Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002
Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jan 23, 2002, 10:32 AM CST for Colbert County, Lauderdale County, Limestone County, Alabama. It was in force for 6 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
- Jan 23, 2002, 10:32 AM CST (16:32 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 23, 2002, 4:15 PM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Colbert County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Limestone County, AL
The nearest sounding before it
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 168 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 636 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 66 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 531 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 502 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WGUS54 KBMX 231632 FFWBHM ALC033-077-083-232215- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1030 AM CST WED JAN 23 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... LIMESTONE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA COLBERT COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA LAUDERDALE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA * UNTIL 415 PM CST * AT 1030 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADARS INDICATED THAT A LARGE BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED ACROSS MUCH OF LAUDERDALE...COLBERT AND LIMESTONE COUNTIES. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...AND WILL ALSO MOVE ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS REPORT THAT CONSIDERABLE FLOODING WAS OCCURRING OVER PARTS OF LAUDERDALE AND COLBERT COUNTIES...AND NUMEROUS ROADS WERE COVERED WITH WATER AND CLOSED. THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING ISSUED EARLIER FOR COLBERT AND LAUDERDALE COUNTIES. THE MAIN AREA OF HEAVY RAINFALL EXTENDED ACROSS MOST OF LAUDERDALE AND COLBERT COUNTIES...AND EXTENDED INTO NORTHERN LIMESTONE COUNTY. SOME OF THE CITIES AFFECTED INCLUDE TUSCUMBIA...FLORENCE... ROGERSVILLE...AND GOOD SPRINGS. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAIN HAS FALLEN JUST TO THE NORTH IN TENNESSEE...AND ALL THE CREEKS AND STREAMS FLOWING SOUTHWARD INTO LAUDERDALE COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO RISE FROM THIS RAINFALL. THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH NOON. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES HAVE FALLEN ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHWEST ALABAMA SINCE MIDNIGHT...AND ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AROUND 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON. 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 OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND. TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.
3 follow-up statements
000 WGUS74 KBMX 231745 FFSBHM ALC033-077-083-231845- FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1140 AM CST WED JAN 23 2002 A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR COLBERT... LAUDERDALE...AND LIMESTONE COUNTIES UNTIL 415 PM CST. AT 1135 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADARS INDICATED MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUING ACROSS MOST OF LAUDERDALE COUNTY...NORTHERN COLBERT COUNTY...AND NORTHWEST LIMESTONE COUNTY. REPORTS ACROSS THE AREA ALSO SHOW THAT THE FLOODING THREAT CONTINUES AND THUS THE FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED CONSIDERABLE FLOODING OVER COLBERT AND LAUDERDALE COUNTIES WITH NUMEROUS ROADS UNDER WATER AND CLOSED. FLOODING MAY ALREADY BE OCCURRING...OR MAY BEGIN SOON...OVER NORTHWEST LIMESTONE COUNTY ...ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA BETWEEN UNION HILL AND MT. ROZELL. THE MAIN THREAT FOR ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON WILL BE LAUDERDALE AND NORTHERN COLBERT COUNTIES...AND NORTHWEST LIMESTONE COUNTY. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OF AROUND ONE INCH IS POSSIBLE IN THIS AREA. THE RAIN AREA WAS DRIFTING SLOWLY NORTH...AND THE RAIN SHOULD BEGIN TO DECREASE FROM THE SOUTH DURING THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...WATER LEVELS IN CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL CONTINUE HIGH...AND MAY EVEN RISE SOME MORE BEFORE BEGINNING TO RECEDE LATER THIS AFTERNOON. 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. &
000 WGUS74 KBMX 231959 FFSBHM ALC033-077-083-232100- FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 155 PM CST WED JAN 23 2002 A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR COLBERT... LAUDERDALE...AND LIMESTONE COUNTIES UNTIL 415 PM CST. AT 155 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADARS INDICATED THAT THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL HAS MOVED OUT OF LAUDERDALE...COLBERT... AND LIMESTONE COUNTIES. HOWEVER..FLOODING WILL STILL REMAIN POSSIBLE AS RUNOFF FROM THE EARLIER RAINFALL CONTINUES TO ENTER AREA STREAMS. BECAUSE OF THIS...THE FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED CONSIDERABLE FLOODING OVER COLBERT AND LAUDERDALE COUNTIES WITH NUMEROUS ROADS UNDER WATER AND CLOSED. FLOODING ALSO MAY BE OCCURRING OVER NORTHWEST LIMESTONE COUNTY. THE COLUMBUS MISSISSIPPI RADAR SHOWS SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL THAT MOVES OVER NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA WILL CONTINUE TO AGGRAVATE ALREADY SWOLLEN STREAMS. 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.
000 WGUS74 KBMX 232103 FFSBHM ALC033-077-083-232215- FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 259 PM CST WED JAN 23 2002 A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR COLBERT... LAUDERDALE...AND LIMESTONE COUNTIES UNTIL 415 PM CST. AT 255 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADARS SHOWED SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA. FLOODING WILL STILL REMAIN POSSIBLE AS RAINFALL FROM THESE SHOWERS IS ADDED TO THE RUNOFF FROM THE EARLIER RAINFALL. BECAUSE OF THIS...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 415 PM CST. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS HAD REPORTED CONSIDERABLE FLOODING OVER COLBERT AND LAUDERDALE COUNTIES EARLIER...WITH NUMEROUS ROADS UNDER WATER AND CLOSED. FLOODING ALSO MAY BE OCCURRING OVER NORTHWEST LIMESTONE COUNTY. 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.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 4:25 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 3 hr |
| Jan 23, 7:21 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 3 hr |
| Jan 23, 4:16 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lauderdale, Limestone | 4 hr |
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.