Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2009

Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS Mobile, AL

May 16, 2009Covington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 2009, 5:04 PM CDT for Covington 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: May 16, 2009, 5:04 PM CDT (22:04 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2009, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Covington County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 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: 1879 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 607 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 51 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 162204
FFWMOB
ALC039-170100-
/O.NEW.KMOB.FF.W.0034.090516T2204Z-090517T0100Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
504 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN COVINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 500 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
VERY HEAVY RAIN HAD FALLEN ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEAST COVINGTON 
COUNTY...WITH UP TO FIVE INCHES TOTAL BETWEEN 400 AND 500 PM NEAR 
THE COMMUNITY OF HOWELLS.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE HOWELLS AND STEDMAN

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING STREAMS AND DRAINAGES...
PANTHER CREEK...BEAVER CREEK...CORNER CREEK...NATURAL BRIDGE CREEK...
COWHEAD CREEK...MOCCASIN BRANCH...RICHLAND CREEK...CLEAR CREEK AND
POND CREEK.

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE BETWEEN 
500 AND 600 PM IN THE WARNED AREA...AS THE THUNDERSTORM REMAINS 
NEARLY STATIONARY.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...COUNTRY ROADS...AS WELL AS FARMLAND ALONG THE
BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS.

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

&&

LAT...LON 3099 8618 3098 8631 3099 8636 3111 8632
      3114 8618 3112 8618 3100 8617

$$

PURDY

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS74 KMOB 162317
FFSMOB

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
617 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2009

ALC039-170100-
/O.CON.KMOB.FF.W.0034.000000T0000Z-090517T0100Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
COVINGTON AL-
617 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2009

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR 
EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN COVINGTON COUNTY...

AT 615 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED UP 
TO 2.5 INCHES OF ADDITIONAL RAINFALL HAD FALLEN ACROSS EXTREME 
SOUTHEASTERN COVINGTON COUNTY BETWEEN 500 AND 600 PM. TOTAL RAINFALL 
ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 6.5 INCHES HAD FALLEN ACROSS THE WARNED AREA 
BETWEEN 400 AND 600 PM FROM NEAR HOWELLS TO 4 MILES WEST OF HOWELLS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IN HILLY TERRAIN THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF LOW WATER CROSSINGS WHICH ARE
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS IN HEAVY RAIN. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL ACROSS
FLOODED ROADS. FIND ALTERNATE ROUTES. IT TAKES ONLY A FEW INCHES OF
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER TO CARRY VEHICLES AWAY.

&&

LAT...LON 3099 8618 3098 8631 3099 8636 3111 8632
      3114 8618 3112 8618 3100 8617

$$

PURDY

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 7:14 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	MOB		31 min
May 16, 2:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	28 min

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.