Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Mobile, AL

May 18, 2003Mobile County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 18, 2003, 10:51 AM CDT for Mobile County, Alabama. It was in force for 84 min. 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, 10:51 AM CDT (15:51 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 2003, 12:15 PM CDT
In force: 84 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Mobile County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:51 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, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 142 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 181554
FFWMOB
ALC097-181715-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1051 AM CDT SUN MAY 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 1215 PM CDT

* AT 1046 AM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN FROM THEODORE TO 8 MILES WEST OF BAYOU LA BATRE. 
  THE AREA OF HEAVY RAIN WAS MOVING SLOWLY SOUTHEAST.

THERE HAVE BEEN PUBLIC REPORTS OF WATER COMING CLOSE TO HOMES NEAR 
DOG RIVER. 

* THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL BE NEAR...
  OVER LAURENDINE AT 1105 AM CDT
  OVER DIXON CORNER AT 1115 AM CDT
  OVER BELLEFONTAINE AT 1135 AM CDT
  OVER SOUTH ORCHARD AT 1145 AM CDT
  OVER BAYOU LA BATRE AT NOON CDT
  OVER MON LOUIS...CODEN AT 1210 PM 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 3039 8842 3033 8813 3056 8808 3059 8815

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, 10:25 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	2 hr
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.