Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 32, NWS Birmingham, AL

September 22, 2002Chilton County, Coosa County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Sep 22, 2002, 6:03 AM CDT for Chilton County, Coosa 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: Sep 22, 2002, 6:03 AM CDT (11:03 UTC)
Expired: Sep 22, 2002, 10:00 AM CDT
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Chilton County, AL, Coosa County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:05 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 00:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 42 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: 1963 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1044 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 65 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 221103
FFWBHM
ALC021-037-221500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
559 AM CDT SUN SEP 22 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CHILTON COUNTY IN ALABAMA
  COOSA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 1000 AM CDT

* AT 555 AM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...SPREADING INTO CHILTON AND 
COOSA COUNTIES FROM THE NORTH.  IT WILL OVERSPREAD MOST OF THE 
WARNING AREA DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.  RAIN IS FALLING AT A RATE 
OF UP TO 4 INCHES PER HOUR...AND FLASH FLOODING IS LIKELY.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. 
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. 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.

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS74 KBMX 221311
FFSBHM
ALC021-037-221500-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
807 AM CDT SUN SEP 22 2002

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CHILTON AND COOSA
COUNTIES UNTIL 1000 AM CDT.

AT 807 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUING ACROSS THE WARNING AREA.  
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE TO 
MOVE FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS CHILTON AND COOSA COUNTIES THROUGH 10 
AM...AND ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING IS EXPECTED.  AS MUCH AS 4 INCHES 
OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN OVER PARTS OF THE AREA...AND AN 
ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES IS LIKELY.

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
Sep 22, 1:56 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Clay, Randolph	4 hr
Sep 22, 3:32 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, Talladega	4 hr
Sep 22, 4:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Talladega	47 min
Sep 22, 5:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Coosa	51 min
Sep 22, 6:56 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Bibb, Tuscaloosa	4 hr
Sep 22, 7:27 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Shelby, Talladega	4 hr
Sep 22, 10:00 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Chilton, Coosa	60 min

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.