Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 23, NWS Birmingham, AL

June 22, 1997Marion County, Winston County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jun 22, 1997, 6:23 AM CDT for Marion County, Winston County, Alabama. It was in force for 117 min. 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, 6:23 AM CDT (11:23 UTC)
Expired: Jun 22, 1997, 8:20 AM CDT
In force: 117 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Marion County, AL, Winston County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 70 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:24 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, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 133 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: 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 221123
FFWBHM
ALC093-133-221320-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 820 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...MARION COUNTY
   ...WINSTON COUNTY
 
DURING THE LAST TWO HOURS MORE THAN TWO INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN
ALONG THE BEAR CREEK BASIN FROM HALEYVILLE TO HACKLEBURG.  ADDITIONAL
HEAVY RAINS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE IN BEFORE 7 AM AS THUNDERSTORMS
CONTINUE TO DROP SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE WESTERN TENNESSEE VALLEY.
ANOTHER INCH OR TWO OF RAIN COULD CAUSE RAPID RISES ON BEAR CREEK
AND FLASH FLOODING OF SMALLER STREAMS AND DRAINAGE AREAS IN NORTHWEST
WINSTON AND NORTHEAST MARION COUNTIES.

AS THE STORMS CONINUE TO DEVELOP SOUTHWARD...OTHER PARTS OF MARION AND
WINSTON COUINTIES MAY BE EFFECTED.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY AND THE ROAD BENEATH MAY NOT BE INTACT. VEHICLES
CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. IT ONLY TAKES
A FOOT OR TWO OF FLOWING WATER TO WASH MOST CARS AWAY. REMEMBER...
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 21, 7:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	31 min
Jun 22, 4:21 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Blount, St. Clair, Talladega	4 hr
Jun 22, 5:08 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Cullman	4 hr
Jun 22, 5:43 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Clay	3 hr
Jun 22, 7:27 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Shelby	2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 1997 Every 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.