Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Watches in 2013

Flash Flood Watch 4, NWS Charleston, WV

June 9, 201320 counties in West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood watch at Jun 9, 2013, 8:51 PM EDT for 20 counties in West Virginia. It took effect at Jun 9, 2013, 9:00 PM EDT. It was in force for 21 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 9, 2013, 8:51 PM EDT (00:51 UTC)
In effect from
Jun 9, 2013, 9:00 PM EDT
Expired
Jun 10, 2013, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
21 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Flood severity
None

Counties Barbour County, WV, Boone County, WV, Braxton County, WV, Calhoun County, WV, Clay County, WV, Doddridge County, WV, Gilmer County, WV, Harrison County, WV, Kanawha County, WV, Lewis County, WV, Lincoln County, WV, Logan County, WV, McDowell County, WV, Mingo County, WV, Putnam County, WV, Roane County, WV, Taylor County, WV, Upshur County, WV, Wayne County, WV, Wyoming County, WV

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:53 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

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 247 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2013-06-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 116 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2013-06-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 142 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
116 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-88 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1069 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
142 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
196 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood watch went out at Jun 9, 3:03 PM EDT, 5 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 9, 3:03 PM EDT, 5 hours 48 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
303 PM EDT SUN JUN 9 2013

.SYNOPSIS...
A WEAK COLD FRONT BUT STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE APPROACH
TONIGHT AND CROSS MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE CROSSES
MIDWEEK...THEN LOW PRESSURE LATE WEEK.  HIGH PRESSURE END OF WEEK.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/...
DEARTH OF CLOUDS HAS ALLOWED DECENT SURFACE HEATING TODAY.
MEANWHILE...UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE INTERACTING WITH WARM FRONT NEAR
THE OHIO VALLEY WILL CONTINUE MOVING NNE...WITH ASSOCIATED
CONVECTION.  INCREASING FLOW BRINGING AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE FROM
THE S COULD...IN COMBINATION WITH THE FORCING AND AFTERNOON
HEATING...LEAD TO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN THE WESTERN FRINGES OF THE
FCST AREA BEFORE SUNSET...ESPECIALLY KY PER SPC SLIGHT RISK AND
MCD.  MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES REMAIN WEAK WITH A BIT OF A CAP
INDICATED...ESPECIALLY EASTERN AND CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE AREA.
THAT AND SUNDOWN WILL LIMIT THE AREA TO WHICH THE THREAT FOR STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS WILL REACH.

STLT WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS TROPICAL CONNECTION FROM ACROSS THE
MEXICAN ISTHMUS AHEAD OF A TROUGH THAT IS RATHER AMPLIFIED FOR
JUNE.  THIS FEATURE MOVES E...UNDERCUTTING HUDSON BAY
BLOCK...TONIGHT AND MON.  WIDESPREAD SHOWERS ARRIVE OVERNIGHT AND
EXIT MON MIDDAY AND AFTERNOON AS A WEAK SURFACE COLD FRONT MOVES
THROUGH.  INCLUDED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MIX EVEN OVERNIGHT AND MON
MORNING...ON ACCOUNT OF THE STRENGTH OF THE UPPER
FORCING...AVAILABLE MOISTURE AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR ELEVATED
CONVECTION.  HAVE ALSO MOVED UP THE START TIME OF THE PRECIPITATION.

MAIN THING TO WATCH IS THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL IN THE MOISTURE
PLUME AXIS THAT SETS UP OVER THE MIDDLE OHIO VALLEY EARLY MORNING
MORNING...ANY FLOOD THREAT WOULD BE A BIT MORE LIKELY IN E CENTRAL
OHIO WHERE MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS INTERSECT LOWEST FFG VALUES.

WITH ANY CLEARING MON AFTERNOON...ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION MAY BE
ABLE TO GET GOING LATE IN THE DAY MON BENEATH THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
ESPECIALLY GIVEN ONLY MODEST DRYING / COOLING BEHIND THE WEAK FRONT
AND OUR FAST APPROACHING THE SUMMER SOLSTICE.

MILD NT TONIGHT AS WARM FRONT PUSHES THROUGH...IN THE S FLOW AHEAD
OF THE COLD FRONT.  LOWS MAY OCCUR ON WET BULBING AFTER ADVECTIVE
AND NOCTURNAL /EVENING/ RISING OF DEW POINTS.  FCST LOOKED GOOD IN
LIGHT OF LATEST GUIDANCE OUTSIDE THE LOW MAV.  TEMPERATURES MON
COULD GET CLOSER TO MET /HIGHER THAN PREVIOUS FCST/ IF ENOUGH BREAKS
IN THE CLOUDS MATERIALIZE.

&&

.SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM POSSIBILITIES CONTINUE INTO THIS PERIOD AS
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW APPROACHES THE REGION. AS THE UPPER SYSTEM AND
ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT MOVE NORTH EAST...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE
WILL MAKE A RATHER BRIEF APPEARANCE. HIGH PRESSURE WILL ALLOW FOR
OVERNIGHT TUESDAY TO BE DRY. THIS WILL ONLY LAST A VERY SHORT TIME
AS A WARM FRONT MOVES INTO THE COUNTY WARNING AREA. THIS WILL BRING
ABOUT MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES...ESPECIALLY NORTH
DURING THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY.

TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE 60S DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS MONDAY
NIGHT AND TUESDAY NIGHT. HIGHS ON TUESDAY BEHIND THE FRONT WILL BE
COOLER WITH 60S IN THE MOUNTAINS AND 70S ELSEWHERE. A WARMING TREND
DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS WILL OCCUR BY WEDNESDAY. HIGHS WILL BE IN
THE 70S IN THE MOUNTAINS TO THE MID TO UPPER 80S IN THE LOWLANDS.

