Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 4, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 6, 2003Blount County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Mar 6, 2003, 1:48 AM CST for Blount County, Alabama. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 6, 2003, 1:48 AM CST (07:48 UTC)
Expired
Mar 6, 2003, 4:45 AM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Blount County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:50 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, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 94 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2003-03-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2003-03-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 131 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
446 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
131 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
245 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 060750
FFWBHM
ALC009-061045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
148 AM CST THU MAR 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 445 AM CST

* AT 145 AM CST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO BLOUNT COUNTY.  SOME FLOODING 
WAS REPORTED EARLIER AND THIS ADDITIONAL RAIN COULD CAUSE FLASH 
FLOODING TO OCCUR.  SOME RIVERS AND CREEKS WERE ALREADY AT BANKFULL 
AND ROADS HAD STANDING WATER ON THEM.  THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS 
WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH.  

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS AND OTHER
LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

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.

CALL 1-800-856-0758 TO REPORT FLOODING CONDITIONS.

LAT...LON 3397 8676 3383 8660 3403 8632 3423 8642

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 5, 6:11 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXGreene49 min
Mar 5, 6:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale50 min
Mar 5, 7:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Chilton32 min
Mar 5, 8:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa36 min
Mar 5, 8:52 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Randolph, Tallapoosa38 min
Mar 6, 1:36 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker24 min
Mar 6, 1:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson32 min
Mar 6, 2:07 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair38 min
Mar 6, 2:21 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun39 min
Mar 6, 2:36 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa39 min
Mar 6, 2:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne40 min
Mar 6, 2:57 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb48 min
Mar 6, 3:05 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson40 min
Mar 6, 3:08 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby37 min
Mar 6, 3:35 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega25 min
Mar 6, 3:48 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay42 min
Mar 6, 4:01 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne44 min
Mar 6, 4:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton30 min
Mar 6, 4:49 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa26 min
Mar 6, 5:00 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa45 min
Mar 6, 5:02 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga28 min
Mar 6, 5:09 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas21 min
Mar 6, 5:16 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore44 min
Mar 6, 5:28 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes32 min
Mar 6, 5:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery51 min
Mar 6, 5:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMacon, Tallapoosa45 min
Mar 6, 5:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Lee40 min
Mar 6, 6:04 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXChambers26 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2003Every flash flood warning in 2003

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.