX
WIC023-103-123-220745-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1239 AM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR VERNON...RICHLAND AND
CRAWFORD COUNTIES UNTIL 245 AM CDT...

AT 1240 AM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS ALL ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. ALTHOUGH THE RAINFALL 
RATES HAVE DECREASED...ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN ONE HALF 
AND 1 INCH THROUGH 245 AM WILL ONLY AGGRAVATE THE FLASH FLOODING.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS. IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO
FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

$$

RABERDING

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 8:40 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ARX	Crawford, Richland, Vernon	3 hr
May 21, 9:38 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ARX	Grant	3 hr
May 22, 12:30 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ARX	Grant	3 hr
May 22, 2:54 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Grant	66 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Wisconsin, 2004 Every flash flood warning in 2004

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.