Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Birmingham, AL

January 23, 1999Winston County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jan 23, 1999, 1:38 AM CST for Winston County, Alabama. It was in force for 117 min. 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 23, 1999, 1:38 AM CST (07:38 UTC)
Expired
Jan 23, 1999, 3:35 AM CST
In force
117 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Winston County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:33 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 00:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 121 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 00:00Z on 1999-01-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 508 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 00:00Z on 1999-01-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 456 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
508 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
767 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
456 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
644 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
12.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 230739
FFWBHM
ALC079-083-133-230935-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
138 AM CST SAT JAN 23 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  LAWRENCE COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA
  LIMESTONE COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA
  WINSTON COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 335 AM CST

* RADAR HAS ESTIMATED THAT 3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAINFALL HAS FALLEN
  ACROSS MOST OF LIMESTONE...LAWRENCE...AND WINSTON COUNTIES SINCE
  LATE AFTERNOON FRIDAY...WITH SOME PORTIONS OF LAWRENCE COUNTY
  RECEIVING NEARLY 7 INCHES.  THIS HAS PRODUCED SEVERAL INSTANCES OF
  HIGHWAY FLOODING IN THE AFFECTED COUNTIES...ESPECIALLY OVER PORTIONS
  OF EASTERN LAWRENCE COUNTY.

  MODERATE RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE OVER LIMESTONE...LAWRENCE AND
  WINSTON COUNTIES THROUGH 3 AM...AND ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF
  ONE HALF TO ONE INCH ARE POSSIBLE.  THIS ADDITIONAL RAIN...COUPLED
  WITH THAT WHICH HAS ALREADY OCCURRED...WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE A
  THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING ACROSS THE AFFECTED COUNTIES THROUGH AT
  LEAST 330 AM.

DON'T DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADS! MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS 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, Jan 22, 9:29 PM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes before
ALZ001>003-011-230405-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
929 PM CST FRI JAN 22 1999

THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

IN ALABAMA

   ...LAUDERDALE... COLBERT... FRANKLIN...AND MARION.

THE WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINING COUNTIES UNTIL 1 AM.
Local storm report, Jan 22, 10:35 PM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
1035 PM CST FRI JAN 22 1999

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1030 PM    MOULTON                   AL   FLOODING
01/22/99   LAWRENCE                       FLOODING IN DOWNTOWN
                                          MOULTON.  EMA REPORTS
                                          EVACUATIONS IN PROGRESS.
Special weather statement, Jan 22, 11:17 PM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes before
ALZ004-012>014-022-030-031-230620-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1117 PM CST FRI JAN 22 1999

THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

IN ALABAMA

   ...LAWRENCE... LAMAR... FAYETTE... WINSTON... PICKENS... SUMTER
   ...GREENE

THE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINING COUNTIES UNTIL 1 AM.
Special weather statement, Jan 23, 12:09 AM CST, 1 hour 29 minutes before
ALZ005-007-015-023-230630-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1209 AM CST SAT JAN 23 1999

THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

IN ALABAMA

   ...LIMESTONE... MORGAN... WALKER... TUSCALOOSA

THE LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAS MOVED EAST OF THESE COUNTIES.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 22, 6:10 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXGreene, Sumter50 min
Jan 22, 6:25 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson35 min
Jan 22, 6:27 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBlount63 min
Jan 22, 6:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Pickens64 min
Jan 22, 6:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion64 min
Jan 22, 7:08 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXColbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence6 hr
Jan 22, 7:08 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Marion, Pickens6 hr
Jan 22, 7:08 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXFranklin, Winston6 hr
Jan 22, 7:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall65 min
Jan 22, 7:58 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin, Marion32 min
Jan 22, 8:01 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert34 min
Jan 22, 8:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale35 min
Jan 22, 8:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence, Limestone46 min
Jan 22, 9:05 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLimestone4 hr
Jan 22, 10:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa47 min
Jan 22, 10:31 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale34 min
Jan 22, 10:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker35 min
Jan 22, 11:06 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXMadison, Morgan4 hr
Jan 22, 11:45 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXTuscaloosa4 hr
Jan 23, 1:38 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLawrence, Limestone117 min
Jan 23, 2:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery35 min
Jan 23, 3:09 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa31 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 1999Every flash flood warning in 1999

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.