Alert archive / New Mexico / Flash Flood Warnings in 2014

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS El Paso, TX

July 31, 2014Otero County, New Mexico

NWS El Paso, TX issued this flash flood warning at Jul 31, 2014, 12:41 AM MDT for Otero County, New Mexico. It was in force for 94 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: Jul 31, 2014, 12:41 AM MDT (06:41 UTC)
Expired: Jul 31, 2014, 2:15 AM MDT
In force: 94 min
Issued by: NWS El Paso, TX
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Otero County, NM

The radar

The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:45 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
Jul 31, 1:45 AM MDT	FLASH FLOOD	Orogrande, NM	OTERO COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE REPORTS 2 FEET OF WATER FLOWING OVER SOME ROADS IN OROGRANDE AS RUNOFF CONTINUES FROM NEARBY THUNDERSTORMS.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), launched 00:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 89 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: 41 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -43 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 3424 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 12 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.

501 
WGUS54 KEPZ 310641
FFWEPZ
NMC035-310815-
/O.NEW.KEPZ.FF.W.0021.140731T0641Z-140731T0815Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX
1241 AM MDT THU JUL 31 2014

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EL PASO HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL OTERO COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO...

* UNTIL 215 AM MDT

* AT 1240 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE
  WARNED AREA.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  OROGRANDE...


PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RAINFALL CAN QUICKLY TURN DRY DESERT WASHES AND ARROYOS
INTO RAGING RIVERS...EVEN IN AREAS FAR FROM WHERE RAIN HAS FALLEN. DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOODED ARROYOS. SWIFTLY MOVING WATER CAN CARVE
DEEP CHANNELS IN PREVIOUSLY SHALLOW WASHES...AND WATER CAN BE MUCH
DEEPER THAN IT APPEARS. IF YOUR ROUTE BECOMES CUT OFF BY FLOODED
ARROYOS...WAIT FOR FLOOD WATERS TO RECEDE.

USE CAUTION NEAR LOW WATER CROSSINGS WHICH ARE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS 
IN HEAVY RAIN. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL ACROSS FLOODED ROADS. IT 
ONLY TAKES A FEW INCHES OF SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER TO CARRY VEHICLES 
AWAY.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. DO
NOT ENTER THE WATER. TURN AROUND AND MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO
ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF URBAN
DRAINAGE BASINS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER
POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING AREAS.

&&

LAT...LON 3252 10592 3229 10599 3232 10621 3256 10612

$$

HEFNER

The office that day

Everything else NWS El Paso, TX issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 30, 6:08 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	EPZ	Sierra	52 min
Jul 30, 10:45 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	EPZ	Otero	60 min
Jul 30, 11:15 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EPZ	Otero	60 min
Jul 30, 11:41 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	EPZ	Otero	49 min
Jul 31, 12:29 AM MDT	Areal Flood Advisory	EPZ	Otero	2 hr
Jul 31, 1:49 AM MDT	Areal Flood Advisory	EPZ	Otero	116 min
Jul 31, 2:03 AM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	EPZ	Otero	57 min
Jul 31, 1:40 PM MDT	Areal Flood Advisory	EPZ	Otero	110 min
Jul 31, 2:30 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	EPZ	Otero	60 min
Jul 31, 3:14 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	EPZ	Otero	3 hr
Jul 31, 4:26 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	EPZ	Sierra	109 min
Jul 31, 4:47 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EPZ	Grant, Sierra	58 min
Jul 31, 5:57 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	EPZ	Doña Ana	48 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in New Mexico, 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.