Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 27, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 17, 1997Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jul 17, 1997, 3:29 PM CDT for Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 2 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
Jul 17, 1997, 3:29 PM CDT (20:29 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Shelby County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 14 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1821 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -13 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
1821 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
957 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-28 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 172030
FFWBHM
ALC117-172230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
329 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...SOUTHWESTERN SHELBY COUNTY
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW SLOW MOVING
THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWESTERN SHELBY COUNTY.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE LIKELY PRODUCING RAINFALL OF UP TO TWO INCHES IN AN HOUR.  THIS
RAINFALL IS LIKELY TO CAUSE FLASH FLOODING ESPECIALLY IN LOW SPOTS
ALONG ROADS AND IN POORLY DRAINED AREAS.  SMALL STREAMS ARE LIKELY TO
FLOOD RAPIDLY IN SOUTHWESTERN SHELBY COUNTY AROUND THE
MONTEVALLO-MAYLENE AREAS.
 
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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 2:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton62 min
Jul 17, 2:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby47 min
Jul 17, 3:25 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXTalladega2 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.