Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Watches in 2011

Flash Flood Watch 9, NWS Baltimore/Washington

July 7, 201126 counties in Virginia; 9 counties in Maryland; Pendleton County, West Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood watch at Jul 7, 2011, 3:14 PM EDT for 26 counties in Virginia; 9 counties in Maryland; Pendleton County, West Virginia. It took effect at Jul 8, 2011, 12:00 PM EDT. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 7, 2011, 3:14 PM EDT (19:14 UTC)
In effect from
Jul 8, 2011, 12:00 PM EDT
Expired
Jul 8, 2011, 7:55 PM EDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Flood severity
None
All 36 counties

Anne Arundel County, MD, Baltimore County, MD, Calvert County, MD, Carroll County, MD, Charles County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD, Frederick County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Arlington County, VA, City of Alexandria, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, City of Fairfax, VA, City of Falls Church, VA, City of Fredericksburg, VA, City of Harrisonburg, VA, City of Staunton, VA, City of Waynesboro, VA, Clarke County, VA, Culpeper County, VA, Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Greene County, VA, Highland County, VA, King George County, VA, Madison County, VA, Nelson County, VA, Orange County, VA, Page County, VA, Rappahannock County, VA, Rockingham County, VA, Shenandoah County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Warren County, VA, Pendleton County, WV

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:15 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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 50 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2011-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 482 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2011-07-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -6 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
482 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-113 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1251 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
35 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood watch went out at Jul 7, 10:26 AM EDT, 4 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 10:26 AM EDT, 4 hours 48 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>
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 7, 1:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 44 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>

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 7, 2:56 PM EDT, 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
256 PM EDT THU JUL 7 2011

MDZ006-007-071930-
NORTHERN BALTIMORE MD-HARFORD MD-
256 PM EDT THU JUL 7 2011

...HEAVY RAIN TO AFFECT NORTHERN BALTIMORE AND HARFORD COUNTIES...

AT 256 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY
HEAVY RAIN ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF MARYLAND
LINE TO 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF SCARBORO...MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE DARLINGTON.

HEAVY RAIN WITH THESE STORMS WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO BELOW ONE
MILE AND MAY CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS.

&&

LAT...LON 3970 7622 3965 7615 3962 7615 3960 7612
      3968 7667 3972 7669 3973 7623
TIME...MOT...LOC 1856Z 260DEG 10KT 3980 7673 3969 7624

KRAMAR

The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 7, 5:39 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX66 min
Jul 7, 6:01 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX89 min
Jul 7, 7:39 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX96 min
Jul 7, 2:56 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXHarford34 min
Jul 7, 4:31 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXAllegany29 min
Jul 7, 4:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAllegany38 min
Jul 7, 4:58 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXAllegany91 min
Jul 7, 5:01 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXHarford29 min
Jul 7, 5:14 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXHarford31 min
Jul 7, 5:16 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXAllegany29 min
Jul 7, 5:36 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXHarford113 min
Jul 7, 5:49 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXCity of Baltimore26 min
Jul 7, 5:54 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXCity of Baltimore36 min
Jul 7, 6:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXBaltimore, City of Baltimore41 min
Jul 7, 6:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAnne Arundel, Baltimore, City of Baltimore44 min
Jul 7, 6:21 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXBaltimore, City of Baltimore3 hr
Jul 7, 6:44 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXCity of Baltimore31 min
Jul 7, 6:52 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXAnne Arundel23 min
Jul 7, 7:15 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXFrederick30 min
Jul 7, 7:38 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXCity of Baltimore37 min
Jul 7, 7:24 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXGrant36 min
Jul 7, 7:44 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementLWXGrant31 min
Jul 7, 7:49 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXGrant3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in Virginia, 2011Flash Flood Watches in Maryland, 2011Flash Flood Watches in West Virginia, 2011Every flash flood watch in 2011

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.