Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2009

Flash Flood Warning 17, NWS Huntsville, AL

May 1, 20095 counties in Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 1, 2009, 9:38 PM CDT for 5 counties in 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 counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 1, 2009, 9:38 PM CDT (02:38 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2009, 12:30 AM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Huntsville, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

Counties Colbert County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Morgan County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:39 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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 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: 131 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -132 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 770 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 96 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 1, 6:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 6:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 41 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, May 1, 2:44 PM CDT, 6 hours 54 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
244 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009

ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-021000-
LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN-
MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN-
244 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS
OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

A CLUSTER OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
TENNESSEE VALLEY AREA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. THE STRONGER
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 60
MPH AND LARGE HAIL. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS ARE
ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. THE THUNDERSTORM
THREAT IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH THE
BETTER CHANCES LOCATED OVER SOUTHERN TENNESSEE. SOME STORMS MAY BE
STRONG IN NATURE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL AND
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. IN ADDITION...A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY
APPROACH SEVERE THRESHOLDS EARLY NEXT WEEK AS AN EASTWARD MOVING
COLD FRONT INTERACTS WITH PASSING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES. THE
PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS THAT DEVELOP LOOKS TO BE
DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS
REQUESTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

AK/CA/DL

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 1, 7:59 PM CDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Special weather statement, May 1, 7:59 PM CDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Special weather statement, May 1, 8:18 PM CDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, May 1, 9:05 PM CDT, 33 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Special weather statement, May 1, 9:21 PM CDT, 17 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, May 1, 9:25 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 7:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Cullman	29 min
May 1, 7:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence	13 min
May 1, 7:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Lawrence, Morgan	38 min
May 1, 8:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Morgan	31 min
May 1, 10:50 PM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan	3 hr
May 1, 11:38 PM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	HUN	Jackson, Madison, Marshall, Morgan	3 hr
May 2, 12:38 AM CDT	Flash Flood Watch	HUN	Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale and 5 more	10 hr
May 2, 8:07 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	3 hr
May 2, 9:21 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	HUN	Madison	70 hr
May 2, 9:40 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	HUN	Jackson, Madison, Marshall	5 days
May 2, 10:12 AM CDT	Flood Watch	HUN	Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale and 5 more	39 hr
May 2, 10:40 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	DeKalb, Jackson	2 hr
May 2, 10:52 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	HUN	Lawrence	47 hr
May 2, 11:22 AM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	4 hr
May 2, 2:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Franklin	37 min
May 2, 3:17 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan	3 hr
May 2, 4:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Madison, Morgan	27 min
May 2, 5:32 PM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	HUN	Madison	52 min
May 2, 6:14 PM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	6 hr
May 1, 7:16 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Franklin, Lincoln, Moore	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2009 Every flash flood warning in 2009

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.