Alert archive / Missouri / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Kansas City, MO

May 18, 2004Cass County, Missouri

NWS Kansas City, MO issued this flash flood warning at May 18, 2004, 10:41 PM CDT for Cass County, Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 18, 2004, 10:41 PM CDT (03:41 UTC)
Expired: May 19, 2004, 4:45 AM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: NWS Kansas City, MO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cass County, MO

The radar

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 23 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:44 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 18, 11:15 PM CDT	FLASH FLOOD	Peculiar, MO	OVER A FOOT OF WATER COVERS HIGHWAY 71.
May 19, 4:43 AM CDT	FLASH FLOOD	Dayton, MO	CONTINUED FLASH FLOODING ACROSS MUCH OF CASS COUNTY. A FAMILY WAS REPORTED STRANDED NEAR DAYTON. AS OF 8 AM...22 HOMES WERE REPORTED EVAUACTED IN SOUTHERN FREEMAN...AND 11 MORE IN LAKE ANNETTE.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 193 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: 1439 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1070 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 99 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 317 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.7
Supercell composite: 6.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WGUS53 KEAX 190346
FFWEAX
MOC037-190945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
1041 PM CDT TUE MAY 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PLEASANT HILL HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CASS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 445 AM CDT

* AT 1039 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR 
  INDICATED SEVERAL CLUSTERS OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY 
  RAINFALL ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES HOURLY 
  RAINFALL AMOUNTS UP TO 2 INCHES AN HOUR WITH THESE STORMS. THE AREA
  OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IN THE
  WARNED AREA. RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH
  FLOODING TO OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING
  INCLUDE...HARRISONVILLE...BELTON...CREIGHTON...FREEMAN...GARDEN
  CITY...GUNN CITY...PECULIAR...PLEASANT HILL...RAYMORE...
  STRASBURG...BALDWIN PARK AND EAST LYNNE.

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

BE AWARE THAT LOW WATER CROSSINGS MAY BE IN YOUR AREA...WHICH ARE
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS IN HEAVY RAIN. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL ACROSS
FLOODED ROADS. FIND ALTERNATE ROUTES. IT ONLY TAKES A FEW INCHES OF
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER TO CARRY VEHICLES AWAY.

LAT...LON 3850 9458 3882 9459 3882 9414 3866 9414
      3865 9413 3858 9413 3856 9410 3846 9408
      3846 9408

$$

MJ

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS73 KEAX 190607
FFSEAX
MOC037-191000-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
1257 AM CDT WED MAY 19 2004

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 445 AM CDT FOR CASS COUNTY...

AT 1254 AM CDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED 
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. THE 
CASS COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE REPORTED OVER 5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS 
FALLEN IN PECULIAR THIS EVENING. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED A LARGE 
SWATH OF 2 TO 7 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN SOUTH OF A LAKE WINNEBAGO 
TO STRASBURG LINE. THE HEAVIEST RAINS OF UP TO AN ESTIMATED 7 INCHES 
HAS FALLEN FROM PECULIAR TO JUST NORTH OF CLEVELAND. SEVERAL WATER 
RESCUES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED OVER THE AREA AND HIGHWAY 71 BETWEEN 
PECULIAR AND HARRISONVILLE HAS HAD OVER A FOOT OF RAIN COVERING IT 
AT TIMES.  

SEVERAL MORE CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL 
WILL MOVE THROUGH THE WARNED AREA OVERNIGHT. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 
INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT. RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE 
RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING TO OCCUR...ESPECIALLY ALONG SMALL 
STREAMS AND NEAR LOW WATER CROSSINGS. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL 
EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...HARRISONVILLE...RAYMORE...PECULIAR... 
GUNN CITY...GARDEN CITY... FREEMAN...CREIGHTON...AND BELTON.

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

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.

LAT...LON 3848 9411 3850 9458 3882 9459 3882 9416
      3881 9414 3858 9413 3856 9410 3846 9408
      3846 9408

$$

MJ

The office that day

Everything else NWS Kansas City, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 9:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cass	53 min
May 18, 11:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Pettis, Saline	94 min
May 19, 12:48 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Bates, Cass	72 min
May 19, 2:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Bates	36 min
May 19, 2:32 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cass	58 min
May 19, 3:09 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	EAX	Bates, Henry	6 hr
May 19, 3:25 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	EAX	Clay, Jackson, Platte	6 hr
May 19, 4:36 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	EAX	Cass	6 hr
May 19, 6:45 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	EAX	Johnson	6 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Missouri, 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.