Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2009

Flash Flood Warning 71, NWS Mobile, AL

December 14, 2009Mobile County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this flash flood warning at Dec 14, 2009, 9:57 PM CST for Mobile County, Alabama. It was in force for 4 hr. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Dec 14, 2009, 9:57 PM CST (03:57 UTC)
Expired: Dec 15, 2009, 1:45 AM CST
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Mobile County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 9 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:57 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Dec 14, 10:10 PM CST	FLASH FLOOD	Saraland, AL	SARALAND POLICE REPORTED THAT SCOTT DRIVE IS CLOSE DUE TO WATER COVERING THE ROAD.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 157 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: 1935 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 452 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 145 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.5
Supercell composite: 7.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KMOB 150357
FFWMOB
ALC097-150745-
/O.NEW.KMOB.FF.W.0071.091215T0357Z-091215T0745Z/
/00000.0.RS.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
957 PM CST MON DEC 14 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 145 AM CST

* AT 949 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR CONTINUES TO 
  INDICATE MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL DEVELOPING OVER AND TO THE 
  WEST OF MOBILE COUNTY. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES HAVE 
  ALREADY OCCURRED OVER THE COUNTY AND ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL IS
  ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING. WITH THE GROUND BEING SO
  SATURATED...FLASH FLOODING BECOMES MORE LIKELY WITH EACH 
  ADDITIONAL HOUR HEAVY RAIN FALLS. AS PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN 
  PERSISTS...THE LIKELIHOOD OF WIDESPREAD STREAMS AND CREEKS COMING
  OUT OF THEIR BANKS INCREASES. THE THREAT FOR NUMEROUS ROAD 
  CLOSURES AND UNDERMINING OF ROADWAYS WILL ALSO INCREASE. TRAVEL
  IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED TONIGHT. 

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO I65 AND
  I165...WILMER...WHISTLER...TURNERVILLE...SIDNEY...SEMMES...
  SATSUMA...SARALAND...SALCO...PINEOLA...OAK GROVE...MOUNT VERNON...
  MOFFET...LOTT AND COLEMAN DAIRY RO...KUSHLA...I65 AND US 43...I65
  AND AL 158...GULFCREST...GEORGETOWN...EIGHT MILE...EARLVILLE...
  CREOLA...CITRONELLE...CHUNCHULA...CHICKASAW...CHASTANG...CELESTE...
  CALVERT...BUCKS...BIG CREEK LAKE AND AXIS

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. NEVER DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO
AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. FLOOD WATERS ARE USUALLY
DEEPER THAN THEY APPEAR. JUST ONE FOOT OF FLOWING WATER IS POWERFUL
ENOUGH TO SWEEP VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD. WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED
ROADS MAKE THE SMART CHOICE...TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN.

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF FLOOD WATERS. ONLY A FEW INCHES OF
RAPIDLY FLOWING WATER CAN QUICKLY CARRY AWAY YOUR VEHICLE.

REPORT FLASH FLOODING TO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE AT
AREA CODE 2 5 1...AND THEN 6 3 3 6 4 4 3. OR...YOU MAY CONTACT YOUR
NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...AND
THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT.

LAT...LON 3037 8820 3039 8838 3112 8844 3116 8798
      3088 8799 3084 8795 3079 8803 3032 8814

$$

JFB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 14, 6:42 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	3 hr
Dec 14, 6:49 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke, Escambia, Monroe, Washington, Wilcox	101 min
Dec 14, 6:59 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke, Escambia, Monroe, Washington, Wilcox	91 min
Dec 14, 7:04 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke, Escambia, Monroe, Washington, Wilcox	86 min
Dec 14, 7:09 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Mobile	3 hr
Dec 14, 7:16 PM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Covington, Escambia	68 hr
Dec 14, 7:16 PM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	5 days
Dec 14, 7:16 PM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia	22 hr
Dec 14, 7:29 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Conecuh, Escambia	3 hr
Dec 14, 7:43 PM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Dallas, Monroe, Wilcox	3 days
Dec 14, 7:51 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Mobile	3 hr
Dec 14, 7:58 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Butler, Covington, Crenshaw	3 hr
Dec 14, 8:22 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington, Escambia	53 min
Dec 14, 8:36 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Covington, Escambia	39 min
Dec 14, 8:47 PM CST	Areal Flood Advisory	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, Washington, Wilcox	118 min
Dec 14, 8:47 PM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Mobile	25 hr
Dec 14, 9:03 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		87 min
Dec 14, 9:03 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	27 min
Dec 14, 9:10 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Covington	24 min
Dec 14, 9:11 PM CST	Areal Flood Advisory	MOB	Baldwin	3 hr
Dec 14, 9:14 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	31 min
Dec 14, 9:44 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	4 hr
Dec 14, 9:51 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		39 min
Dec 14, 10:12 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Conecuh, Escambia	3 hr
Dec 14, 11:01 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Covington	3 hr
Dec 15, 1:18 AM CST	Areal Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more	8 hr
Dec 15, 3:17 AM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Escambia	31 hr
Dec 15, 3:20 AM CST	Small Craft Advisory	MOB		5 days
Dec 15, 8:42 AM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	14 hr
Dec 15, 8:58 AM CST	River Flood Warning	MOB	Covington	4 days
Dec 15, 9:22 AM CST	Areal Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington and 6 more	8 hr
Dec 15, 9:54 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Washington	50 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.