Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 85, NWS Birmingham, AL

December 23, 19904 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Dec 23, 1990, 1:50 AM CST for 4 counties in Alabama. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Dec 23, 1990, 1:50 AM CST (07:50 UTC)
Expired: Dec 23, 1990, 6:50 AM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Cullman County, AL, Marion County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston 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

Centreville/Bibb, AL (KCKL), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 129 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: 92 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 620 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 344 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 567 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 230750
FFWBHM
ALC043-057-075-093-127-133-231250-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
150 AM CST SUN DEC 23 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  650 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...CULLMAN COUNTY...FAYETTE COUNTY...LAMAR COUNTY...MARION COUNTY
   ...WALKER COUNTY...WINSTON COUNTY
 
AT 130 AM RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS CONTINUED TO MOVE ACROSS AREAS
SATURATED BY PREVIOUS RAINFALL.  COUNTY AND STATE POLICE REPORTED WATECOVERING MANY BRIDGES IN THE WARNING AREA.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.

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, 10:22 PM CST, 3 hours 28 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	Lawrence, 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	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.