Alert archive / Massachusetts / Flash Flood Warnings in 2014

Flash Flood Warning 43, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

August 31, 2014Worcester County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this flash flood warning at Aug 31, 2014, 7:39 PM EDT for Worcester County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 111 min. 1 report 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: Aug 31, 2014, 7:39 PM EDT (23:39 UTC)
Expired: Aug 31, 2014, 9:30 PM EDT
In force: 111 min
Issued by: NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Worcester County, MA

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:43 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
Aug 31, 8:00 PM EDT	FLASH FLOOD	North Brookfield, MA	GILBERT STREET FLOODED AND IMPASSABLE...INCLUDING FLOOD WATERS INTO A HOME

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

The nearest sounding before it

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 150 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: 13 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -218 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 819 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 218 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 217 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

317 
WGUS51 KBOX 312339
FFWBOX
MAC027-010130-
/O.NEW.KBOX.FF.W.0043.140831T2339Z-140901T0130Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
739 PM EDT SUN AUG 31 2014

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN WORCESTER COUNTY IN CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS...

* UNTIL 930 PM EDT

* AT 736 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING 
  HEAVY RAIN ACROSS A PORTION OF WORCESTER COUNTY. AMATEUR RADIO 
  OPERATORS REPORTED 2.83 INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN IN BROOKFIELD. 
  UP TO ANOTHER INCH OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE BY 9 PM.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  WORCESTER...HOLDEN...SPENCER...LEICESTER...STURBRIDGE...RUTLAND...
  WARREN...PAXTON...NORTH BROOKFIELD...WEST BROOKFIELD...BRIMFIELD...
  BROOKFIELD...EAST BROOKFIELD...OAKHAM AND NEW BRAINTREE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS ISSUED FOR RAPID AND POTENTIALLY LIFE
THREATENING FLOODING. IN URBAN AREAS AVOID FLOODED ROADS AND OBEY
ROAD CLOSURES. THOSE NEAR SMALL STREAMS MUST HEAD FOR HIGHER GROUND
IMMEDIATELY.

&&

LAT...LON 4225 7221 4227 7221 4235 7191 4225 7183
      4222 7196 4216 7205 4215 7213 4216 7214
      4215 7220 4218 7224 4223 7224

$$
FIELD

1 follow-up statement

283 
WGUS71 KBOX 010109
FFSBOX

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
909 PM EDT SUN AUG 31 2014

MAC027-010118-
/O.CAN.KBOX.FF.W.0043.000000T0000Z-140901T0130Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
WORCESTER MA-
909 PM EDT SUN AUG 31 2014

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN WORCESTER COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...

THE HEAVY RAIN HAS ENDED...AND FLOODING IS NO LONGER EXPECTED TO POSE
A THREAT.

LAT...LON 4225 7221 4227 7221 4235 7191 4225 7183
      4222 7196 4216 7205 4215 7213 4216 7214
      4215 7220 4218 7224 4223 7224

$$

BELK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 31, 3:56 AM EDT	Small Craft Advisory	BOX		36 hr
Aug 31, 6:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Hampden	39 min
Aug 31, 6:41 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	BOX	Worcester	49 min
Aug 31, 7:06 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BOX	Hampden, Hampshire, Worcester	54 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Massachusetts, 2014 Every flash flood warning in 2014

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.