Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 24, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 12, 2002Jefferson County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jul 12, 2002, 5:31 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Alabama. It was in force for 119 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: Jul 12, 2002, 5:31 PM CDT (22:31 UTC)
Expired: Jul 12, 2002, 7:30 PM CDT
In force: 119 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Jefferson County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 44 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:31 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 43 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: 284 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 789 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 67 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 122231
FFWBHM
ALC073-130030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
528 PM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* AT 526 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED HEAVY   
RAIN OVER GARDENDALE AND MORRIS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 TO 10 MPH. 
RADAR ESTIMATES OF TWO TO FOUR INCHES HAS FALLEN IN THE PAST FEW 
HOURS. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OF AN INCH IS POSSIBLE THROUGH 730 PM. 
THE GARDENDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORTS MANY ROADS FLOODED IN THE 
AREA.

DURING HEAVY RAINS...KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM STORM 
DRAINS...DITCHES...CREEKS AND STREAMS. SHALLOW...GENTLY FLOWING 
WATER CAN BECOME A RAGING TORRENT IN A MATTER OF MINUTES WHEN HEAVY 
RAINS OCCUR. KEEP IN MIND THAT...THIS DEEP...FAST MOVING WATER WILL 
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE RAINS HAVE STOPPED.

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.

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS74 KBMX 122353
FFSBHM
ALC073-130030-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
652 PM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY IN EFFECT UNTIL 730 PM...

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY IS IN
EFFECT UNTIL 730 PM. AS OF 652 PM...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTY...GENERALLY TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 MPH. AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS WESTERN PORTIONS OF ALABAMA...AND WILL MOVE
INTO JEFFERSON COUNTY OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

MOST OF THE FLOODING HAS OCCURRED IN THE GARDENDALE AND MORRIS
COMMUNITIES OF NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY. THIS HAS CAUSED SEVERAL
ROADS TO FLOOD IN THIS AREA. ALTHOUGH THE RAINFALL INTENSITY HAS
DIMINISHED OVER THE LAST FEW MINUTES...THESE AREAS ARE STILL PRONE
TO FLOODING.

EXERCISE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING ON AREA ROADWAYS. DO NOT CROSS ROADS
THAT ARE COVERED WITH WATER. IF POSSIBLE...USE HIGHER TERRAIN ROUTES
TO REACH DESIRED DESTINATIONS.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND
NEWS MEDIA TO GET ACCESS TO THE LATEST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS ON THIS FLOODING EVENT.
$$
JBW

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2002 Every 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.