Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 19, NWS Mobile, AL

July 21, 1997Baldwin County, Mobile County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jul 21, 1997, 11:15 AM CDT for Baldwin County, Mobile County, Alabama. It was in force for 13 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, 11:15 AM CDT (16:15 UTC)
Expired
Jul 22, 1997, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
13 hr
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Baldwin County, AL, Mobile County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:17 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

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 4.3 hours before the alert went out and 143 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1272 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -22 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1272 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
505 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-53 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 KMOB 211617 COR
FFWMOB
ALC003-097-220700-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING   ...REQUESTED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1115 AM CDT MON JUL 21 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  MIDNIGHT TUESDAY
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA

   ...BALDWIN COUNTY...MOBILE COUNTY

AT 1100 AM...THE DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR IN MOBILE,AL INDICATED DEVELOPING
SCATTETED THUNDERSTORMS OVER MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES OF SOUTHWEST
ALABAMA AT MIDDAY. THESE STORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL FORM ON
THE PERIPHERY OF DANNY'S LOW CENTER...WHICH IS CURRENTLY LOCATED OVER
CHOCTAW COUNTY ALABAMA. ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINS THROUGH THE DAY COULD
TOTAL TWO TO THREE INCHES OVER SOME LOCATIONS WHICH WOULD AGGRAVATE THE
LOCAL RIVER FLOODING SITUATION.

IN BALDWIN COUNTY...SERIOUS FLOODING CONTINUES ALONG THE FISH RIVER.
FLOODING IS LIKELY STILL OCCURRING IN THE TRIBUTARIES WHICH FLOW INTO
THE FISH RIVER. IN MOBILE COUNTY...THE FOWL RIVER...DOG RIVER AND
CHICKASABOGUE ARE NEAR OR ABOVE FLOOD. NUMEROUS SECONDARY ROADS ARE
CLOSED IN BOTH COUNTIES.

THIS FLOOD WARNING IS BEING RE-ISSUED AS A REMINDER THAT RUNOFF IS STILL
OCCURRING OVER EAST MOBILE AND WEST BALDWIN COUNTIES OF ALABAMA.  THIS
FLOOD WARNING WILL BE RE-ISSUED AS LONG AS THESE LOCAL RIVERS REMAIN OUT
OF THEIR BANKS.

MOST DEATHS IN FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.

...CORRECTED FOR DURATION OF WARNING...

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 10:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile12 hr
Jul 21, 7:09 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBChoctaw3 hr
Jul 21, 9:12 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBChoctaw6 hr
Jul 21, 11:12 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile7 hr
Jul 21, 2:40 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBChoctaw12 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.