Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 38, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 26, 1997Cherokee County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Oct 26, 1997, 4:25 AM CST for Cherokee County, Alabama. It was in force for 5 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
Oct 26, 1997, 4:25 AM CST (10:25 UTC)
Expired
Oct 26, 1997, 9:00 AM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Cherokee County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 136 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1997-10-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 325 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1997-10-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 295 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
325 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
493 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
295 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
522 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 261126
FFWBHM
ALC019-261500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
525 AM CST SUN OCT 26 1997


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...CHEROKEE COUNTY...

PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT PARTS OF CHEROKEE COUNTY
THROUGH 630 AM.  THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF FLASH
FLOODING OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY.  RUNOFF FROM HEAVY
RAINS EARLY THIS MORNING WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE FLOODING PROBLEMS
UNTIL ABOUT 900 AM.


<<CALL TO ACTION>>
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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 7:03 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence57 min
Oct 25, 7:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone57 min
Oct 25, 7:44 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMorgan61 min
Oct 25, 8:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison55 min
Oct 25, 8:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery48 min
Oct 25, 9:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock36 min
Oct 25, 11:28 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison47 min
Oct 26, 12:38 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXBlount, Jefferson32 min
Oct 26, 1:42 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXJefferson33 min
Oct 26, 1:49 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair66 min
Oct 26, 1:08 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun, Etowah47 min
Oct 26, 3:09 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCherokee46 min
Oct 26, 3:17 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery63 min
Oct 26, 3:50 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXElmore45 min
Oct 26, 3:52 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery33 min
Oct 26, 4:04 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun, Etowah, St. Clair4 hr
Oct 26, 4:28 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMacon52 min
Oct 26, 4:28 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMacon47 min
Oct 26, 4:45 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXLowndes50 min
Oct 26, 4:47 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXRussell48 min
Oct 26, 4:57 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery48 min
Oct 26, 5:01 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXLee49 min

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.