Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 18, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 4, 20025 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 4, 2002, 1:35 AM CDT 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 counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 4, 2002, 1:35 AM CDT (06:35 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 2002, 4:30 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Franklin County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Marion County, AL, Winston County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 142 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 2002-05-04Temperature 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°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2002-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 165 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
701 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
378 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KBMX 040635
FFWBHM
ALC059-075-079-093-133-040930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
134 AM CDT SAT MAY 4 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA
  LAWRENCE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA
  MARION COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA
  WINSTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA
  LAMAR COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 430 AM CDT

* AT 134 AM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LARGE OF 
  VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM THE RUSSELLVILLE...AND MOULTON AREAS...TO THE 
  MILLPORT AND DOUBLE SPRINGS AREA.  THE RAIN WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 
  TO 30 MPH.  THE GROUND ACROSS THE AREA IS SATURATED AND ADDITIONAL 
  RAINFALL OF 2 TO 3 INCHES WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 2:51 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXLimestone, Madison, Morgan4 hr
May 4, 1:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Montgomery26 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2002Every flash flood warning in 2002

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.