Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 29, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 27, 2004Decatur County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this flash flood warning at May 27, 2004, 11:32 AM CDT for Decatur County, Iowa. 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 27, 2004, 11:32 AM CDT (16:32 UTC)
Expired
May 27, 2004, 2:30 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Decatur County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:35 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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 228 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2004-05-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 97 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2004-05-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -37 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
97 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-239 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
906 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
60 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 
WGUS53 KDMX 271632
FFWDMX
IAC053-271930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1132 AM CDT THU MAY 27 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  DECATUR COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 230 PM

* AT 1130 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH FLASH FLOOD PRODUCING RAINS IN THE WARNING AREA.

* THE GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED BY RAINFALL...AND ADDITIONAL RAIN
  WILL PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT RUNOFF INTO SWOLLEN WATERWAYS.   
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2  
INCHES PER HOUR. THIS WILL PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING ALONG ELK CREEK 
AND TRIBUTARIES AND CREEKS OF THE THOMPSON RIVER.

OTHER WARNING LOCATIONS INCLUDE...
DAVIS CITY...DECATUR CITY...GARDEN GROVE...GRAND RIVER...LAMONI...
LAMONI MUNICIPAL AIRPORT...LE ROY...LEON...VAN WERT AND WELDON

FLASH FLOODS OCCUR QUICKLY...MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. AVOID WATER
COVERED ROADS...THE ROAD MAY BE WASHED OUT. LESS THAN ONE FOOT OF
FAST FLOWING WATER CAN SWEEP AN AUTOMOBILE OFF THE ROAD.

LAT...LON 4089 9358 4059 9357 4059 9402 4089 9401

$$

KULA
3 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS73 KDMX 271727
FFSDMX
IAC053-271930-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1226 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR DECATUR COUNTY UNTIL 230 PM...

AT 1226 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE THUNDERSTORMS WITH FLASH FLOOD PRODUCING RAINS OVER DECATUR
CITY...OR ABOUT 58 MILES SOUTH OF DES MOINES...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL BE...

  7 MILES SOUTH OF GARDEN GROVE AROUND 1240 PM.

THE GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED BY RAINFALL IN THE WARNING AREA...AND
ADDITIONAL RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT RUNOFF INTO
SWOLLEN WATERWAYS. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RAINFALL 
RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCH PER HOUR. THIS WILL PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING 
ALONG THE BRUSH AND ELK CREEKS...AS WELL AS MOST OTHER SMALL CREEKS 
AFFECTED BY THESE STORMS.

FLASH FLOODS OCCUR QUICKLY...MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. AVOID WATER
COVERED ROADS...THE ROAD MAY BE WASHED OUT. LESS THAN ONE FOOT OF
FAST FLOWING WATER CAN SWEEP AN AUTOMOBILE OFF THE ROAD.

LAT...LON 4088 9401 4059 9401 4059 9358 4088 9361

$$

KULA
000 
WGUS73 KDMX 271832
FFSDMX
IAC053-271930-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
131 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR DECATUR COUNTY UNTIL 230 PM...

AT 131 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A 
THUNDERSTORM WITH FLASH FLOOD PRODUCING RAINS 12 MILES WEST OF GRAND 
RIVER...OR ABOUT 61 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES...MOVING SOUTHEAST 
AT 35 MPH.

THIS THUNDERSTORM WITH EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL BE...

  6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GRAND RIVER AROUND 150 PM...
  NEAR DECATUR CITY AROUND 200 PM AND
  NEAR DAVIS CITY AROUND 210 PM.

THE GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED BY RAINFALL IN THE WARNING AREA...AND
ADDITIONAL RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT RUNOFF INTO
SWOLLEN WATERWAYS. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RAINFALL 
RATES OF 1 INCH PER HOUR.  LOW LYING GRAVEL ROADS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO 
RUNOFF AND FLASH FLOODING.

FLASH FLOODS OCCUR QUICKLY...MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. AVOID WATER
COVERED ROADS...THE ROAD MAY BE WASHED OUT. LESS THAN ONE FOOT OF
FAST FLOWING WATER CAN SWEEP AN AUTOMOBILE OFF THE ROAD.

LAT...LON 4089 9400 4060 9401 4059 9357 4089 9358

$$

KULA
000 
WGUS73 KDMX 271933
FFSDMX
IAC053-272000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
233 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WHICH WAS IN EFFECT FOR DECATUR COUNTY
UNTIL 230 PM HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

THE STORMS HAVE WEAKENED AND ARE NO LONGER CAPABLE OF INTENSE RAINS
TO PRODUCE FLASH FLOODS...THUS THE WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO 
EXPIRE.

LAT...LON 4089 9400 4059 9401 4060 9359 4087 9357

$$

KULA

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 27, 11:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXRinggold42 min
May 27, 11:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTaylor38 min
May 27, 11:20 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXRinggold, Taylor3 hr
May 27, 11:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDecatur52 min
May 27, 11:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXRinggold45 min
May 27, 12:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWayne45 min
May 27, 12:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDecatur45 min
May 27, 12:38 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXAdams3 hr
May 27, 12:41 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXAppanoose, Wayne49 min
May 27, 1:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWayne44 min
May 27, 1:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTaylor40 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Iowa, 2004Every 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.