&&

.LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE OVERALL PATTERN THROUGH THE
EXTENDED WITH A COUPLE OF SHORTWAVE DISTURBANCES EJECTING OUT OF
UPPER LEVEL NORTHWEST FLOW FIRST ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND ANOTHER ON
THURSDAY NIGHT...THERE ARE MODEL DIFFERENCES IN THE SURFACE
RESPONSES TO THE SHORTWAVE PROPAGATION WITH THE ECMWF INCREASING
SURFACE PRESSURE FALLS DUE TO STEEPER MIDLEVEL HEIGHT DECLINES OVER
THE SOUTHERN OHIO VALLEY...WHILE THE GFS HAS A MORE LINEAR
PROGRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH THE SURFACE LOW WITH IT CENTERED EAST OF
THE APPALACHIANS BY THURSDAY AFT...AGREED WITH PREVIOUS FORECAST FOR
THE MOST PART AND PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON ECMWF DUE TO MORE PLAUSIBLE
TIMING WITH SURFACE LOW AND EXPECTED CONVECTIVE PROCESSES SLOWING
THE SYSTEM SLIGHTLY WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDING IN ON FRIDAY AND HINTS OF MORE PRECIP LATE NEXT
WEEKEND UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS...ALSO RELIED HEAVILY ON WPC
GUIDANCE FOR TEMPS AND WINDS.

&&

.AVIATION /19Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL INTERACT WITH A WARM FRONT ALONG THE
OHIO VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE TO FIRE UP ACROSS THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY AS
FAR E AS E KY THIS AFTERNOON...AND A FEW OF THESE STORMS CAN BECOME
QUITE STRONG.  THE CONVECTION WILL WORK ITS WAY UP THROUGH THE
MIDDLE OHIO VALLEY BY EVENING...WITH ADDITIONAL CONVECTION POSSIBLE
IN THE WV MOUNTAINS.  THESE STORMS ARE NOT LIKELY TO BECOME AS
STRONG.  RIGHT NOW IT APPEARS ALL OF THE STORMS WILL BE SCATTERED
ENOUGH TO EXPLICITLY CODE INTO THE TAFS...WATCH FOR POSSIBLE
AMENDMENTS.

A STRONGER UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM AND WEAK SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL
APPROACH TONIGHT AND MOVE THROUGH THE AREA MON.  THIS WILL BRING
MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS ALONG WITH A FEW THUNDERSTORMS LATER TONIGHT
INTO MON.  HAVE MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS CODED UP FOR THIS...BUT IFR
CONDITIONS CAN EASILY OCCUR WITH HEAVIER RAINFALL.

LIGHT S TO SE SURFACE FLOW WILL STRENGTHEN FROM THE S AND BECOME A
BIT GUSTY LATE TONIGHT AND MON AS LIGHT S FLOW ALOFT BECOMES
MODERATE S BY THIS EVENING AND THEN MODERATE SW MON.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY...

FORECAST CONFIDENCE...MEDIUM TO HIGH.

ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM MAY DIRECTLY AFFECT A
TAF SITE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  TIMING AND DEGREE OF WORST
CONDITIONS WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LATE TONIGHT AND MON
COULD VARY.

EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY
OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION:
H = HIGH:   TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL.
M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS.
L = LOW:    TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL.

UTC 1HRLY       18   19   20   21   22   23   00   01   02   03   04   05
EDT 1HRLY       14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   00   01
CRW CONSISTENCY  H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H
HTS CONSISTENCY  H    H    H    H    H    H    H    M    M    M    M    M
BKW CONSISTENCY  H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H
EKN CONSISTENCY  H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H
PKB CONSISTENCY  H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H
CKB CONSISTENCY  H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H

AFTER 18Z MONDAY...
IFR POSSIBLE IN LOW CLOUDS AND FOG MON NT...ESPECIALLY IN THE
MOUNTAINS.

&&

.RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WV...NONE.
OH...NONE.
KY...NONE.
VA...NONE.

&&

SYNOPSIS...JB/TRM/JM
NEAR TERM...TRM
SHORT TERM...JB
LONG TERM...JM
AVIATION...TRM
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 9, 3:27 AM EDT, 17 hours 24 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
327 AM EDT SUN JUN 9 2013

KYZ101>103-105-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-VAZ003-004-WVZ005>011-
013>020-024>040-046-047-100730-
GREENUP-CARTER-BOYD-LAWRENCE KY-PERRY-MORGAN-ATHENS-WASHINGTON-
JACKSON OH-VINTON-MEIGS-GALLIA-LAWRENCE OH-DICKENSON-BUCHANAN-WAYNE-
CABELL-MASON-JACKSON WV-WOOD-PLEASANTS-TYLER-LINCOLN-PUTNAM-KANAWHA-
ROANE-WIRT-CALHOUN-RITCHIE-DODDRIDGE-MINGO-LOGAN-BOONE-CLAY-BRAXTON-
GILMER-LEWIS-HARRISON-TAYLOR-MCDOWELL-WYOMING-RALEIGH-FAYETTE-
NICHOLAS-WEBSTER-UPSHUR-BARBOUR-POCAHONTAS-RANDOLPH-
327 AM EDT SUN JUN 9 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST
KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND MUCH OF WEST
VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 9, 7:11 PM EDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jun 9, 7:39 PM EDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jun 9, 7:41 PM EDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before
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      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 9, 8:01 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRLXPutnam14 min
Jun 9, 8:05 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRLXPutnam10 min
Jun 10, 6:15 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRLXCabell30 min
Jun 10, 6:47 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRLXPutnam28 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in West Virginia, 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.