Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 26, NWS Mobile, AL

July 3, 2003Monroe County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jul 3, 2003, 5:09 PM CDT for Monroe 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
Jul 3, 2003, 5:09 PM CDT (22:09 UTC)
Expired
Jul 3, 2003, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Monroe County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:08 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 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 198 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 12:00Z on 2003-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 532 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 12:00Z on 2003-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 6 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
532 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
921 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
19 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KMOB 032218
FFWMOB
ALC099-040115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
509 PM CDT THU JUL 3 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  MONROE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF MONROEVILLE

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 503 PM CDT...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLASH
  FLOODING OCCURRING AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 21 
  BETWEEN URIAH AND MEGARGEL...AND ALSO JUST SOUTH OF FRISCO CITY.  
  THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING THE HEAVY RAINFALL THAT IS 
  PRODUCING THE FLASH FLOODING WERE MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH ACROSS 
  THE CENTRAL PART OF MONROE COUNTY.

* STORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND AROUND...
  TUNNEL SPRINGS BY 530 PM CDT...
  KEITH BY 540 PM CDT...
  FRANKLIN BY 550 PM CDT...
  TURNBULL...RIVER RIDGE BY 555 PM CDT...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF
SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES...ESPECIALLY FROM 
POINTS AROUND MONROEVILLE SOUTHWARD.  ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY ROADS AND
FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS
WILL ALSO BE SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

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.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.

LAT...LON 3129 8746 3131 8776 3142 8756 3182 8746
          3181 8697

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 2, 7:33 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBClarke, Monroe3 hr
Jul 3, 2:41 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB64 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.