Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 35, NWS Birmingham, AL

September 16, 2004Blount County, Cherokee County, Etowah County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Sep 16, 2004, 4:57 PM CDT for Blount County, Cherokee County, Etowah 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
Sep 16, 2004, 4:57 PM CDT (21:57 UTC)
Expired
Sep 16, 2004, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Blount County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Etowah County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:57 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, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 115 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 2004-09-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 287 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 2004-09-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 337 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
287 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
496 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
337 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
719 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
2.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KBMX 162200
FFWBHM
ALC009-019-055-170100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
457 PM CDT THU SEP 16 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  BLOUNT COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF ONEONTA
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF CENTRE
  ETOWAH COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...RAINBOW CITY...GADSDEN

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 452 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAINFALL HAVE FALLEN OVER THE WARNED AREA.  AN 
ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN ARE POSSIBLE BY 8 PM.  

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO   
WALNUT GROVE...SNEAD...REECE CITY...HOKES 
BLUFF...GLENCOE...FORNEY...CEDAR BLUFF...ATTALLA AND ALTOONA.

PEOPLE LIVING BELOW SMALL EARTHEN DAMS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR 
RAPIDLY RISING WATER AND SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE EMERGENCY 
ACTIONS BY MOVING TO HIGHER GROUND.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS...STREAMS AND OTHER LOW
LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

LAT...LON 3425 8649 3388 8691 3380 8657 3400 8626
      3389 8604 3398 8576 3398 8543 3449 8554
      3422 8586 3411 8633

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 1:22 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXPike28 min
Sep 16, 1:56 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXBarbour24 min
Sep 16, 2:04 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXPike26 min
Sep 16, 2:45 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery30 min
Sep 16, 4:01 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXBarbour29 min
Sep 16, 4:34 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell26 min
Sep 16, 4:49 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMacon26 min
Sep 16, 5:13 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXElmore47 min
Sep 16, 8:38 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell37 min
Sep 16, 8:53 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLee37 min
Sep 16, 9:41 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLee34 min
Sep 16, 10:11 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery4 hr
Sep 16, 10:22 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell23 min
Sep 16, 10:43 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBibb, Chilton, Dallas, Hale, Perry, Shelby4 hr
Sep 16, 10:54 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell21 min
Sep 16, 10:57 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBarbour, Bullock, Chambers, Coosa, Lee, Macon and 3 more4 hr
Sep 16, 11:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Jefferson, Randolph, St. Clair and 2 more4 hr
Sep 16, 11:58 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson5 hr
Sep 16, 12:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount, Cherokee, Etowah, Walker, Winston4 hr
Sep 16, 2:50 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXChambers, Lee, Tallapoosa3 hr
Sep 16, 3:00 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson6 hr
Sep 16, 3:01 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Jefferson, Randolph, St. Clair and 2 more5 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2004Every flash flood warning in 2004

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.