Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Warnings in 2008

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Des Moines, IA

March 2, 2008Wapello County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this flash flood warning at Mar 2, 2008, 6:20 PM CST for Wapello County, Iowa. 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: Mar 2, 2008, 6:20 PM CST (00:20 UTC)
Expired: Mar 3, 2008, 12:15 AM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Wapello County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:19 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
Mar 2, 6:29 PM CST	FLASH FLOOD	Ottumwa, IA	AT LEAST 3 INCHES OF WATER IN SPOTTERS BASEMENT...ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER HOMES IN OTTUMWA NEIGHBORHOOD TAKING WATER IN BASEMENTS.
Mar 2, 7:50 PM CST	FLASH FLOOD	Ottumwa, IA	WILDWOOD ROAD IN OTTUMWA CLOSED FROM HIGH WATER. NUMEROUS OTHER GRAVEL ROADS IN COUNTY CLOSED DUE TO WATER RUNNING OVER THEM OR FROM WASHOUTS.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 175 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: 190 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1434 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 337 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 357 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS53 KDMX 030020
FFWDMX
IAC179-030615-
/O.NEW.KDMX.FF.W.0002.080303T0020Z-080303T0615Z/
/00000.0.IC.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
620 PM CST SUN MAR 2 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  WAPELLO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IOWA...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF OTTUMWA...

* UNTIL 1215 AM CST.

* AT 618 PM CST...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED FLASH FLOODING
  FROM A THUNDERSTORM OVER THE WARNED AREA.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO OTTUMWA    
  ...KIRKVILLE AND CHILLICOTHE.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM SNOW MELT AND 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.

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.

LAT...LON 4090 9264 4115 9264 4116 9219 4091 9219
      4090 9220
TIME...MOT...LOC 0020Z 180DEG 0KT 4104 9250

$$

BAKER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 2, 9:20 PM CST	River Flood Warning	DMX	Polk	17 hr
Mar 2, 9:20 PM CST	River Flood Warning	DMX	Polk	18 hr
Mar 3, 2:41 AM CST	River Flood Warning	DMX	Wapello	12 hr
Mar 3, 2:41 AM CST	River Flood Warning	DMX	Mahaska	3 days
Mar 3, 7:09 AM CST	River Flood Warning	DMX	Appanoose	12 hr
Mar 3, 10:48 AM CST	River Flood Warning	DMX	Jasper	6 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Iowa, 2008 Every flash flood warning in 2008

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.