Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 22, NWS Birmingham, AL

June 22, 1997Clay County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jun 22, 1997, 5:43 AM CDT for Clay County, Alabama. 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 counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 22, 1997, 5:43 AM CDT (10:43 UTC)
Expired
Jun 22, 1997, 8:45 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Clay County, AL

The radar

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:44 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 86 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1997-06-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 431 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1997-06-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 86 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 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
431 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
940 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 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 KBHM 221044
FFWBHM
ALC027-221345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
543 AM CDT SUN JUN 22 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...SOUTHWESTERN CLAY COUNTY
 
HEAVY RAINS TOTALING 2 TO 3 INCHES HAVE OCCURRED OVERNIGHT IN
SOUTHWEST CLAY COUNTY. ADDITIONAL RAINS MOVING INTO THE SAME
RAIN-SOAKED AREA WILL LIKELY CAUSE FLASH FLOODING THIS MORNING.
CAMPERS AND HIKERS ESPECIALLY IN THE TALLADEGA NATIONAL FOREST SHOULD
NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS SWOLLEN CREEKS.
 
MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT A@TTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES... DIPS... OR LOW WATER CROSSINGS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM... EVEN A SMALL
ONE... ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. DO
NOT DRIVE AROUND BARRICADES.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 21, 7:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter31 min
Jun 22, 4:21 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount, St. Clair, Talladega4 hr
Jun 22, 5:08 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCullman4 hr
Jun 22, 6:23 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXMarion, Winston117 min
Jun 22, 7:27 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXShelby2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997

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.