Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 3, 20015 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Mar 3, 2001, 4:54 PM CST for 5 counties in 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 outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued
Mar 3, 2001, 4:54 PM CST (22:54 UTC)
Expired
Mar 3, 2001, 8:00 PM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Autauga County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Montgomery County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:57 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, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 86 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 12:00Z on 2001-03-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2001-03-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 152 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
631 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
159 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 
WGUS54 KBMX 032258
FFWBHM
ALC001-047-051-085-101-040200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
454 PM CST SAT MAR 3 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  AUTAUGA COUNTY IN ALABAMA
  DALLAS COUNTY IN ALABAMA
  ELMORE COUNTY IN ALABAMA
  LOWNDES COUNTY IN ALABAMA
  MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 800 PM CST

* AT 449 PM CST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED ANOTHER 
AREA OF HEAVY RAIN MOVING INTO SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA.  THIS RAIN IS 
FALLING IN AN AREA WHERE AN ESTIMATED 3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS 
ALREADY FALLEN OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS RAIN WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS AND OTHER
LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS, ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK
HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 3265 8699 3249 8702 3247 8741 3216 8726
          3208 8700 3202 8604 3241 8605 3274 8592

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 2, 6:06 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery39 min
Mar 2, 7:19 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock, Macon26 min
Mar 2, 9:18 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBarbour27 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2001Every flash flood warning in 2001

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.