Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 65, NWS Birmingham, AL

June 17, 2003Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jun 17, 2003, 8:12 PM CDT for Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 2 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: Jun 17, 2003, 8:12 PM CDT (01:12 UTC)
Expired: Jun 17, 2003, 10:15 PM CDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Shelby County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 15 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:15 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 213 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: 1359 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 794 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KBMX 180113
FFWBHM
ALC117-180315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
812 PM CDT TUE JUN 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN SHELBY COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 1015 PM CDT

* AT 810 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED HEAVY RAIN
  CONTINUING TO FALL ACROSS NORTHERN SHELBY COUNTY...FROM 
  HELENA...TO PELHAM...AND RIVERCHASE.


EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM HAS CAUSED FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL 
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES IN THE AREA. SEVERAL 
HIGH WATER RESCUES WERE REQUIRED EARLIER IN THE EVENING.  ROADS IN 
RURAL LOCATIONS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS 
AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

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 3330 8693 3345 8670 3331 8653 3315 8687

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 18, 12:35 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Clay, Cleburne	4 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.