Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 29, NWS Pueblo, CO

August 18, 2004Otero County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this flash flood warning at Aug 18, 2004, 8:50 PM MDT for Otero County, Colorado. 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: Aug 18, 2004, 8:50 PM MDT (02:50 UTC)
Expired: Aug 18, 2004, 11:45 PM MDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Pueblo, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Otero County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:50 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

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 206 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: 45 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 592 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 149 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 246 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 
WGUS55 KPUB 190252
FFWPUB
COC089-190545-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
850 PM MDT WED AUG 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL OTERO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 1145 PM MDT

* AT 845 PM MDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLOODING 
  IN THE CITY OF ROCKY FORD.  THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THE HEAVY 
  RAIN IS  7 MILES NORTHWEST OF ROCKY FORD...OR ABOUT 17 MILES 
  NORTHWEST OF LA JUNTA...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH.  THE 
  THUNDERSTORM HAS WEAKENED AS IT MOVED INTO CROWLEY COUNTY.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.

IF YOU ARE IN OR CLOSE TO THE WARNED AREA GO TO HIGHER GROUND
IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE ALONG CREEKS AND DRAINAGE AREAS SHOULD TAKE
IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER OR STILL WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH ON FOOT
OR BY VEHICLE. AS LITTLE AS 6 INCHES OF WATER MAY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE
CONTROL OF YOUR VEHICLE...AND 2 FEET OF RUSHING WATER CAN CARRY AWAY
MOST VEHICLES...INCLUDING SUVS AND PICKUPS. NEARLY HALF OF ALL FLOOD
FATALITIES ARE VEHICLE RELATED. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS IN WATER
ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND GO TO HIGHER GROUND. BE ESPECIALLY
CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF
FLOODING.

LAT...LON 3800 10381 3802 10363 3814 10365 3810 10371
      3811 10401

$$

2 follow-up statements

000 
WGUS75 KPUB 190321
FFSPUB
COC089-190545-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
913 PM MDT WED AUG 18 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN OTERO 
COUNTY UNTIL 1145 PM MDT WEDNESDAY EVENING...

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN...HAVE DEVELOPED OVER 
EASTERN OTERO COUNTY.  THE STORMS ARE FROM ABOUT 15 MILES 
SOUTHEAST OF LA JUNTA TO 8 MILES NORTH OF LA JUNTA.  THE STORMS ARE 
MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH.  THE CITY OF CHERAW AS WELL HAS HIGHWAY 
50 EAST OF LA JUNTA TO THE BENT COUNTY LINE MAY GET SOME FLASH 
FLOODING.  

THE HEAVY RAIN WEST OF LA JUNTA HAS ENDED...BUT FLASH FLOODING WILL 
CONTINUE FROM THE EARLIER HEAVY RAIN. 

BE ALERT FOR FAST RISING WATER AND BE READY TO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF
NECESSARY. DO NOT DRIVE OR WALK INTO WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. AS
LITTLE AS 6 INCHES OF WATER MAY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE CONTROL OF YOUR
VEHICLE...AND 2 FEET OF RUSHING WATER CAN CARRY AWAY MOST VEHICLES...
INCLUDING SUVS AND PICKUPS. NEARLY HALF OF ALL FLOOD FATALITIES ARE
VEHICLE RELATED. KEEP CHILDREN AND OTHERS AWAY FROM FAST FLOWING
WATER AND STORM DRAINS...WHICH COULD BECOME DEADLY DURING HIGH WATER.
FLOODING WILL OCCUR ALONG CREEKS...IN DRAINAGE AREAS...IN
UNDERPASSES...OVER STREETS AND RURAL ROADS...IN NORMALLY DRY WASHES
AND ARROYOS...AND OVER LOW LYING LAND ALONG CREEK BANKS.

$$

000 
WGUS75 KPUB 190405
FFSPUB
COC089-190545-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
958 PM MDT WED AUG 18 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN OTERO 
COUNTY UNTIL 1145 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING...

VERY HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE TO FALL FROM NEARLY STATIONARY 
THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST OTERO COUNTY.  A SPOTTER IN CHERAW 
REPORTED 4.25 INCHES OF RAIN IN 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES...AND IT WAS 
STILL RAINING HARD.  RADAR ALSO ESTIMATED 4 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN IN 
THIS REGION.  THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS FROM 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF LA 
JUNTA...ALONG HIGHWAY 50...TO 12 MILES NORTH OF LA JUNTA.  
THUNDERSTORMS ARE NEARLY STATIONARY OVER THIS REGION...AND 
ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL WILL OCCUR.

OVER THE REST OF NORTHERN OTERO COUNTY...WHERE HEAVIER RAIN FELL 
EARLIER...ONLY LIGHT TO OCCASIONAL MODERATE RAINFALL WAS OCCURRING. 

BE ALERT FOR FAST RISING WATER AND BE READY TO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF
NECESSARY. DO NOT DRIVE OR WALK INTO WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. AS
LITTLE AS 6 INCHES OF WATER MAY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE CONTROL OF YOUR
VEHICLE...AND 2 FEET OF RUSHING WATER CAN CARRY AWAY MOST VEHICLES...
INCLUDING SUVS AND PICKUPS. NEARLY HALF OF ALL FLOOD FATALITIES ARE
VEHICLE RELATED. KEEP CHILDREN AND OTHERS AWAY FROM FAST FLOWING
WATER AND STORM DRAINS...WHICH COULD BECOME DEADLY DURING HIGH WATER.
FLOODING WILL OCCUR ALONG CREEKS...IN DRAINAGE AREAS...IN
UNDERPASSES...OVER STREETS AND RURAL ROADS...IN NORMALLY DRY WASHES
AND ARROYOS...AND OVER LOW LYING LAND ALONG CREEK BANKS.

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pueblo, CO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 18, 6:32 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Chaffee	3 hr
Aug 18, 9:27 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Chaffee	3 hr
Aug 18, 9:44 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Crowley	4 hr
Aug 18, 11:12 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Bent	3 hr
Aug 18, 11:32 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Otero	3 hr
Aug 19, 4:30 AM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Crowley	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Colorado, 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.