Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 67, NWS Birmingham, AL

June 18, 2003Lowndes County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jun 18, 2003, 11:30 PM CDT for Lowndes 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 18, 2003, 11:30 PM CDT (04:30 UTC)
Expired: Jun 19, 2003, 1:30 AM CDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lowndes County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 122 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: 872 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 967 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KBMX 190432
FFWBHM
ALC085-190630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1130 PM CDT WED JUN 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN LOWNDES COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 130 AM CDT

* AT 1127 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF LOWNDES COUNTY.  A CLUSTER OF 
THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THIS AREA.
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM 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.

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 3200 8685 3197 8651 3220 8643 3224 8680

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS74 KBMX 190533
FFSBHM
ALC085-190600-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1232 AM CDT THU JUN 19 2003

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR LOWNDES COUNTY UNTIL 1:00
AM CDT.

AT 1232 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
THAT THE MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL THAT PROMPTED THE FLASH FLOOD 
WARNING FOR LOWNDES IS MOVING EAST OF THE COUNTY.  ALTHOUGH THE RAIN 
HAS TAPERED OFF...IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL HOURS FOR THE WATER TO 
SUBSIDE.  

LAT...LON 3222 8690 3203 8683 3202 8644 3235 8652

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 19, 12:55 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Lowndes	3 hr
Jun 19, 2:26 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Pike	4 hr
Jun 19, 7:16 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Tuscaloosa	29 min
Jun 19, 11:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cherokee	44 min
Jun 19, 4:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lee	40 min
Jun 19, 4:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	32 min

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.