Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Mobile, AL

January 7, 1998Choctaw County, Mobile County, Washington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jan 7, 1998, 9:45 AM CST for Choctaw County, Mobile County, Washington County, Alabama. It was in force for 3 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: Jan 7, 1998, 9:45 AM CST (15:45 UTC)
Expired: Jan 7, 1998, 12:45 PM CST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Choctaw County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Washington County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:48 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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 188 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: 146 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 508 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -67 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 071548
FFWMOB
ALC023-097-129-071845-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
945 AM CST WED JAN 7 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS EXTENDED THE
FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
 
   ...CHOCTAW COUNTY...MOBILE COUNTY...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
MOBILE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWS THAT MOST OF THE HEAVIER RAINS HAVE MOVED
EAST OF THE WARNED AREA. AN ADDITIONAL ONE-QUARTER INCH OF RAIN CAN BE
EXPECTED THROUGH 100 PM.
 
RADAR ESTIMATES AND SURFACE REPORTS SHOW THAT BETWEEN 3 AND 6 INCHES OF
RAIN HAS FALLEN ACROSS THESE THREE COUNTIES SINCE MIDNIGHT.
 
PONDING AND RUNOFF OF RAINFALL THAT HAS FALLEN ACROSS THE AREA WILL BE
SLOW TO DRAIN OFF.  THIS WILL CAUSE SMALL STREAMS TO REMAIN OUT OF THEIR
BANKS.  ROADS THAT ARE FLOODED WILL SLOWLY RECEDE THE REST OF THE
MORNING.  OFFICIALS IN CHOCTAW...WASHINGTON AND MOBILE COUNTIES STILL
REPORT MANY ROADS WITH STANDING WATER IN THEM AND IN SOME CASES REMAIN
CLOSED.
 
MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO NOT DRIVE INTO OR THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS WHERE
THE DEPTH OF THE WATER IS UNKNOWN.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH 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.
 
STAY TUNED FOR LATER UPDATES.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 7, 4:55 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	65 min
Jan 7, 5:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	55 min
Jan 7, 6:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	60 min
Jan 7, 6:38 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Mobile, Washington	3 hr
Jan 7, 7:10 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw	20 min
Jan 7, 7:39 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	3 hr
Jan 7, 7:53 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	52 min
Jan 7, 7:57 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia	63 min
Jan 7, 8:08 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Monroe	67 min
Jan 7, 8:33 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh	57 min
Jan 7, 9:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Wilcox	59 min
Jan 7, 9:05 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia	60 min
Jan 7, 9:40 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	60 min
Jan 7, 10:09 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Butler	61 min
Jan 7, 10:38 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Escambia	112 min
Jan 7, 10:43 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	62 min
Jan 7, 10:55 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	110 min
Jan 7, 4:41 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	5 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 1998 Every flash flood warning in 1998

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.