Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 50, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 17, 2003Jefferson County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 17, 2003, 11:55 PM CDT for Jefferson 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
May 17, 2003, 11:55 PM CDT (04:55 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2003, 3:00 AM CDT
In force
3 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), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:56 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, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 44 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 180458
FFWBHM
ALC073-180800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1155 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  VILLAGE CREEK IN JEFFERSON COUNTY

* UNTIL 300 AM CDT

* HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE VILLAGE CREEK BASIN IS PRODUCING RISES ON THE CREEK...
AND A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT. 


* FOR VILLAGE CREEK AT AVENUE W... 
  NO FLOODING IS CURRENTLY OCCURRING. 
  MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST. 
  LATEST STAGE...WAS 9.3 FEET AT 1150 PM SATURDAY. 
  FLOOD STAGE...IS 10 FEET. 
  THE FORECAST...FOR VILLAGE CREEK AT AVENUE W... 
          THE CREEK WILL RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE AT 12 AM SUNDAY. 
          IT WILL CREST NEAR 11 FEET AT 1 AM SUNDAY. 
          IT WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE AT 3 AM SUNDAY. 


DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.  THE WATER 
DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY.  TWO FEET OF RUSHING 
WATER CAN CARRY AWAY MOST VEHICLES...INCLUDING SUVS AND PICKUPS.  VEHICLES 
CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGH GROUND.

YOU CAN REPORT FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING 
1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3348 8729 3329 8704 3358 8659 3383 8678

$$
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS74 KBMX 180625
FFSBHM
ALC073-180645-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
121 AM CDT SUN MAY 18 2003

THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR VILLAGE CREEK IN JEFFERSON COUNTY HAS 
BEEN CANCELED...AT 121 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER 
RADAR INDICATED THAT RAINFALL HAS DIMINISHED ACROSS JEFFERSON 
COUNTY.  AFTER REACHING A CREST OF AROUND 10 FEET...THE STAGE HAS 
BEGUN TO FALL.  WITH NO SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONAL RAINFALL 
EXPECTED...THE LEVEL IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FALLING OVER THE NEXT 
SEVERAL HOURS...THUS THE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELED.

LAT...LON 3384 8678 3358 8659 3329 8705 3348 8729

$$

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, 10:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCherokee, Etowah4 hr
May 17, 11:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas48 min
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.