Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

May 17, 2004Gloucester County, Warren County, New Jersey; 4 counties in Pennsylvania

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this flash flood warning at May 17, 2004, 5:36 PM EDT for Gloucester County, Warren County, New Jersey; 4 counties in Pennsylvania. It was in force for 124 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 17, 2004, 5:36 PM EDT (21:36 UTC)
Expired: Sep 18, 2004, 10:00 AM EDT
In force: 124 days
Issued by: NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Gloucester County, NJ, Warren County, NJ, Carbon County, PA, Lehigh County, PA, Monroe County, PA, Northampton County, PA

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:38 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

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 154 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: 593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 741 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 117 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 172136
FFWPHI
NJC015-172330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
536 PM EDT MON MAY 17 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN AND WESTERN GLOUCESTER COUNTY IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT.

* AT 530 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SLOW MOVING AREA 
OF THUNDERSTORMS DROPPING RAIN AT A RATE OF OVER THREE INCHES PER 
HOUR. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTS THAT ROAD FLOODING IN THE 
NORTHWEST PART OF THE COUNTY IS MOVING ONTO LAWNS AND INTO SOME 
HOMES. 

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. 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.

INTENSE LIGHTNING IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. MOVE INDOORS IF
POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID
USING TELEPHONES UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY. IF OUTDOORS...STAY AWAY
FROM ISOLATED HIGH OBJECTS SUCH AS TREES.

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

LAT...LON 3977 7540 3967 7519 3973 7503 3985 7512

$$
JRP/MPD

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS51 KPHI 181009
FFWPHI
NJC041-PAC025-077-089-095-181400-
/X.NEW.KPHI.FF.W.0003.040918T1005Z-040918T1400Z/
/0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
609 AM EDT SAT SEP 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  LEHIGH COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA
  NORTHAMPTON COUNTY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA
  CARBON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA
  MONROE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA
  WARREN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST NEW JERSEY

* UNTIL 1000 AM EDT

* AT 600 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
FLASH FLOODING FROM PERSISTENT HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE 
WARNED AREA. RADAR HAS ESTIMATED BETWEEN 2 AND 4 INCHES OF RAIN IN 
THE PAST 6 HOURS. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED STREET FLOODING 
IN THE BETHLEHEM AREA IN NORTHAMPTON COUNTY.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO WIND GAP...
  WEATHERLY...SCHNECKSVILLE...POCONO PINES...PALMERTON...OLD
  ORCHARD...NORTHAMPTON...NESQUEHONING...NAZARETH...MOUNTAINHOME...
  MOUNT POCONO...LEHIGHTON...JIM THORPE...HELLERTOWN...EMMAUS...
  EASTON...EAST STROUDSBURG...EAST BANGOR...BRODHEADSVILLE...
  BELFAST...BATH...ANCIENT OAKS...WASHINGTON...OXFORD...BLAIRSTOWN
  AND BELVIDERE.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS...STREAMS AND OTHER LOW
LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE 
ROADWAY...OR AROUND BARRICADES. 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 7525 4047 7551 4059 7570 4067 7582
      4077 7576 4093 7594 4123 7524 4091 7480
      4071 7501

$$

JRP

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 3:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Camden, Gloucester	65 min
May 17, 5:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Gloucester, Salem	64 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2004 Flash Flood Warnings in New Jersey, 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.