Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 8, NWS Mobile, AL

May 18, 2003Baldwin County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 18, 2003, 10:25 AM CDT for Baldwin 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: May 18, 2003, 10:25 AM CDT (15:25 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 2003, 12:30 PM CDT
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Baldwin County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:26 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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 3.4 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-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: 424 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 706 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 101 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 131 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 4.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KMOB 181526
FFWMOB
ALC003-181730-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1025 AM CDT SUN MAY 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN BALDWIN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 1230 PM CDT

* AT 1021 AM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN FROM GATESWOOD TO DAPHNE...MOVING SLOWLY SOUTHEAST.

* THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL BE NEAR...
  OVER HOUSTONVILLE AT 1030 AM CDT
  OVER GATESWOOD AT 1035 AM CDT
  OVER LOXLEY AT 1040 AM CDT
  OVER ROSINTON AT 1045 AM CDT
  OVER CLAY CITY AT 1050 AM CDT
  OVER SILVERHILL AT 1055 AM CDT

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.

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.

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

LAT...LON 3084 8762 3060 8793 3044 8791 3065 8741

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 7:36 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	MOB		24 min
May 17, 9:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	37 min
May 17, 10:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	35 min
May 18, 6:38 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	112 min
May 18, 8:25 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	2 hr
May 18, 10:51 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Mobile	84 min
May 18, 12:04 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	MOB		3 hr
May 18, 12:28 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	6 hr
May 18, 2:58 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
May 18, 4:58 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	MOB		3 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.