Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2011

Flash Flood Warning 7, NWS Huntsville, AL

March 5, 2011Cullman County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this flash flood warning at Mar 5, 2011, 3:43 PM CST for Cullman County, Alabama. It was in force for 3 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: Mar 5, 2011, 3:43 PM CST (21:43 UTC)
Expired: Mar 5, 2011, 6:30 PM CST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Huntsville, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Cullman County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:45 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
Mar 5, 5:30 PM CST	FLOOD	Cullman, AL	SPOTTER REPORTS 2 INCHES OF FLOWING WATER ON 9TH STREET IN CULLMAN.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 89 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: 447 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 299 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 320 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.

796 
WGUS54 KHUN 052143
FFWHUN
ALC043-060030-
/O.NEW.KHUN.FF.W.0007.110305T2143Z-110306T0030Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
343 PM CST SAT MAR 5 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CULLMAN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 630 PM CST

* AT 339 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A PERSISTENT AREA OF VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS A LARGE PORTION OF  
  CULLMAN COUNTY. RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE THAT UP TO TWO INCHES OF  
  RAINFALL HAS ALREADY FALL ACROSS PORTIONS OF CULLMAN               
  COUNTY...ESPECIALLY IN THE JONES CHAPEL...BLEVENS BRANCH...AND     
  JAYBIRD CREEK AREAS. SPOTTERS ALSO REPORT RISING WATER IN THE      
  CULLMAN AREA ALONG EIGHT MILE CREEK. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OF ONE TO 
  LOCALLY TWO INCHES WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING THROUGH EARLY THIS    
  EVENING.

* RUNOFF FROM PREVIOUS RAINFALL ALONG WITH ADDITIONAL                
  RAINFALL THROUGH SUNSET WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING ACROSS PORTIONS  
  OF CULLMAN COUNTY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...
COUNTRY ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS...STREAMS AND
OTHER LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

&&

LAT...LON 3388 8701 3391 8709 3393 8711 3431 8711
      3430 8650 3396 8680 3393 8686 3393 8687
      3391 8689 3391 8691 3388 8692 3385 8696

$$

2 follow-up statements

796 
WGUS74 KHUN 052311
FFSHUN

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
511 PM CST SAT MAR 5 2011

ALC043-060030-
/O.CON.KHUN.FF.W.0007.000000T0000Z-110306T0030Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
CULLMAN AL-
511 PM CST SAT MAR 5 2011

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CULLMAN COUNTY UNTIL 630
PM CST...

AT 509 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A BROAD AREA OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS MUCH OF 
CULLMAN COUNTY. RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE THAT ONE AND A HALF TO TWO 
AND A HALF INCHES OF RAIN HAVE ALREADY FALL ACROSS THE COUNTY. AN 
ADDITIONAL ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OF RAINFALL IS LIKELY THROUGH 630 PM 
WHICH MAY CAUSE ADDITIONAL FLOOD AND FLASH FLOOD PROBLEMS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM RECENT AND ONGOING RAINFALL WILL CAUSE 
FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. 
ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF 
CREEKS...STREAMS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO 
FLOODING.

&&

LAT...LON 3388 8701 3391 8709 3393 8711 3431 8711
      3430 8650 3396 8680 3393 8686 3393 8687
      3391 8689 3391 8691 3388 8692 3385 8696

$$

226 
WGUS74 KHUN 060027
FFSHUN

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
627 PM CST SAT MAR 5 2011

ALC043-060038-
/O.EXP.KHUN.FF.W.0007.000000T0000Z-110306T0030Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
CULLMAN AL-
627 PM CST SAT MAR 5 2011

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR CULLMAN COUNTY WILL
BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 630 PM CST...

RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE TO DECREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY 
ACROSS CULLMAN COUNTY THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. 
HOWEVER...PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS WILL LIKELY PERSIST SO 
CAUTION IS ADVISED WHEN TRAVELING THIS EVENING. IN 
ADDITION...RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR SWOLLEN CREEKS AND STREAMS 
WHICH MAY BE SLOW TO RECEDE EVEN AFTER THE RAINFALL SUBSIDES.

SPOTTER AND LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTS INDICATE MINOR STREET FLOODING 
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY WITH THE RAINFALL THAT MOVED THROUGH DURING 
THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

LAT...LON 3388 8701 3391 8709 3393 8711 3431 8711
      3430 8650 3396 8680 3393 8686 3393 8687
      3391 8689 3391 8691 3388 8692 3385 8696

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 5, 10:41 AM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Franklin	49 min
Mar 5, 3:30 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Cullman	60 min
Mar 5, 4:09 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Morgan	51 min
Mar 5, 5:59 PM CST	Areal Flood Warning	HUN	Madison	8 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.