Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

May 15, 2004Berks County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this flash flood warning at May 15, 2004, 8:39 PM EDT for Berks County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 116 days. 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 15, 2004, 8:39 PM EDT (00:39 UTC)
Expired
Sep 8, 2004, 9:30 PM EDT
In force
116 days
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Berks County, PA, Lehigh County, PA, Northampton County, PA

The nearest sounding before it

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 229 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, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 2004-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 174 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, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 2004-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 92 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
174 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-157 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1370 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 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 KPHI 160038
FFWPHI
PAC011-077-160230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
839 PM EDT SAT MAY 15 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL BERKS COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA
  SOUTHEASTERN LEHIGH COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 1030 PM EDT.

* AT 829 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED BETWEEN 2 AND 3 
INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST LEHIGH COUNTY AND 
EXTREME EASTERN BERKS COUNTY. HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS INDICATED ALONG 
PORTIONS OF THE LITTLE LEHIGH CREEK. ADDITIONAL RAIN IS LIKELY OVER 
THE AREA DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS.  THE DEPTH OF THE 
WATER IS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT TO JUDGE AT NIGHT.

FOR THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION...PLEASE TUNE TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO...YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION...OR YOUR CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLET.

LAT...LON 4060 7545 4053 7537 4037 7571 4051 7576

$$

AMC
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS51 KPHI 082230
FFWPHI
PAC095-090130-
/X.NEW.KPHI.FF.W.0001.040908T2228Z-040909T0130Z/
/0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
628 PM EDT WED SEP 8 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS UPGRADED
THE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY TO A 

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL NORTHAMPTON COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

* UNTIL 930 PM EDT

* AT 626 PM EDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED MANY
  STRANDED VEHICLES IN NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. WHILE THE BACK EDGE 
  OF THE PRECIPITATION WAS NOW ENTERING NORTHAMPTON COUNTY...
  AN ADDITIONAL ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN SHOULD FALL. THIS WILL
  EXACERBATE THE ONGOING POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING AND PUSH MANY
  STREAMS OVER THEIR BANKS.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO NAZARETH...
  BELFAST AND BATH.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...COUNTRY ROADS...AS WELL AS FARMLAND ALONG THE
BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS.

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 4063 7544 4063 7521 4081 7521 4081 7544

$$

TFG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 8:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBucks43 min
May 15, 8:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBucks, Northampton40 min
May 15, 10:56 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningPHI109 min
May 15, 11:19 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningPHI86 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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.