Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Mobile, AL

February 23, 2004Choctaw County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at Feb 23, 2004, 10:27 AM CST for Choctaw 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: Feb 23, 2004, 10:27 AM CST (16:27 UTC)
Expired: Feb 23, 2004, 1:15 PM CST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Choctaw County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 151 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:28 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

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 179 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 805 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -56 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -16 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 231627
FFWMOB
ALC023-231915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1027 AM CST MON FEB 23 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CHOCTAW COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 115 PM CST

* AT 1027 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES HAS OCCURRED NEAR 
  MELVIN AND NEEDHAM ALABAMA OVER CENTRAL CHOCTAW COUNTY.        
  ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL TOTALS OF UP TO 2 TO 3 INCHES IS POSSIBLE 
  OVER THE COUNTY THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED...PUSHMATAHA...
  NEEDHAM...LISMAN...LAND...JACHIN...HODGEWOOD...GILBERTOWN...CROMWELL...
  BUTLER...AND ARARAT.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL LIKELY CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES ESPECIALLY IN AREAS 
PRONE TO POOR DRAINAGE AND LOW LYING AREAS.

RESIDENTS LIVING IN FLOOD PRONE AREAS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY AUTOMOBILE. REMEMBER...IT ONLY
TAKES A FEW INCHES OF SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER TO CARRY VEHICLES AWAY.

LAT...LON 3232 8803 3185 8818 3171 8813 3171 8849
          3230 8840

$$

1 follow-up statement

000
WGUS74 KMOB 231842
FFSMOB
ALC023-231915-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1242 PM CST MON FEB 23 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 115 PM FOR THE 
FOLLOWING COUNTY...

IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...CHOCTAW COUNTY.

AT 1242 PM CST...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT HEAVY RAINS 
CONTINUE OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE COUNTY. MOVEMENT OF THE 
PRECIPITATION WAS EAST AND NORTHEAST AT AROUND 25 MPH. 

STREET FLOODING IS POSSIBLE DUE TO SATURATED GROUND.

REMEMBER...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR 
OCCURRING. RESIDENTS LIVING IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING SHOULD TAKE 
IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. IF FLASH 
FLOODING IS OBSERVED...MOVE QUICKLY TO HIGHER GROUND AND NEVER DRIVE 
INTO AN AREA WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.

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

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Feb 23, 8:43 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB	62 min
Feb 23, 1:05 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB	40 min
Feb 23, 1:05 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB	55 min
Feb 23, 1:55 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB	35 min
Feb 23, 2:00 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB	30 min
Feb 23, 2:33 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB	27 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2004 Every 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.