Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2011

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Birmingham, AL

January 1, 20115 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jan 1, 2011, 3:37 AM CST 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jan 1, 2011, 3:37 AM CST (09:37 UTC)
Expired: Jan 1, 2011, 6:30 AM CST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

Counties Fayette County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:38 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 00:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 98 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: 1020 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 270 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 398 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

910 
WGUS54 KBMX 010937
FFWBMX
ALC057-107-125-127-133-011230-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FF.W.0002.110101T0937Z-110101T1230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
337 AM CST SAT JAN 1 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL WALKER COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  NORTHWESTERN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  PICKENS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  SOUTHEASTERN FAYETTE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  SOUTHEASTERN WINSTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 630 AM CST

* AT 332 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE
  WARNED AREA. RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR ARE LIKELY
  WITH THESE STORMS WITH LOCALIZED RAINFALL TOTALS UP TO 4 INCHES
  THROUGH 6 AM CST.

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
  OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  ALICEVILLE...ARLEY...CARROLLTON...CORDOVA...GORDO...JASPER...
  PICKENSVILLE...REFORM...ADDISON...ASHCRAFT CORNER...BANKSTON...
  BENEVOLA...BERRY...BOLEY SPRINGS...CURRY...ETHELSVILLE...FALLS
  CITY...GARDEN...GORGAS...HELICON...LAKE LURLEEN STATE PARK...LAKE
  SHORE...LAKE TUSCALOOSA BINION CREEK LANDING...LYNNS PARK...
  MCDOWELL CAMP GROUNDS...MCMULLEN...MEMPHIS...NESMITH...OAKMAN AND
  PARRISH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE 
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. DO 
NOT ENTER THE WATER. TURN AROUND AND MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO 
ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN 
WATER BEGINS RISING.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...
CALL 1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3353 8826 3353 8784 3383 8752 3429 8712
      3389 8711 3372 8716 3328 8769 3310 8798
      3299 8834

$$

1 follow-up statement

367 
WGUS74 KBMX 011059
FFSBMX

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
459 AM CST SAT JAN 1 2011

ALC057-107-125-127-133-011230-
/O.CON.KBMX.FF.W.0002.000000T0000Z-110101T1230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
PICKENS AL-TUSCALOOSA AL-FAYETTE AL-WALKER AL-WINSTON AL-
459 AM CST SAT JAN 1 2011

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 AM CST FOR
SOUTHEASTERN WINSTON...CENTRAL WALKER...SOUTHEASTERN FAYETTE...
NORTHWESTERN TUSCALOOSA AND SOUTHERN PICKENS COUNTIES...

AT 452 AM CST...THE NATIONAL WEATHER CONTINUED TO DETECT 
THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER THE WARNED AREA.
THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WAS LOCATED ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM 
ALICEVILLE...TO SAMANTHA...TO OAKMAN...TO JASPER.  RADAR
HAS ESTIMATED WIDESPREAD RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ACROSS THE 
WARNED AREA SINCE 1 AM CST...WITH ISOLATED 3 INCHES.  ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH 6 AM CST.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO MCDOWELL CAMP
GROUNDS...LYNNS PARK...LAKE SHORE...HELICON...GORGAS...FALLS CITY...
CURRY...BOLEY SPRINGS...BANKSTON...PARRISH...OAKMAN...JASPER...
CORDOVA...BERRY...ARLEY AND ADDISON

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE 
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. MOVE 
UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS 
SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...
CALL 1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3326 8812 3353 8784 3383 8752 3429 8712
      3389 8711 3372 8716 3328 8769 3310 8798
      3299 8834

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 31, 8:43 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Pickens	47 min
Dec 31, 11:15 PM CST	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Marion, Walker, Winston	3 hr
Jan 1, 12:28 AM CST	Wind Advisory	BMX	Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun and 33 more	9 hr
Jan 1, 12:57 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marion, Winston	33 min
Jan 1, 1:17 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker, Winston	4 hr
Jan 1, 1:53 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Marion	37 min
Jan 1, 2:26 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker	34 min
Jan 1, 2:27 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Pickens	48 min
Jan 1, 3:10 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Pickens, Tuscaloosa	35 min
Jan 1, 3:36 AM CST	Flash Flood Watch	BMX	Etowah, St. Clair	8 hr
Jan 1, 3:37 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Pickens, Sumter	38 min
Jan 1, 4:13 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette, Greene, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa	47 min
Jan 1, 4:36 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb, Blount, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Marengo and 3 more	39 min
Jan 1, 5:27 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb, Greene, Hale, Perry, Sumter, Tuscaloosa	48 min
Jan 1, 5:46 AM CST	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Tuscaloosa	3 hr
Jan 1, 9:29 AM CST	River Flood Warning	BMX	Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter	24 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2011 Every flash flood warning in 2011

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.