Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 28, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jul 21, 1997, 9:34 AM CDT for Marengo County, Sumter County, Alabama. It was in force for 6 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 21, 1997, 9:34 AM CDT (14:34 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 21, 1997, 3:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Marengo County, AL, Sumter County, AL
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:37 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 12:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 142 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 311 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -26 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 651 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 60 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 36 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 211434 FFWBHM ALC091-119-212030- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 934 AM CDT MON JUL 21 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA ...MARENGO COUNTY ...SUMTER COUNTY AT 930 THIS MORNING AN AREA OF TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WAS MOVING SLOWLY NORTH THROUGH WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND NOW COVERED ALL OF SUMTER AND MERENGO COUNTIES. RADAR NOW ESTIMATES THAT MORE THAN 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS OCCURRED OVER SOUTHERN SUMTER COUNTY AND 2 INCHES OVER SOUTHWEST MARENGO COUNTY...AND THE RAIN WILL GET HEAVIER. REPORTS OF MORE THAN 9 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM AREAS FURTHER SOUTH. PORTIONS OF SUMTER AND MERENGO COUNTIES CAN EXPECT RAINFALL TOTALS OF 5 INCHES OR MORE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON. THIS WILL CAUSE SERIOUS FLASH FLOODING. DURING HEAVY RAINS... KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM STORM DRAINS... WATER CATCHMENTS... AND WATERWAYS. SHALLOW... GENTLY FLOWING WATER CAN BECOME A RAGING TORRENT IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. 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.
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, Jul 21, 9:20 AM CDT, 14 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-220300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 920 AM CDT MON JUL 21 1997 THE MAIN WEATHER THREAT TO THE AREA THROUGH MIDNIGHT TONIGHT WILL BE MAINLY FLASH FLOODING FROM HEAVY RAINFALL OVER WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA TODAY AND POSSIBLY INTO THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE LATER THIS EVENING. THE REMNANTS OF WHAT WAS ONCE HURRICANE DANNY WERE CENTERED OVER WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA BETWEEN LINDEN AND BUTLER AT 920 AM. THIS AREA WAS PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS IT DRIFTS SLOWLY NORTH. IT MAY EVENTUALLY BEGIN TO TAKE A MORE NORTHEAST TURN LATER AND DUE TO THE VERY SLOW MOTION...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 5 INCHES AND LIKELY MORE WILL OCCUR. SOME AREAS IN CHOCTAW COUNTY HAVE ALREADY REPORTED 9 INCHES OF RAIN IN A 5 HOUR PERIOD. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR A PART OF WEST ALABAMA INCLUDING SUMTER AND MERENGO COUNTIES...AND YOU CAN EXPECT THESE WATCHES TO BE EXTENDED NORTHWARD LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. EMERGENCY MANAGERS OVER WESTERN ALABAMA SHOULD PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SERIOUS FLOODING OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND BY TONIGHT THE THREAT MAY HAVE SPREAD AS FAR NORTH AS THE TUSCALOOSA ...BIRMINGHAM...CULLMAN...JASPER...AND HAMILTON AREAS.
Special weather statement, Jul 21, 9:24 AM CDT, 10 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-220300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 920 AM CDT MON JUL 21 1997 THE MAIN WEATHER THREAT TO THE AREA THROUGH MIDNIGHT TONIGHT WILL BE MAINLY FLASH FLOODING FROM HEAVY RAINFALL OVER WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA TODAY AND POSSIBLY INTO THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE LATER THIS EVENING. THE REMNANTS OF WHAT WAS ONCE HURRICANE DANNY WERE CENTERED OVER WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA BETWEEN LINDEN AND BUTLER AT 920 AM. THIS AREA WAS PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS IT DRIFTS SLOWLY NORTH. IT MAY EVENTUALLY BEGIN TO TAKE A MORE NORTHEAST TURN LATER AND DUE TO THE VERY SLOW MOTION...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 5 INCHES AND LIKELY MORE WILL OCCUR. SOME AREAS IN CHOCTAW COUNTY HAVE ALREADY REPORTED 9 INCHES OF RAIN IN A 5 HOUR PERIOD. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR A PART OF WEST ALABAMA INCLUDING SUMTER AND MERENGO COUNTIES...AND YOU CAN EXPECT THESE WATCHES TO BE EXTENDED NORTHWARD LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. EMERGENCY MANAGERS OVER WESTERN ALABAMA SHOULD PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SERIOUS FLOODING OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND BY TONIGHT THE THREArT MAY HAVE SPREAD AS FAR NORTH AS THE TUSCALOOSA ...BIRMINGHAM...CULLMAN...JASPER...AND HAMILTON AREAS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 5:45 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Greene, Hale, Tuscaloosa | 2 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.