Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS Blacksburg, VA

September 17, 2004Amherst County, Appomattox County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 17, 2004, 3:37 PM EDT for Amherst County, Appomattox County, Virginia. 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: Sep 17, 2004, 3:37 PM EDT (19:37 UTC)
Expired: Sep 17, 2004, 6:30 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Amherst County, VA, Appomattox County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:36 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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 59 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: 266 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 534 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 346 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 493 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.6
Supercell composite: 3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KRNK 171938
FFWRNK
VAC009-011-172230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
337 PM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  AMHERST COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  APPOMATTOX COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 334 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO TOWER
  HILL...STONEWALL...SPOUT SPRING...PLEASANT VIEW...OAKVILLE...NEW
  GLASGOW...LOWESVILLE...FORKS OF BUFFALO...FALCONERVILLE...
  EVERGREEN...ELON...CLIFFORD...APPOMATTOX AND AMHERST.

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. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. REMEMBER TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN.

PLEASE RELAY REPORTS OF FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY
CALLING TOLL FREE...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4.

LAT...LON 3727 7891 3744 7903 3742 7907 3740 7906
      3763 7938 3779 7916 3779 7909 3772 7907
      3770 7900 3765 7895 3757 7893 3753 7885
      3754 7883 3755 7883 3735 7862

$$

RCS

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 172034
FFSRNK
VAC009-011-172042-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
433 PM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR AMHERST AND APPOMATTOX COUNTIES HAS 
BEEN CANCELLED...

THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT CREATED FLASH FLOODING IN 
AMHERST AND APPOMATTOX COUNTIES HAVE EXITED THE WARNED AREA.  
THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELED.

RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS MAY LINGER IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS CAUSE 
PONDING OF WATER ON SOME ROADWAYS.  EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN DRIVING 
THIS EVENING.

TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...PLEASE CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG AT...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4.


LAT...LON 3727 7891 3744 7903 3742 7907 3740 7906
      3763 7938 3779 7916 3779 7909 3772 7907
      3770 7900 3765 7895 3757 7893 3753 7885
      3754 7883 3755 7883 3735 7862

$$

RCS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 17, 10:28 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Patrick	32 min
Sep 17, 11:32 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Henry, City of Martinsville	28 min
Sep 17, 12:01 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Franklin, Henry, City of Martinsville	29 min
Sep 17, 12:26 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Franklin	34 min
Sep 17, 12:31 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Henry, City of Martinsville	29 min
Sep 17, 12:50 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	25 min
Sep 17, 12:56 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Halifax	34 min
Sep 17, 1:01 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Bedford, Franklin	29 min
Sep 17, 1:05 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Franklin	25 min
Sep 17, 1:30 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Botetourt	30 min
Sep 17, 1:44 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Appomattox, Campbell, Charlotte	31 min
Sep 17, 2:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Campbell, Halifax, Pittsylvania	49 min
Sep 17, 2:15 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Appomattox	30 min
Sep 17, 2:25 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Campbell, Pittsylvania	35 min
Sep 17, 2:29 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Bedford, Campbell, Halifax, Pittsylvania, City of Lynchburg	3 hr
Sep 17, 2:39 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Buckingham	21 min
Sep 17, 3:38 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Halifax	37 min
Sep 17, 4:03 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Charlotte	3 hr
Sep 17, 4:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Buckingham	29 min
Sep 17, 4:33 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Buckingham	12 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 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.