Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Watches in 2013

Flash Flood Watch 3, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 25, 201323 counties in Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this flash flood watch at May 25, 2013, 3:39 PM CDT for 23 counties in Iowa. It took effect at May 26, 2013, 12:00 AM CDT. It was in force for 13 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 25, 2013, 3:39 PM CDT (20:39 UTC)
In effect from
May 26, 2013, 12:00 AM CDT
Expired
May 26, 2013, 1:00 PM CDT
In force
13 hr
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Flood severity
None
All 23 counties

Audubon County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Boone County, IA, Calhoun County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Crawford County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Greene County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Mahaska County, IA, Marion County, IA, Marshall County, IA, Polk County, IA, Poweshiek County, IA, Sac County, IA, Story County, IA, Tama County, IA, Wapello County, IA, Webster County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:41 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 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 265 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 12:00Z on 2013-05-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 2013-05-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 74 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1450 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
74 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
355 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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood watch went out at May 25, 3:24 PM CDT, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 25, 3:24 PM CDT, 15 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 25, 4:55 AM CDT, 10 hours 44 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
455 AM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013

IAZ039-261100-
BLACK HAWK-
455 AM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TODAY AND TONIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT
EXPECTED...BUT SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL AND FLOODING.

RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF THE CEDAR
RIVER BASIN. PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE
AT WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL PERSIST PERIODICALLY INTO NEXT
WEEK...MAINLY DURING THE NIGHTTIME AND EARLY MORNING HOURS.  SOME
STORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL...POSSIBLY LEADING TO FLASH
FLOODING OR MORE PROLONGED AREAL FLOODING.  SEVERE WEATHER APPEARS
UNLIKELY THIS WEEKEND...BUT SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES WILL INCREASE
SOMEWHAT INTO NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>038-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086-
092>097-261100-
EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-PALO ALTO-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO-
POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-BUTLER-BREMER-SAC-CALHOUN-
WEBSTER-HAMILTON-HARDIN-GRUNDY-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE-BOONE-STORY-
MARSHALL-TAMA-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-JASPER-POWESHIEK-CASS-
ADAIR-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-MAHASKA-ADAMS-UNION-CLARKE-LUCAS-MONROE-
WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-DECATUR-WAYNE-APPANOOSE-DAVIS-
455 AM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. CHANCES FOR SEVERE
WEATHER ARE LOW...BUT SOME STORMS COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL AND FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL PERSIST PERIODICALLY INTO NEXT
WEEK...MAINLY DURING THE NIGHTTIME AND EARLY MORNING HOURS.  SOME
STORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL...POSSIBLY LEADING TO FLASH
FLOODING OR AREAL FLOODING. SEVERE WEATHER APPEARS UNLIKELY THIS
WEEKEND...BUT SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES WILL INCREASE SOMEWHAT INTO
NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

AWB

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 25, 10:31 AM CDT, 5 hours 8 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 25, 11:44 AM CDT, 3 hours 55 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 25, 12:05 PM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 25, 12:08 PM CDT, 3 hours 31 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 25, 12:49 PM CDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 25, 2:21 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 8:21 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXJasper, Marshall, Story6 hr
May 25, 4:14 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningDMXDavis, Wapello42 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in Iowa, 2013Every flash flood watch in 2013

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.