Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Warnings in 2010

Flash Flood Warning 42, NWS Quad Cities, IA

July 20, 20105 counties in Iowa; 4 counties in Illinois; Clark County, Scotland County, Missouri

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this flash flood warning at Jul 20, 2010, 12:55 AM CDT for 5 counties in Iowa; 4 counties in Illinois; Clark County, Scotland County, Missouri. It was in force for 8 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 20, 2010, 12:55 AM CDT (05:55 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 2010, 9:10 AM CDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

Counties Des Moines County, IA, Henry County, IA, Jefferson County, IA, Lee County, IA, Van Buren County, IA, Hancock County, IL, Henderson County, IL, McDonough County, IL, Warren County, IL, Clark County, MO, Scotland County, MO

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:55 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

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 127 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2010-07-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 124 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2010-07-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 135 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
124 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-222 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1016 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
199 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 19, 2:42 PM CDT, 10 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 2:42 PM CDT, 10 hours 13 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
242 PM CDT MON JUL 19 2010

.SYNOPSIS...
SYNOPTICALLY...WE REMAIN IN A RING OF FIRE PATTERN SURROUNDING A
BROAD SUBTROPICAL HIGH. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES REMAIN EXCESSIVE
OVER THE REGION...WITH 1.5 TO 2 INCHES OF PWAT ALONG AND SOUTH OF
A THE STATIONARY FRONT. THIS STATIONARY FRONT IS NOW SITTING FROM
NEAR KANSAS CITY...TO SOUTHERN MICHIGAN. ALONG IT...SEVERAL
OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES ARE FOUND...WITH A STRONG SURGE SOUTH OVER
EASTERN MO AND CENTRAL IL...WHERE OUR OVERNIGHT MCS CONTINUES TO
REMAIN STRONG. THESE MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES GREATLY COMPLICATE THE
FORECAST AS THEY ARE NUMEROUS. ..ERVIN..

&&

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT AND TUESDAY...
WITH HEAVY RAINFALL IN THE SOUTH THE LAST 2 MORNINGS...THE GROUND
IS SATURATED AGAIN. FLASH FLOODING WOULD RESULT FROM ANY
SIGNIFICANT ROUND OF HEAVY RAIN THERE DURING THE NEXT 48
HOURS...AND THIS IS A REAL THREAT. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN
ISSUED FOR GENERALLY OUR SOUTHWEST 1/3 OR SO THROUGH TUESDAY
NIGHT. MODELS SUPPORT THE MAIN LLJ CONVERGENCE TO BE ALONG AND
NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80 THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...INTO
TUESDAY...HOWEVER...THE MESOSCALE BOUNDARY TO THE SOUTH MAY ACT TO
FOCUS CONVECTION FARTHER SOUTH. THUS THE WATCH IS VERY MUCH
NEEDED. TO THE NORTH...HEAVY RAIN IS LESS LIKELY...BUT AS SEEN
TODAY...PLENTIFUL CONVECTIVE DEBRIS CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL BE
FOUND...WITH MORE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. THUS...POPS NEED TO BE
HIGH TONIGHT...AND POSSIBLY TUESDAY AS WELL. THIS VERY MESSY
FORECAST IS CONSIDERED LOW CONFIDENCE ON PLACEMENT OF HEAVY
RAIN...BUT HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT RAIN SHOULD OCCUR. TEMPERATURES
SHOULD BE HELD DOWN AGAIN TUESDAY UNDER CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. LOOK
FOR HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 80S NORTH AND CENTRAL...AND UPPER
80S SOUTH.

IN GENERAL...THE EVENT SUPPORTS AN AXIS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN
TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING...WITH THE HIGHEST THREAT FOUND ALONG
AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 30. AS MESOSCALE DETAILS UNFOLD THIS
EVENING...A MORE REFINED AXIS OF RAINFALL WILL BECOME
APPARENT...AS WELL AS THE SEVERE THREAT...IF IT IS NOTABLE AT ALL.

..ERVIN..

.LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT MONDAY
ACTIVE PATTERN CONTINUES THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AS AN E-W
BOUNDARY LINGERS IN THE REGION UNDER THE ZONAL FLOW ALOFT. WILL
CONTINUE WITH CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS NEARLY EACH PERIOD AS WEAK
MID LEVEL WAVES INTERACT WITH THE LOW LEVEL BOUNDARY AND ABUNDANT
GULF MOISTURE TO TRIGGER CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES. HAVE ADJUSTED THU
POPS DOWNWARD AS MODELS DRIVE THE PRIMARY BOUNDARY NORTH INTO SRN MN
AND WI...SUGGESTING A WARM H7 CAP OVER THE AREA DURING THE DAY.
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN FRI AND ESPECIALLY FRI NIGHT AS A STRONG
SHORTWAVE TRACKING ACROSS SRN CANADA DRIVES THE BOUNDARY BACK SE AS
A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN PRIMARILY IN
THE 80S TO LOW 90S FOR HIGHS WITH DEWPOINTS AND OVERNIGHT MINS
MAINLY IN THE UPPER 60S TO MID 70S FROM N TO S.

