Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 47, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 17, 2003Lamar County, Marion County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 17, 2003, 7:08 PM CDT for Lamar County, Marion County, Alabama. It was in force for 6 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 17, 2003, 7:08 PM CDT (00:08 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2003, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Lamar County, AL, Marion County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 146 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 2003-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1730 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2003-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 295 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1730 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1037 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
295 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
351 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.3
Supercell composite
15.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KBMX 180009
FFWBHM
ALC075-093-180600-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
708 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  MARION COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA
  LAMAR COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 100 AM CDT

* AT 708 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED HEAVY RAIN 
ACROSS MARION AND LAMAR COUNTIES.  THE HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED TO 
CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING.  

DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATED THAT BETWEEN 2 AND 4 INCHES OF 
RAIN HAS FALLEN ACROSS MARION AND LAMAR COUNTIES THIS MORNING AND 
AFTERNOON.  WITH SATURATED GROUND IN PLACE...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.
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 3369 8828 3356 8812 3425 8776 3428 8808

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 7:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene48 min
May 17, 7:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo47 min
May 17, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Cherokee34 min
May 17, 8:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo28 min
May 17, 9:17 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXMarengo6 hr
May 17, 9:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Etowah62 min
May 17, 10:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee35 min
May 17, 10:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCherokee, Etowah4 hr
May 17, 11:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas48 min
May 17, 11:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson3 hr
May 18, 8:52 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson6 hr
May 18, 11:24 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun4 hr
May 18, 11:51 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Lee54 min
May 18, 11:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Lee46 min
May 18, 12:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour50 min
May 18, 12:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell33 min
May 18, 1:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour, Russell35 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.