Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 83, NWS Birmingham, AL

December 23, 1990Lawrence County, Limestone County, Morgan County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Dec 23, 1990, 12:38 AM CST for Lawrence County, Limestone County, Morgan County, Alabama. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Dec 23, 1990, 12:38 AM CST (06:38 UTC)
Expired: Dec 23, 1990, 4:45 AM CST
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Lawrence County, AL, Limestone 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 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 175 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: 464 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 94 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 325 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 347 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 230639
FFWHSV
ALC071-079-083-089-103-231045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1238 AM CST SUN DEC 23 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  445 AM CST
 
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...JACKSON COUNTY...LAWRENCE COUNTY...LIMESTONE COUNTY
   ...MADISON COUNTY...MORGAN COUNTY
 
HUNTSVILLE RADAR AT 1235 THIS MORNING INDICATED A LARGE AREA OF
RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...OVER THE WARNED AREA.
 
THE FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS FOR LIMESTONE...MORGAN...JACKSON...
AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 445 THIS MORNING.
 
 
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

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, Dec 22, 7:45 PM CST, 4 hours 53 minutes before

ALZ004>009-011-013-230245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
744 PM CST SAT DEC 22 1990

 ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF NORTHERN...WESTERN AND
CENTRAL ALABAMA TONIGHT...
     ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA...

AT 740PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN CENTREVILLE INDICATED
AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF WEST AND CENTRAL
ALABAMA. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS MOVING ACROSS SOUTHERN PICKENS COUNTY
NEAR THE COMMUNITY OF ALICEVILLE. THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE
JUST TO THE NORTH OF TUSCALOOSA WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR. OTHER STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE BIRMINGHAM METROPOLITAN AREA IN JEFFERSON
COUNTY.  THESE S/TORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN AND
STRONG GUSTY WINDS. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 40 MPH.

Special weather statement, Dec 22, 10:22 PM CST, 2 hours 16 minutes before

ALZ002>009-013-230700-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
10 PM CST SAT DEC 22 1990

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT
FOR MOST OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN ALABAMA...

AT 955 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A BROAD AREA OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS COVERING MUCH OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN ALABAMA.  THE
STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER CULLMAN...WALKER AND FAYETTE COUNTIES.
THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MPH.

A COLD FRONT EXTENDING FROM NEAR HUNTSVILLE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL
ALABAMA INTO SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE FOCUS
FOR POSSIBLE HEAVY RAIN OVERNIGHT.  PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA ARE
URGED TO MONITOR LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS VERY CAREFULLY OVERNIGHT.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS ANY ROADS COVERED WITH WATER AND BE SURE
TO AVOID ANY AREAS EASILY PRONE TO FLOODING.

REMEMBER...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
FLOODI)NG IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 22, 7:34 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jackson	6 hr
Dec 22, 10:15 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Cullman, Walker, Winston	4 hr
Dec 22, 10:15 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Marion	4 hr
Dec 22, 11:46 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Limestone, Morgan	4 hr
Dec 23, 12:38 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jackson, Madison	4 hr
Dec 23, 1:50 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Cullman, Marion, Walker, Winston	5 hr
Dec 23, 1:50 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar	5 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 1990 Every 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.