Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 49, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 17, 2003Cherokee County, Etowah County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 17, 2003, 10:43 PM CDT for Cherokee County, Etowah 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 17, 2003, 10:43 PM CDT (03:43 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2003, 2:45 AM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Cherokee County, AL, Etowah County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:45 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, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 130 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 180345
FFWBHM
ALC019-055-180745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1043 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA
  ETOWAH COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 245 AM CDT

* AT 1039 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN FROM SARDIS CITY TO FORNEY...OR FROM 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BOAZ
  TO 11 MILES EAST OF CENTRE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. SOME 
  AREAS IN CHEROKEE AND ETOWAH COUNTIES HAVE RECEIVED 2 TO 3 INCHES
  OF RAIN IN THE LAST FEW HOURS AND AN ADDITIONAL 2 OR MORE INCHES
  OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE...AS MORE RAIN MOVES IN FROM THE WEST.

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 3402 8629 3394 8603 3401 8543 3445 8552
          3420 8584 3417 8619

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 7:08 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXLamar, Marion6 hr
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, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.