Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003
Flash Flood Warning 43, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 2003, 4:59 PM CDT for Jefferson 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 16, 2003, 4:59 PM CDT (21:59 UTC)
- Expired
- May 16, 2003, 9:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Jefferson County, AL
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:59 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, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 49 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
- 911 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -33 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 639 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 136 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 1.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WGUS54 KBMX 162202 FFWBHM ALC073-170200- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 459 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... JEFFERSON COUNTY IN ALABAMA * UNTIL 900 PM CDT * AT 454 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER METROPOLITAN BIRMINGHAM. THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST AND COULD PRODUCE SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS 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. MOST FLASH FLOODING DEATHS ARE AUTOMOBILE RELATED. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROAD. A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. CALL 1-800-856-0758 TO REPORT FLOODING CONDITIONS. LAT...LON 3373 8660 3343 8677 3344 8725 3378 8693 $$
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 1:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 30 min |
| May 16, 1:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker, Winston | 55 min |
| May 16, 1:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 30 min |
| May 16, 2:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 60 min |
| May 16, 2:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 59 min |
| May 16, 2:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 21 min |
| May 16, 2:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker | 51 min |
| May 16, 3:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 58 min |
| May 16, 3:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 59 min |
| May 16, 3:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 65 min |
| May 16, 4:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 54 min |
| May 16, 5:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 30 min |
| May 16, 5:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 51 min |
| May 16, 5:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 37 min |
| May 16, 5:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa | 41 min |
| May 16, 5:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 9 min |
| May 16, 5:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 33 min |
| May 16, 5:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 46 min |
| May 16, 6:02 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Talladega | 3 hr |
| May 16, 6:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 25 min |
| May 16, 6:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa | 31 min |
| May 16, 6:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 58 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.