MODELS THEN AGREE ON A PERIOD OF DRY WEATHER FROM SAT AFTERNOON
THROUGH AT LEAST EARLY SUN AS SFC HIGH PRESSURE DEVELOPS OVER THE
AREA UNDER A SHORT PERIOD OF NW FLOW ALOFT. GFS AND ECMWF DEVELOP
RETURN FLOW AND PRECIPITATION LATE SUN INTO EARLY MON ALONG THE
RETURNING WARM FRONT. HOWEVER...WITH LITTLE AGREEMENT OR CONSISTENCY
IN THE MID LEVEL RIDGE AND SURFACE FRONTAL POSITIONS...WILL KEEP
POPS BELOW CHANCE CATEGORY FOR NOW. SLIGHTLY COOLER AND DRIER AIR
WILL FOLLOW THE LATE FRIDAY FROPA AND PREVAIL OVER THE WEEKEND.
..SHEETS..

&&

.AVIATION...
POOR FLYING CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST OVER THE TAF SITES DUE TO
CHAOTIC THUNDERSTORM CLUSTERS MOVING ALONG A STATIONARY FRONT. VFR
TO MVFR CIGS WILL BE VARIABLE AT ALL SITES THROUGH THE NIGHT AND
TUESDAY MORNING. A FEW PERIODS OF IFR ARE LIKELY IN THUNDERSTORMS
AND LOW CLOUDS TONIGHT. THE EXACT TIMING OF THUNDERSTORMS IS A
FORECAST CHALLENGE OF GREAT UNCERTAINTY...AND TAFS ARE USING A CB
CLOUD GROUP TO INDICATE THAT THREAT.
..ERVIN..

&&

.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR DES MOINES-HENRY
     IA-IOWA-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-KEOKUK-LEE-LOUISA-VAN BUREN-
     WASHINGTON.

IL...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR HANCOCK-
     HENDERSON-MCDONOUGH-MERCER-WARREN.

MO...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR CLARK-SCOTLAND.

&&

ERVIN/SHEETS/ERVIN
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 19, 8:44 AM CDT, 16 hours 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
844 AM CDT MON JUL 19 2010

IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007-
009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-201000-
BENTON IA-BUCHANAN IA-BUREAU IL-CARROLL IL-CEDAR IA-CLARK MO-
CLINTON IA-DELAWARE IA-DES MOINES IA-DUBUQUE IA-HANCOCK IL-
HENDERSON IL-HENRY IA-HENRY IL-IOWA IA-JACKSON IA-JEFFERSON IA-
JO DAVIESS IL-JOHNSON IA-JONES IA-KEOKUK IA-LEE IA-LINN IA-LOUISA IA-
MCDONOUGH IL-MERCER IL-MUSCATINE IA-PUTNAM IL-ROCK ISLAND IL-
SCOTLAND MO-SCOTT IA-STEPHENSON IL-VAN BUREN IA-WARREN IL-
WASHINGTON IA-WHITESIDE IL-
844 AM CDT MON JUL 19 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST
CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SEEN ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT.

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS FOR
THE ENTIRE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE MAIN THREAT IS DAMAGING
WINDS. THE TIMING IS STILL SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN. HOWEVER...THE MOST
LIKELY TIME PERIOD WOULD BE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

HEAVY RAIN WILL BE AN ADDITIONAL THREAT...WITH 1 TO 2 INCHES
POSSIBLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

SOME AREA RIVERS ARE EXPERIENCING FLOODING. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST
FLOOD STATEMENTS AND FLOOD WARNINGS FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...SEVERAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE OUTLOOK AREA. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT
SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY REACH SEVERE LEVELS...MAINLY ALONG AND
SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80.   THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL
BE DAMAGING WINDS...HEAVY RAIN...AND POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL. IF STORMS
TRACK ACROSS THE SAME AREAS...THEN THERE WILL AN INCREASED RISK OF
FLASH FLOODING AND RIVER FLOODING.

THE FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL SHIFT SLOWLY NORTH THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY...BRINGING AN INCREASED THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE
REMAINDER OF THE OUTLOOK AREA.  IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE IF ANY
OF THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REACH SEVERE LEVELS.

HEAVY RAINS THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL LIKELY BRING SIGNIFICANT RISES
OR POSSIBLE FLOODING TO AREA RIVERS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

ERVIN

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 19, 11:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 55 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 19, 11:03 PM CDT, 1 hour 52 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 19, 11:04 PM CDT, 1 hour 51 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 19, 11:05 PM CDT, 1 hour 50 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 19, 11:12 PM CDT, 1 hour 43 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 19, 11:29 PM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 19, 7:01 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDVNDes Moines, Lee59 min
Jul 19, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNDes Moines, Lee61 min
Jul 19, 8:25 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNDes Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Van Buren6 hr
Jul 19, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNVan Buren59 min
Jul 19, 8:58 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNDes Moines, Henry, Lee32 hr
Jul 20, 10:35 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNLee18 hr
Jul 19, 8:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNHancock, McDonough62 min
Jul 20, 12:25 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNHancock, McDonough4 days
Jul 19, 8:58 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNClark3 days

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Iowa, 2010Flash Flood Warnings in Illinois, 2010Flash Flood Warnings in Missouri, 2010Every flash flood warning in 2010

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.