Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 19, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 4, 2002Limestone County, Madison County, Morgan County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 4, 2002, 2:51 AM CDT for Limestone County, Madison County, Morgan County, Alabama. It was in force for 4 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, 2:51 AM CDT (07:51 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 2002, 7:00 AM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Morgan County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:51 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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Nashville Metro, TN 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2002-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 178 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
1031 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
76 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
233 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 040751
FFWBHM
ALC083-089-103-041200-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  LIMESTONE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA
  MADISON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA
  MORGAN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 700 AM CDT

* AT 250 AM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LARGE OF 
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS LIMESTONE...MADISON...AND MORGAN 
COUNTIES.  THE RAIN WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 TO 30 MPH.  THE GROUND 
ACROSS THE AREA IS SATURATED AND FLOODING IS BEGINNING ACROSS THE 
AREA.  WATER HAS BEEN REPORTED ACROSS INTERSTATE 65 NEAR ATHENS IN 
LIMESTONE COUNTY.

MOST FLASH FLOODING DEATHS ARE AUTOMOBILE RELATED. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. TO
ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 1:35 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXFranklin, Lamar, Lawrence, Marion, Winston3 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.