Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 3, 1990Limestone County, Madison County, Morgan County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Feb 3, 1990, 5:53 PM CST for Limestone County, Madison County, Morgan County, Alabama. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 3, 1990, 5:53 PM CST (23:53 UTC)
Expired
Feb 3, 1990, 10:00 PM CST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Morgan County, AL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1990-02-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 16 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1990-02-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 480 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 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
16 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-49 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
577 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
480 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
568 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.

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 032354
FFWHSV
ALC079-083-089-103-040400-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
553 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
          ...LAWRENCE...LIMESTONE...MADISON...MORGAN
 
AT 5:50 PM... HUNTSVILLE RADAR INDICATED A BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS
PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN FROM WESTERN LIMESTONE COUNTY DOWN ACROSS MUCH OF
LAWRENCE COUNTY. THE AREA WAS MOVING TO THE EAST-NORTHEAST AND
WILL PASS ACROSS MORGAN... LIMESTONE... MADISON AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES
DURING THE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS.
 
 
BE ESPEC*IALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 3, 4:47 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
ALZALL-032330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
545 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN AND
WESTERN ALABAMA AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 10 PM...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 545 PM CST SHOWED A LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS IN EXTREME EASTERN MISSISSIPPI MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST
AT 25 MPH. THE LINE WILL BE MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST
ALABAMA BY 5 PM CST.

THE STRONGEST STORM WAS LOCATED ABOUT 40 MILES NORTH OF MERIDIAN
MISSISSIPPI...AND WILL BE MOVING INTO PICKENS COUNTY OF ALABAMA BY
5 PM CST.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...
AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. PERSONS I]N WEST CENTRAL AND NORTH WEST ALABAMA
SHOULD BE PREPAIRED TO SEEK SHELTER AS THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
Special weather statement, Feb 3, 4:48 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
ALZ010-011-012-014-017-018-040000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL
445 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 10 PM FOR AUTAUGA...LOWNDES...
DALLAS...WILCOX AND BUTLER COUNTIES...

AT 440 PM CST RADAR AT MONTGOMERY INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER
SOUTHEAST ALABAMA FROM ANDALUSIA TO EUFAULA. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI THROUGH NORTHWEST
ALABAMaA. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MILES AN HOUR.

PERSONS IN SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN WEATHER
ALERT TONIGHT AND LISTEN NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Feb 3, 4:53 PM CST, 1 hour before
ALZALL-032330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...COR
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
445 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN AND
WESTERN ALABAMA AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 10 PM...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 445 PM CST SHOWED A LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS IN EXTREME EASTERN MISSISSIPPI MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST
AT 25 MPH. THE LINE WILL BE MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST
ALABAMA BY 5 PM CST.

THE STRONGEST STORM WAS LOCATED ABOUT 40 MILES NORTH OF MERIDIAN
MISSISSIPPI...AND WILL BE MOVING INTO PICKENS COUNTY OF ALABAMA BY
5 PM CST.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...
AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.m PERSONS IN WEST CENTRAL AND NORTH WEST ALABAMA
SHOULD BE PREPAIRED TO SEEK SHELTER AS THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 3, 5:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens43 min
Feb 3, 5:53 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLawrence4 hr
Feb 3, 5:58 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXPickens47 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

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.