Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2023

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Cleveland, OH

July 20, 2023Erie County, Pennsylvania

NWS Cleveland, OH issued this flash flood warning at Jul 20, 2023, 5:34 PM EDT for Erie County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 20, 2023, 5:34 PM EDT (21:34 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2023, 8:26 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Cleveland, OH
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Erie County, PA

The radar

The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 157 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:36 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

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 158 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1391 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 90 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

405 
WGUS51 KCLE 202134
FFWCLE
PAC049-210130-
/O.NEW.KCLE.FF.W.0003.230720T2134Z-230721T0130Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Cleveland OH
534 PM EDT Thu Jul 20 2023

The National Weather Service in Cleveland has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  South Central Erie County in northwestern Pennsylvania...

* Until 930 PM EDT.

* At 534 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing 
  heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1.5 and 3 inches of 
  rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are 
  possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected 
  to begin shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar.

  IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban
           areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as
           other poor drainage and low-lying areas.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Waterford and McKean.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

&&

LAT...LON 4198 8023 4201 8011 4199 7985 4192 7982
      4189 7994 4189 8006 4191 8013 4193 8020
      4195 8023

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

Greenawalt

1 follow-up statement

898 
WGUS71 KCLE 210026
FFSCLE

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Cleveland OH
826 PM EDT Thu Jul 20 2023

PAC049-210036-
/O.CAN.KCLE.FF.W.0003.000000T0000Z-230721T0130Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Erie PA-
826 PM EDT Thu Jul 20 2023

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR SOUTH CENTRAL ERIE COUNTY...

The heavy rain has ended. Flooding is no longer expected to pose a 
threat. Please continue to heed remaining road closures.

LAT...LON 4198 8023 4201 8011 4199 7985 4192 7982
      4189 7994 4189 8006 4191 8013 4193 8020
      4195 8023

$$

Iverson

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cleveland, OH issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 1:31 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CLE	Erie	74 min
Jul 20, 1:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Erie	39 min
Jul 20, 4:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Erie	56 min
Jul 20, 5:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Erie	60 min
Jul 20, 5:36 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CLE	Erie	24 min
Jul 20, 6:00 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CLE	Erie	30 min
Jul 20, 6:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Crawford, Erie	31 min
Jul 20, 6:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	CLE	Crawford, Erie	76 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2023 Every flash flood warning in 2023

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.