Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002
Flash Flood Warning 35, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Sep 22, 2002, 10:00 AM CDT for Chilton County, Coosa County, Alabama. It was in force for 60 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
- Sep 22, 2002, 10:00 AM CDT (15:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 22, 2002, 11:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 60 min
- 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 15:01 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, 3.0 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 356 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -47 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 647 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -125 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -89 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.1
- Supercell composite
- -0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WGUS54 KBMX 221500 FFWBHM ALC021-037-221600- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1000 AM CDT SUN SEP 22 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS EXTENDED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... CHILTON COUNTY IN ALABAMA COOSA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA * UNTIL 1100 AM CDT * AT 956 AM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM 12 MILES NORTH OF JEMISON TO 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF MAPLESVILLE...OR FROM 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF MONTEVALLO TO 11 MILES EAST OF BRENT...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH. 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.
2 follow-up statements
000 WGUS74 KBMX 221537 FFSBHM ALC021-037-221600- FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1035 AM CDT SUN SEP 22 2002 A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CHILTON AND COOSA COUNTIES UNTIL 1100 AM CDT. AT 1035 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUING ACROSS THE WARNING AREA. PORTIONS OF THE WARNED AREAS HAVE ALREADY RECIEVED 4 TO 6 INCHES OF RAINFALL. THE STORMS WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH IN INTENSITY AFTER 11 AM...WITH AN ADDITINAL INCH OF RAINFALL EXPECTED. THIS IS A DANGEROUS...LIFE THREATENING SITUATION...AND EVERY PRECAUTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO AVOID LOSS OF LIFE AND PROERTY. EXTENSIVE FLOODING IS EXPECTED. MOTORISTS SHOULD AVOID WATER COVERED ROADS...AND FIND ALTERNATIVE ROUTES.
000 WGUS74 KBMX 221603 FFSBHM ALC021-037-221615- FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1102 AM CDT SUN SEP 22 2002 THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR CHILTON AND COOSA COUNTIES HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE... AT 1102 AM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT RAINFALL HAS DIMINISHED ACROSS CHILTON AND COOSA COUNTIES. REPORTS ACROSS THE AREA ALSO SHOW THAT THE FLOODING THREAT HAS DIMINISHED...THUS THE WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. 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.
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, 6:03 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Chilton, Coosa | 4 hr |
| 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 |
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.