Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 40, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 8, 2003Clay County, Randolph County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 8, 2003, 2:48 AM CDT for Clay County, Randolph 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 8, 2003, 2:48 AM CDT (07:48 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2003, 7:00 AM CDT
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Clay County, AL, Randolph County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 104 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: 2242 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 809 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 135 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.4
Supercell composite: 8.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WGUS54 KBMX 080751
FFWBHM
ALC027-111-081200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
248 AM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CLAY COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA
  RANDOLPH COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 700 AM CDT

* AT 248 AM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER CLAY AND RANDOLPH COUNTIES...MOVING 
EAST AROUND 25 MPH. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES 
ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH 7 AM. MANY ROADS ACROSS BOTH COUNTIES REMAIN 
CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.  MANY AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE RUNNING 
CLOSE TO BANKFULL.

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 3348 8588 3313 8609 3314 8525 3349 8532

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS74 KBMX 080912
FFSBHM
ALC015-027-073-111-115-121-081200-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
409 AM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CLAY...RANDOLPH...
TALLADEGA...JEFFERSON...CALHOUN AND ST. CLAIR COUNTIES UNTIL 700 AM
CDT.

AT 409 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING ACROSS SOUTHERN CLAY AND 
RANDOLPH COUNTIES. ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS REMAIN ACROSS THE REST OF 
THE AREA. RADAR ESTIMATES 6 TO 10 INCHES OF RAIN OCCURRED ON 
WEDNESDAY AND RUNOFF CONTINUES. MANY ROADS ARE STILL CLOSED DUE TO 
HIGH WATER AND AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE RUNNING AT FULL CAPACITY.

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.

LAT...LON 3350 8726 3381 8695 3376 8666 3382 8643
          3398 8620 3386 8609 3395 8557 3347 8588
          3350 8533 3314 8524 3315 8646 3351 8638
          3359 8656 3331 8700

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 7, 7:02 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Tallapoosa	18 min
May 7, 7:04 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Talladega	4 hr
May 7, 7:11 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Calhoun	4 hr
May 7, 7:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chambers	48 min
May 7, 7:22 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Clay, Randolph	4 hr
May 7, 8:37 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson	3 hr
May 7, 8:44 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	St. Clair	3 hr
May 7, 9:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chambers, Lee	48 min
May 7, 10:35 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Calhoun	5 hr
May 7, 10:42 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Talladega	5 hr
May 7, 10:56 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson	5 hr
May 7, 11:06 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Clay, Randolph	4 hr
May 7, 11:25 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	St. Clair	3 hr
May 8, 1:46 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	St. Clair	2 hr
May 8, 3:51 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson	3 hr
May 8, 4:00 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Calhoun, St. Clair, Talladega	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2003 Every 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.